Dollar Days

March 8, 2014 Lauren Mauldin Comments 15 comments

First quarter of 2014 has been a time of “pay all the vet bills” for me. Combine that with my saddle purchase, and I may be out of debt by summer. Maybe? Hopefully? Therefore, I’m trying to spend less money. This is not a skill of mine, but I improved my thrifty techniques over the years.

Of course I still own a high maintenance horse, so I will not be teaching any financial planning classes just yet.

One thing I will share though, is my love of the dollar store. You know, the kind where everything is just $1 (not Family Dollar which I think has a variety of prices and confuses me greatly). You’d be surprised what kind of horse related items you can find in the $1 store.

Yesterday I was after some rags for tack cleaning and face wiping, and ended up picking up some minty rubbing alcohol and a spray bottle. Did you know that spraying menthol type rubbing alcohol in your sweaty helmet can keep bacteria away and make it smell nicer? Me neither, but one of my bff’s swears by it so I’m taking her lead on this one.

With my grand total of $4, I wandered around the store to see what else you could use at the barn.

One man's tubberware is a horse person's DIY re-usable SmartPaks — One man’s tubberware is a horse person’s DIY re-usable SmartPaks

Yes, I use anti-bacterial dish soap to wash legs in the summer. It works wonders.

Vaseline, for all of your temperature taking needs.

Baby oil... you breed show people know what I'm talking about with this one! — Baby oil gel… you breed show people know what I’m talking about with this one!

Yes, I was the crazy person walking around the dollar store taking pictures of things. But when you go in for a value, you often get crazy people… so I’m sure I’m not the worst they have ever seen.

Do you have any horse favorites that you get from totally non-horse sources?

15 thoughts on “Dollar Days”

I always buy my horse birthday and Christmas hats at the dollar store!
I buy lots of diapers (Stampede prefers size 3 for his big feet/legs) and unscented diaper wipes. The wipes are great for cleaning up cuts or under the tail of a Stampede who can’t lift his well while wearing his blanket due to past tail trama. I usually just buy cheap Kroger brand.
I do make shims for Stampede’s saddle with yoga mat, which I think was an ingenous idea from my saddle fitter.
Otherwise, I make my own fly spray with items purchased at the grocery store and online.

Pool floaties for jumps woohoo!

I was just at the dollar tree yesterday for microfiber rags and soap myself! Great tip!

Wonderful suggestions! I especially could use about a dozen rags for tack cleaning right now since we are officially in the muddy, dusty and dirty days of spring. (Why yes you can have mud and dust at the same time!) I also like the menthol rubbing alcohol idea.

When I was teaching in Japan a lot of the stuff we used were from the Japanese version of a dollar store (100 yen store). We made our rain rot fighting concoctions with antibacterial soap or Listerine and a few other ingredients that are escaping me at the moment.

Man… I always forget about the dollar store. Dad does most of the shopping which I’m lucky, but then he’ll complain how much everything costs after he spends like $100 at Walmart on NOTHING! I could really smack him sometimes. Need to be more savvy.

I love Infusiem ppl shampoo and conditioner for Henry’s mane and tail.

I’ll have to keep the dollar store in mind next time!!

I’ll try that helmet smell remedy!

Ivory dish soap for legs! Makes the WHITEST SOCKS EVER!

Baby wipes for Mollie’s nose in the summer (sunscreen+dirt=nasty) and toothbrushes for cleaning bits.

I buy the Calcium Chloride Desiccant packages. They are moisture controllers that really work! I place them in my tack locker during humid summer months to keep mold off of my tack.