WOAH! 🤯 25+ Dollar Tree Life Hacks you NEED to know for Summer! ☀️

Summer is finally here and I am so excited. So I thought what better time to jam pack a video with a ton of Dollar Tree hacks. Some of these I've been doing for years. Some of these are new products I just found. And trust me, you guys are going to love it. These are going to save you time and money and put more fun back in your summer. We're kicking it off with a summer staple, these floaties. But if you have to deflate them when you are leaving your destination, pinching them and standing there is a pain. So instead, we're going to grab some binder clips and you're going to clip them right on the edge. And it is going to let all of that air come out. Just let it sit. It's going to do the hard work for you. And you can use your hands to press it down if you want. But I literally did these two presses for the video and let it sit there. And it did all the hard work for me. Such a win. And what about those floaties that you leave inflated, but they're all over your pool deck? This is what ours looked like. And I desperately needed a solution. I was using a bungee cord and I thought I could get more at Dollar Tree. But then I realized that I couldn't find the length that I wanted. Instead, I thought I could use some of these dog leashes with the same idea. You could also use these types of leashes if you can't find the bungee looking ones. But all you need to do is loop it through any opening in a fence or a deck. Or if you have a post, you could hook it to. Then you're going to take the little dog leash clip that you would put on to the collar of the dog and you're going to clip it to the handle of the leash. Then everything is going to be nice and corralled. You won't be chasing after anything. You'll be tripping on anything. And if this makes it too long, if you clip it on the extension of the handle, you can easily clip it on the other side of the clasp for the handle, making it shorter and keeping everything taut. The numbers on how many people are traveling this summer is insane. So you're going to want to know this hack for Ziploc bags. I use this for Finn's clothes, but you could do them for adult clothes. I buy the two and a half gallon bags and you are going to put your clothes in and shut it to the point where you can only fit a straw in. Then you're going to take the straw and just suck the air out. You can press it out as well. But this goes super fast and it kind of acts like a space bag in his luggage. I like this because then I didn't have to spend a ton of money on packing cubes for him, but it keeps them organized. Every spring and summer, our fridge fills up with save the dates, parties, all the things, but if they're heavy, they're not staying up with my chip clips. So I saw these in the stationary aisle, and this is awesome. They stick. You can hear it. They are heavy duty for sure. I have our annual passes to different areas that my mother-in-law and my mom take Finn. I also have his summer reading program. Everything is all in one spot. And I would definitely ten out of ten recommend these. I know everybody's goal is to not get burnt in the first place, but it does happen. So I learned this last year when I got toasted on our Hawaii trip. I had a friend tell me, just put some aloe inside a ice cube tray. Freeze it overnight. And this is going to really help. Once it's frozen, it will come out in these little cubes. You just pop it out and then you're just going to rub it on that burn. It's not as cold as ice would be, but it is so soothing. It's also nice for kids because the cooling gives it an instant relief. But again, it's not as cold as an ice cube. I love these veggie storage items or fruit. I don't know why they call them veggie storage because I use them for fruit more often. But the other great thing that I just recently discovered and thought of is you can pop the inside out. I happen to do this because I had a inside get broken and all you have to do is pop it out and then you can throw in things like oranges, apple slices. I put watermelon in here. I literally pop the lid on and this thing is awesome. It's BPA free and the lid locks on. So your stuff isn't going to spill everywhere. But between my snacks on the go and Finn snacks on the go, this is awesome. You can also leave the insert in and I love this for blueberries, blackberries. It keeps the moisture on the bottom away from your fruit and it helps them last longer. I am a huge fan of Dollar Tree's selection of glow items this year. I just saw these balls and they also have these great wands you can grab for fireworks so you don't have to spend a crazy amount of money. If you go to fireworks, I also love to use them to do glow baths for Finn. This has been one of his favorite things. I threw a glow ball in there as well as three of just these little bracelets and it really lights up the bath and makes it super fun. And it is a great summertime memory. Those packages of bracelets, I got 25 of them for a dollar. Another summer must have for me are these cupcake baking cups. You can either get the pretty ones for a 50 pack or you can just go with these regular ones for 90 for the same price. I love bomb pops in the summer. It's just so nostalgic for me. But my fingers get so sticky and so do Finn's. So I like to grab these cupcake liners. You can go ahead and just pop a little hole in the center. I push it through the stick, but I flip the cupcake liner over. So then that way it's going to protect your fingers. And if anything drips, it's going to get on the cupcake liner, not your fingers. It makes it so much easier to enjoy your popsicle because I just hate getting that on my fingers. One of my favorite seasonal things at Dollar Tree to grab are serving platters because you can use them for so many different things. And if you leave them behind at a party, it's no big deal. Here's my go to dip for the summer. I wanted to share the recipe because this is perfect for a dish to pass a barbecue, a pool party, and it is delicious. You're going to combine one cup of your mayonnaise of choice, as well as sour cream. I like Miracle Whip white, but it's up to you. Mix it all up and then add a bag of bacon bits. Stir that up until it's fully combined. And then you are going to grab either one or two tomatoes. If you're a big tomato fan like I am in the summer, grab two. If not, you can just do one and it will still be good. So totally up to you on the level of tomatoes you want. We are going to remove the centers and cut them into quarters, and then we're going to remove the inside seeds. This is important because if you leave them in there, your dip will still be good, but it's going to be very watery and it's not going to be consistency that you want. So similar to how you make bruschetta, you want to remove the seeds on the inside so it's not super runny. Once that's all done, I am going to dice up those tomatoes and I'm going to add them to my mixture of the dip base, as well as the bacon bits. When that's all in there, we are going to fold that all in. And that is it. It is the easiest dip, but I promise you, people are going to ask you for the recipe when you take it places. I like to throw it in a container that I don't mind leaving behind like this really cute washed tray. And then I like to serve it with either regular potato chips or the best are these whole grain sun chips. Now, what if it is super hot and you don't want your refrigerated dip to get gross? I like to grab these drip pans from the auto section and fill them up with ice. Then once that is set as your base, you can add dips and things inside there and it's going to act as a little cooler. It's nice because the dips are out. People can eat them, but it's also going to help prevent them from getting super hot, super quickly. Another way to beat the heat when you're entertaining is to grab two of these lasagna pans. I shared this last year. So many of you said you did it for your summer party. So I want to make sure to share it again in case anybody missed it. You're going to keep them doubled up and fill up the top pan about a one inch, inch and a half layer of water. Throw it in your freezer. I like to keep this in my deep freeze so it's ready to go when we have people over. And once it's frozen solid, you have a really nice way to keep things cold when you're serving food outside. Now, you can either put items directly on the ice or you can put the other pan on top and put food in that. I like to put items just right on top of the ice like fruit. It keeps things really cold. You just pop it right on there. And as it melts, it's just really going to keep those items cool, especially with that foil on the outside. Now, you're probably wondering, Whitney, what did you put that potato salad in? I like to grab these containers because they are perfect for keeping bugs out of your food. I love that the lid is on quote unquote tight, but you don't have to twist it or pull too hard to get it off. So it makes it easy for kids or anybody with their hands full to get in there, grab a scoop of whatever and keep the bugs out. I also really like that these large ones hold an entire bag of party size chips. So these are party size Cool Ranch Doritos, party size wavy lays. They are actually very big. They hold a lot. And this is another thing where you can keep the bugs out. People can grab what they need and then put the lid back on. Another barbecue must have our coffee filters because they are the perfect holder for brats and hot dogs. You just put your bun right in there and make it easy to put all of your toppings on. And then it is easy to go. If you have doubleheader sports events this summer, especially baseball, softball, this is great for less waste and it takes up a lot less room in your bag. Just throw it in there. One hundred and fifty for a dollar. Twenty five. Another great use is to use it on your dessert table, especially when you're outside by the pool. Folks can just grab those, use them kind of as a napkin. But you can do it a lot cheaper. And it's also going to take up a lot less room in your garbage, especially for parties than a traditional plate or napkin would, which is really nice when it comes to those parties, because, you know, you always have a party a couple of days after garbage day and your garbage is overflowing. At least that always happens to us. To help with drying your pool items in the summer, grab one of these over the door hangers. I decided to put it on the wood chairs that I recently built, but you could also put them on your deck, a ton of other places. It adds so many hooks for things to dry. I've got his life jacket, his hat, his swim stuff, and it allows it to get dry outside before I bring it in. It keeps everything in a small space and it just is so much better than trying to fling it over the fence and having it fall. Now, we also have a fence to our yard that it hooks perfectly on. I also really like that it is coated metal, so it's not going to get rusty with the water touching it. And there's so many different places you can hang it. It fits on so many different surfaces. In my last Dollar Tree Hacks video, I shared with you how you can use this over the cabinet towel bar for an outdoor paper towel holder for your shed, for your pool, really anywhere you could hook it to have it. A lot of you said you can't find those at your store. So here are some other options for paper towels in the summer. The first one would be to grab some hangers or grab a plastic hanger from your closet. And I'm going to use some tin snips to chop the centerpiece off. Then all you need to do is slide both ends over each side of your paper towel roll and you can hook this anywhere you can hook a hanger. This is great for RVing, for camping, for doubleheader sports. So many different options. I even like to hang one of these in our shed so they are easily accessible. Another option for paper towels, grab one of these little yard garden flag holders. You're going to pop it in the ground or in the sand. If you are at the beach, you can put them on there and it is really good. And this is really great to keep them accessible. This will also come in clutch if you are a sports parent over the summer doing doubleheader baseball, softball games. It's nice to put this right next to the grill. Everybody can help themselves. If you've been around a while, you know, it wouldn't be a whiskey and wit hacks video if I didn't show you how to make some sort of kit for the season we're in. So we are going to make a pool bag slash lake boating bag. I like to grab all these different kinds of items for hair, for refreshing. You can add things like deodorant, a quick little wisp toothbrush. I like these clips. I also like these scrunchies that are made specifically for wet hair. And then the star of the show is this seven day pill organizer. I brought it home, used some 100 percent pure acetone nail polish remover and it wiped off so easily. You would think this was washable marker. You're able to remove those so you can see directly inside. And then you have the perfect size for things like bobby pins, hair ties. I also like to have an empty one in there so that you could put jewelry, say you wore earrings and a necklace to the lake and you want to get in the water and not have them get icky. Just pop them in there. Put your necklace through a little piece of a straw like I'm doing here. I just cut it to fit in the container and then your necklace is not going to tangle up on you. Then throw it in your bag, throw the kit into your larger beach bag and you are all set. This next one is a super tried and true mom hack for road trips. When I'm at Dollar Tree, I grab both a large organizational bin. It doesn't matter what size you just need to corral stuff. And I also grab some of these mesh laundry bags. Then I use the set of three to organize things like self-serve snacks like this banana, oranges, applesauce for Finn. I also put things in there like wet wipes. I have another bag for activities like these pack things that I buy at Target for him to stay occupied, some books. And then that goes right next to his car seat. He's able to self-serve, grab what he wants. And the key here is I get car sick. So whether I'm driving or in the front seat, I need him to be able to self-serve so I don't get sick turning around. And this does the trick. Hey Craft Buddy, thanks so much for sticking with me through this hacks video. If you would like to enter my secret giveaway, I'm only mentioning it at this portion of the video. What I want you to do is head down to the comments and share your favorite Dollar Tree hack. I would love to share some of your ideas with the other Craft Buddies. So comment down below. Let me know what your favorite Dollar Tree hack is. And then in one week from today, when this video goes up, I am going to draw a winner and you are going to win $25 to Dollar Tree so you can grab some of these items and do these hacks. So all you have to do is be subscribed to my channel, like this video and leave that comment down below with your favorite Dollar Tree hack that you're loving recently. All the details will be down in the description. Who doesn't love soft skin in the summer, especially after shaving? I am going through sugar scrub like crazy, so I decided to make my own to help me save. You're going to need a glass airtight jar as well as some coconut oil and some brown sugar. I'm going to add three quarters of a cup of brown sugar, and then I'm going to put my coconut oil in a little bit of warm water just to soften it. And then I'm going to add three tablespoons in there. I started with a fork, but it actually was just better to go in with my hands. I made sure everything was combined. And the consistency you're looking for is kind of like a Play-Doh ball here that's going to stay all together, but easily falls apart when you kind of break it apart. Then I've got my airtight jar. I'm just going to fill it up and we are good to go. It fills up about half of this jar, but I decided to make a couple more batches to use the full container of brown sugar and coconut oil. So for the Dollar Tree sizes of items, you can fill this entire container. For $2.50 in supplies, this is a lot cheaper than the one I was using that was $10.99 a container. So I'm going to be using this throughout the summer. I like to use just a little bit on my legs. It smells so good on its own with the brown sugar, and it is a natural exfoliant. We love these bubble sticks at our house, but if we're not careful, they literally get turned on their head or they get dropped or fallen over and we accidentally lose all the bubble solution. So to fix that, we are going to take some painter's tape and stick the bottom part right to your garage. This is the post on our Porsche. Whatever will work. The painter's tape isn't going to hurt anything. And then I loosen the lid. Finn is then able to go over, use the bubble wand just like he wants to. But we don't have to worry about anything falling over or if he just forgets it, sets it down and forgets to put the lid on. Last year, Dollar Tree launched these kind of solo cup looking containers, and I grabbed those and some dog toys to create yard pong or yard bozo buckets for kids or adults. And the buckets are a little big for Finn. So what I decided to do was keep an eye out this year and they came out with smaller containers. So I got two packs to get six containers and we put water in there. It's a fun outdoor activity. He likes to dump the water, splash the water. These are much more kid sized. So keep an eye out for these if you think you have kids or grandkids that would enjoy this out in the yard this summer. In past hack videos, you guys have loved my car ideas. So here are a few using some heavy duty suction cups, a sponge holder from the kitchen section and this toothbrush and cup holder. First, it's great for road trips because you can stick things to the lower part of the window. Give your kid an extra cup holder, an area to keep things like headphones, hats, go fish cards, whatever will keep them occupied. The cups go right in. This is the perfect size for a kid's cup. And then I also hang things like a light if we are driving in the dark and Finn wants to use that to read. A magazine. I also like that you can shut the door and nothing is going to fall off. These are good suction cups. And I also like to use them in the back of the car to hold my reusable bags. Another thing I'm loving for the car from Dollar Tree are the sunglass hooks. Not only are they great for your visor, so you always have a pair of sunglasses. You just slide it on. There's this little clip and they're going to be there for you. But they're also great to put on your passenger side for an extra cable. This is my phone charging cable. I always put it there. Then that way it's not going to get smashed or lost in the center console and it's ready to use. One of my favorite mom summer hacks that I've been doing for my son for years is grabbing some tried and true Dollar Tree staples in different aisles of the store to use for when we go to the beach, to the lake, play in the pool or even play in the sandbox. This scoop from the kitchen section. I grab things like measuring cups. I got this little scoop, little sifter that you would use for flour. Something like this is awesome when you go to the beach or the lake because you can scoop up sand, the sand will sift through and you can find rocks and shells and things like that. And I find that these plastics are a lot heavier duty than what you're going to find in the cheap summer section. So these last a lot longer. They last all summer long. And speaking of Finn, I saw these safety goggles and thought I could do a Dollar Tree science experiment. This is fun for the summer. And you can get pretty much everything minus the yeast from Dollar Tree unless you can find yeast at your Dollar Tree, then you're golden. You're going to start with a container. I use these ketchup bottles and I put it in a dish pan. OK, so what do we do first? Hydrogen. OK, so we put this here. And remember how much hydrogen peroxide? It's a half a cup, right? That's right, Finn. We're starting with a half a cup of hydrogen peroxide into the funnel, into our container. Then we're going to add a squirt of some Dawn dish soap and swish it around. Now, you can add food coloring if you want, but we just do it with the white toothpaste color for elephant toothpaste to do what we're making. Then you're going to add three tablespoons of warm water with some yeast, according to the package. Pour it in. Pull your funnel and you are going to have a chemical reaction. When I tell you this is a hit at our house. We've been able to do this so many times with just those Dollar Tree supplies and the smile on his face says it all. I will link the blog post down below with more explanation on the chemical reactions. So if you want it to be fully educational, you can. That's going to do it for this installment of Dollar Tree Hacks. I hope you found some ideas that you can put to good use this summer. And also be sure to enter the giveaway if you caught that throughout the video. If not, rewind and check out that section because you're going to want to enter to win a Dollar Tree gift card. Thanks so much for watching. Be sure to subscribe down below if you're new. So you don't miss any future whiskey and what videos and I will catch you in the next one. Bye.