18 Dollar Tree Items Smart Homeowners Should Stock Up On For Winter

Winter presents homeowners with a number of season-specific challenges, from clearing snow off of sidewalks to stopping the drafts that baseboards emit. It's also the season many people spend the most time indoors, so it's important to keep your space cozy and functional. Dollar Tree is filled with items that can help you take care of winter maintenance tasks while boosting your home's warmth and comfort. The transition from fall to winter is also an excellent moment to stock up on goods that are only available around the holidays but useful at other times of the year. Thinking of alternate uses for some of the retailer's low-priced Christmas and New Year's products can save you money and simplify your life in the months to come.

When it comes to winter prep, Dollar Tree's home-improvement corner is an ideal starting point. This is where you're likely to find Tool Bench Hardware All Purpose Latex Caulk for sealing those drafty baseboards, as well as flashlights you'll be glad to have if a winter storm wreaks havoc on your electricity. Also browse the home decor area, which brims with warming candles that double as a light source in emergencies. The holiday aisles are a must-visit as well. Though product availability varies from location to location, you're likely to find pine-tree decor that fits a range of rustic aesthetics and wreaths that can enhance your walls long after Christmas. After that, venture toward shelves stocked with cozy textiles, bath products, and even pet supplies.

Soft, thick blankets such as Dollar Tree's Embossed Plush Throws are made for snuggling on the sofa on snowy winter days. Plus, they can make your home comfier in several other ways. Invite guests to enjoy a moment of hygge or niksen, Scandinavian concepts of coziness and guilt-free idleness, by draping these throws over living room chairs or using them to wrap holiday gifts. You can even roll up these blankets and place them against the bottoms of doors to keep cold air out and warm air in.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, conventional curtains pulled closed during cold weather can decrease heat loss in a room by up to 10 percent. To take advantage of this heat conservation strategy, grab a few of Dollar Tree's 20-by-30-inch Home Collection Satin Pillowcases and turn them into curtains. YouTuber DaBoss Ella shows one way to do it that doesn't require sewing or glue. It involves turning the pillowcases inside out and cutting notches for curtain rods below the shortest seams while trying to make the notches slightly wider than the rods.

Want to take your draft-fighting efforts to the next level? Summon the power of plastic film, a key component of Dollar Tree's Tool Bench Window Insulation Kits. Each kit also contains foam tape to secure the plastic to the outer edges of a 60-by-72-inch window. Use a hair dryer to form a sturdy seal, then watch your heating bills drop. If your home has doors that leak heat or accumulate moisture during the winter, use Tool Bench Door Insulation Kits to address these issues and increase your energy savings.

Many Dollar Tree locations have a sizable assortment of socks and other layering essentials such as Collections by Juncture Super Soft Fashion Leggings. Bundling up in these items is a tried-and-true strategy for staying warm, but don't stop there. Pick up some extra packages to help insulate your house. Like throw blankets, these textile tubes can be turned into draft stoppers. No sewing skills are required — just insert uncooked rice or dried beans into each tube and secure the ends with knots or rubber bands. Finally, snip off the excess fabric for a polished look.

Rock salt is one of the most popular ice melts for sidewalks and driveways, but it's not the most eco-friendly choice for making these surfaces less slippery. In addition to damaging plants and contaminating both soil and water, it can harm curious pets that gobble it up. Dollar Tree's 5-pound bag of Greenbrier Kennel Club Clumping Cat Litter is a safer, more sustainable option. Though cat litter isn't an ice melt per se, it adds plenty of traction to slick surfaces, making them easier to walk on without falling down.

Though many stores in blizzard-prone parts United States sell snow shovels in the winter, these tools can be tough to find if you live somewhere snow's uncommon. Available in three sizes, Dollar Tree's Tool Bench Hardware plastic tarp can help if you're without a shovel when a snowstorm is headed your way. Tarps offer a shovel-free way to remove snow from your driveway when you lay them down soon after snowflakes appear in the weather forecast. Some Dollar Tree locations also carry shovels, so check the store displays if you need one.

Snow-covered shoes and boots can fill your home with icy puddles that are unpleasant to touch, as well as gritty dirt and rock salt that can cause costly damage your floors. Dollar Tree's 18-by-30-inch Patterned Rubber-Backed Doormats discourage soaked, soiled shoes from venturing past your entryway while giving their owners a simple way to wipe away wetness. Plus, doormats can double as a place for extra-soggy boots to dry off. Grab a few mats to create multiple drying stations if your house is home to a lot of frequently used snow boots.

Area rugs are a must if your home is filled with hardwood floors and located in a cold climate. In addition to giving bare feet a soft, warm place to land, floor coverings such as Dollar Tree's neutral-hued 24-by-36-inch Rolled Rugs can keep cold air from creeping into your living spaces. Place them over split floorboards and out-of-commission heating grates to block chilly drafts that emanate from these spots. In doing so, you'll help warm air circulate throughout the room instead of rising to the ceiling, where it's hard to enjoy.

Tea isn't so comforting when it's tepid, and coffee loses some charm when it's room temperature rather than piping hot. Keep warming winter beverages the right temperature with Dollar Tree's Stainless Steel Tumbler Travel Mugs. Each of these insulated containers can help 20 ounces of your favorite drink stay hot for hours on cold days. They also encourage iced tea, smoothies, and other chilled liquids stay pleasantly cool in the summertime. You can even customize these mugs with food-safe paint and gift them to loved ones during the holiday season.

In addition to lighting the candles that keep your home feeling cozy in the winter, Dollar Tree's 12-inch Butane Candle Lighters are smart to have on hand in case an emergency strikes. They can provide light in a blackout, kindle flames in your fireplace if the heater bites the dust, and sterilize a needle for removing a splinter. Butane lighters are a reliable choice because they can hold a lot of gas and their fuel canisters can be refilled as needed. They also tend to offer a steady flame when you need it most.

Winter starts with the season of giving, but the season of sharing cold and flu germs with family, friends, and coworkers lasts well into the new year. Prepare for your next sneeze-fest by stocking up on facial tissue. Dollar Tree carries attractive printed boxes for lower prices than several competitors. The store's 120-count flat boxes of Scotties Tissues sport colorful botanical designs, while the 74-count square boxes of Brush Buddies Licensed Character Tissues have silly yellow Minions and lovable Paw Patrol pups that inspire kids to smile through their sniffles.

Want to add some wintertime elegance to your home? Consider embracing snowflakes, which pair intricate shapes with eye-catching shimmer. Snowflake-printed dishes and kitchen linens blanket Dollar Tree stores a few weeks before holiday shopping shifts into high gear but often disappear well before January. Snapping up Snowflake Kitchen Towels with Glitter and snowflake-lined Gold Charger Plates before actual snow begins to fall is the way to go if you're seeking a budget-friendly update to your kitchen's winter look. You could even turn Glitter Snowflakes Stemless Wine Glasses into ambiance-boosting tealight holders.

Strings of Christmas lights aren't just for decorating Christmas trees. Though Dollar Tree's 100-piece pack of Christmas House LED Mini Lights is easiest to find when the yuletide season is near, it can brighten up your surroundings anytime. Since these lights are suitable for indoor and outdoor use, use them to illuminate decks and patios, dark walkways, or windowless areas of your basement. The white ones are also a charming way to add "starlight" to a nursery with a night sky theme or outer space motif.

A fireplace is the ultimate way to raise your home's coziness quotient, but it's a big investment. Get some of the charm — and none of the work — with Dollar Tree's Christmas Flame Lantern. Measuring about 8 inches long, 4 inches wide, and 9 inches tall, it's a good size for many tabletops and easy to move to anyplace that would benefit from a soft, warm glow. Add a few packages of E-Circuit Alkaline C Batteries to your shopping cart to keep your lantern glowing all winter.

Sure, you could load your household's appointments into your smartphone's calendar app, but there are some compelling reasons to use an old-school planner. It doesn't have batteries to charge, it's a handy place to store a business card, and it works just fine in an underground subway tunnel. Plus, you can give one to a child without worrying about screen time's dark side. Early winter is the ideal time to buy the coming year's models. Available in several adorable designs, Dollar Tree's Wall Calendar with Planner is a bona fide bargain.

Treat tins abound at Dollar Tree around the holidays, but they may be hard to find during other seasons. Buy extras before Christmas to get a jump on your New Year's organization projects. Apply paint or washi tape to turn these sturdy little boxes into cute storage solutions for small items in kitchen cabinets, bathroom drawers, and craft rooms. Though the "Letters to Santa" Mailbox-Shaped Tin with Lid is lovely for yuletide gifting, Christmas House Printed Rectangular Cookie Tins have a much better shape for stacking and storing.

Dollar Tree brims with gift wrap as Christmas approaches, from jumbo bags printed with cartoon Santas to tiny, bow-topped boxes suitable for any time of year. In other words, if you're seeking gift-concealing containers to use again and again, you'll find more options during the holiday season. Steer clear of obvious holiday symbols like elves and reindeer so your wrap works for a variety of gift-giving occasions. Fashion Apparel Gift Boxes with bold graphic prints and sparkly Voila Glitter Gift Card Holders are some of the most versatile and reusable choices.

Dollar Tree debuts New Year's decorations when winter's just around the corner, but you may want to save a few for birthday parties, back-to-school bashes, and other celebrations that are months away. The New Year's Eve collection's foil star balloons are a fine example. The 18-inch Gold Star-Shaped Foil Helium Balloon is perfect for marking graduations, retirements, and other achievements worthy of — you guessed it — a big gold star. In addition to giving off festive vibes, this type of balloon is designed to hold helium longer than its latex counterparts.