These are the Dollar Tree survival items that earn a spot on an apartment emergency shelf: bottled water, food you can eat without cooking, and a few cleanup supplies. The list below comes to $17.50 plus tax and covers three days of water and about two days of food for one adult. Add your flashlight, charged power bank and personal medications to the plan.
Dollar Tree prepper items: the shopping list
Prices from Dollar Tree’s same-day delivery shop, checked November 6, 2026.
| Item and size | Buy | Price each | Subtotal | Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crystal Geyser spring water, 1 gallon | 3 | $1.25 | $3.75 | Start one person’s water supply |
| Crunchy peanut butter, 10 oz | 1 | $1.50 | $1.50 | Spread on crackers |
| Goya black beans, 15.5 oz | 2 | $1.50 | $3.00 | Ready-to-eat pantry food |
| Global Brands salted crackers, 12 oz | 1 | $1.25 | $1.25 | Pair with pantry foods |
| Manual can opener, black handle | 1 | $1.25 | $1.25 | Open cans without electricity |
| Fragrance-free baby wipes, 72 count | 1 | $1.25 | $1.25 | Personal cleanup |
| Dial Spring Water bar soap, 4 oz | 1 | $1.25 | $1.25 | Wash with clean water |
| Coralite assorted bandages, 110 count | 1 | $1.25 | $1.25 | Refill your first-aid kit |
| GoodSense trash bags, six 30-gallon bags | 1 | $1.50 | $1.50 | Collect household trash |
| Tool Bench duct tape, 10 yards | 1 | $1.50 | $1.50 | Patch a torn supply bag |
| Total | 13 | $17.50 |
Already have a can opener or duct tape? Cross it off and put the money toward more water and food. Each extra $5.75 of beans, crackers and peanut butter adds about two more days of food for one adult, roughly 3,900 calories.
What is worth buying at Dollar Tree?
Start with three gallons of water per person
Three gallon bottles give one person the CDC’s minimum three-day supply of one gallon per day. A two-person household starts with six gallons. Pets need their own supply, and very hot weather can double what people drink.
Use the emergency water calculator to work out your household’s quantity. Keep the bottles upright in a cool spot away from sunlight and household chemicals. A low closet shelf keeps the weight close to the floor.
Food you can open and eat
Peanut butter, crackers and canned beans belong on an outage shelf because they can be eaten without a stove. Keep the opener beside the cans. Choose portions your household can finish at one sitting when the fridge is off.
Start with flavors you already buy. Put new groceries behind the older ones and use the oldest first. Our food storage guide for apartments without a pantry shows how to make room for these supplies in an ordinary kitchen.
Small packs of everyday supplies
A pack of wipes, a bar of soap and a box of bandages let you refill everyday supplies a little at a time. Use the trash bags in your kitchen and keep a few with the outage supplies.
For a fuller kit, use the apartment first aid checklist to see which supplies you already own and which gaps to fill.
More Dollar Tree survival items
Once the basket above is on your shelf, these round out the kit on your next trip.
Light and fire
- LED flashlights: put one in each room so nobody hunts for a light in the dark.
- AA and AAA batteries: buy the sizes your flashlights take. Pick packs marked “alkaline”; “heavy duty” carbon-zinc cells run down faster in a flashlight.
- Lighters: light a gas stovetop burner by hand when the electric igniter is out during a blackout.
First aid and hygiene
- Antibiotic ointment: a small tube covers cuts and scrapes in a mini kit. Pick the one with the latest expiration date.
- Gauze pads and first-aid tape: cover scrapes too big for an adhesive bandage.
- Hand sanitizer: clean hands before eating and save your stored water for drinking. Choose one with at least 60% alcohol.
Small extras
- Zip-top bags: keep your ID, lease and insurance papers dry, and protect your phone in the rain.
- Hard candy: keeps for months in a drawer and gives you quick sugar when meals run late.
What to skip on your first prepping trip
Candles: an LED flashlight lights the room without an open flame, and a headlamp leaves both hands free to carry water, open cans or walk the stairs.
Dry foods that need a cooking setup: start the outage shelf with ready-to-eat foods. Rice and dry beans can stay in your everyday pantry until you have a cooking plan for them.
Supplies you already own: use your current backpack, phone cable and storage bin.
What to buy next
After water and food, upgrade your main light and phone charging. A headlamp that takes the same batteries as your flashlights keeps one battery size in the drawer. Use our power bank guide for apartment blackouts to match charging capacity to your devices.
Packing a bag to leave the building? Use the small-apartment go bag checklist.
Shopping in store or online
Take the checklist to your local store, or tap the product links to order single items for same-day delivery. DollarTree.com sells in case quantities, which suits neighbors or family splitting an order.
Put the supplies where you will use them
Keep the food and can opener together. Put wipes, soap and spare bags in a small cleanup bin, and add bandages to your first-aid kit. For more places to fit water in a small apartment, see the apartment water storage guide.
Save the checklist before your trip, cross off what you own, and buy the remaining water and food first.