12 Tips to Shop Home Goods Like a Pro!

Photo credit: Home Goods

I absolutely love shopping at Home Goods.  The inventory changes all the time, you can really find those unique pieces and everything comes together in such an inspiring way.  It really is a treasure hunt to see what you will find from week to week.

There is a little bit of an art to shopping at stores like HomeGoods.  If you have ever stopped into a Home Goods and thought- meh- or you don’t have success finding what you like, I thought I would share a few tips that have helped me navigate the aisles.

(A milk jug I found in the kitchen department that I use frequently for fresh flowers)

Consider this a treasure hunt. What I have learned from shopping over and over again at Home Goods is that I rarely leave the store with what I came in for.  Now I realize the chances are slim I will find precisely what I need (say a gold lamp for my office) but most likely I will still find treasure.  If you have an open mind about what you will find, your Home Goods trip will be so much more successful!  I might have a list of a few things I need (new sheets, a teapot, pillows and an office lamp for example) but I go into the store crossing my fingers that I get what I need but knowing I might not find super specific items.  Who knows what you will discover though!  I consider it a treasure hunt on every trip 🙂

Walk the aisles. This brings me to my next tip.  The times I have raced in and raced out of the store are usually my least successful trips.  I try to stop into Home Goods when I have a little extra time to wander the aisles a bit and really look at things I might not be in the market for.  You just don’t know what you will find from aisle to aisle so I always find it worth the time to just quickly stop and scan each aisle.

Check out of department for what you need. If you have even set foot in a Home Goods you know stuff can be jammed everywhere.  I have found that often items are in the correct places (for example stationery in the section with notebooks, desk organizers and wrapping paper) but often things are sprinkled all over the store.  Case in point, I just bought this cute little teapot at Home Goods.  My little girl loves tea parties and I thought this would be a fun vase to keep on her dresser with flowers.  Was this located in the section of the store with tea cups and coffee mugs?  Nope.  There were a few teapots there for sure as you might expect but as I wandered deeper into the store I found an entire display of teacups and pots located in the bedding section.  Had I raced in, checked the correct department and raced out, I would have left empty handed.

(This wire basket I just picked up in the office supply section.  I think it is going to look fantastic with birch logs by the fireplace.)

Slightly damaged items. Home Goods will happily offer a discount for slightly damaged items.  They get so much stuff and so many people in the stores, items are bound to get scratched or dinged up.  I found a gorgeous rustic serving tray for $18 at Home Goods except the wood on one side was peeling off.  A child has really tugged at it or something.  There was only the one tray left and I had already fallen in love so I asked at the register and sure enough they sold it to me for $9.00!  We were hosting a party in just hours so my husband just put a quick screw in to hold the strip in place and you really can’t notice the damage at all.  I loaded it up with olives, crackers, meats and cheeses and it looked gorgeous at my party.

Each store is totally different. And on that note I also want to mention each Home Goods store can be completely different – with totally different items in stock.  There are two stores in my area and after my step mom absolutely raved about the wood tray I mentioned above, I set out to find another one as a gift for her.  I was at the other Home Goods in town literally the next day and the merchandise they had in stock was very different from my usual store.  If you are lucky enough to have a few stores to choose from, you might shop around and see which one you prefer.  I definitely prefer the one closest to my home.

There is an app.  Did you know that?  A cashier mentioned this to me and I immediately grabbed it from the app store and dug in.  You will select the store or stores you like to visit and they update pretty regularly with pictures of items that have come into the store.  Note many items will sell quickly as Home Goods gets limited quantities of each item but it can be fun to scroll through and see what might be in your store.

There is a blog.  Presumably many of you already follow Home Goods on Instagram.  I love seeing what they post because it is fun to see how one item actually translates in a real home.  They also have a fun design blog called Design Happy with tips and inspiration from talented bloggers. Often I see a great piece and I just can’t envision where to put it so these are very helpful to me. (You can also check out the Stylescope here and take a super quick quiz to get an idea of the style you like along with some recommended bloggers to follow.  I am apparently classic with a touch of country.)

Don’t let the designers snatch up the good stuff. Often interior designers will hit Home Goods early (especially in larger cities) and snatch up all the good stuff!  When you shop can be very important to your success.  Many stores get trucks in daily and the morning is obviously the best time to shop.  A little after the store opens (so they have time to get it unloaded) but before the lunchtime crowd is ideal. Week days are obviously the best bet for fresh, new items.  Home Goods pays employees a slightly higher wage so I usually find cheerful and helpful people.  It never hurts to just ask at your store to see when they have trucks and when they suggest shopping for the best selection.  (And I would ask someone else the next time you shop too just to be sure 😉 )

Shop seasonal items early.  Lord have mercy the seasonal stuff gets snatched up fast in my area!  It comes out EEEAAARRLLYY (like Halloween in August kind of early).   If I rest on my laurels and wait until October 1st to look for cute Halloween items, I find the selection can be really picked over.  It is currently January in California and my store already has aisles and aisles of outdoor items for summer.  I am starting to think ahead for sure!

Grab things up right away.  Now I don’t encourage sprinting into stores in a frenzy and shove through the aisles like a Black Friday shopper but…  I have noticed if you like something at Home Goods go ahead and grab it.  No seriously grab it.  And quick!

My store is pretty packed so that doesn’t lend itself to wheeling a cart through the aisles but I have found that if I see something, leave it behind to think it over and come back to it, often the item will be gone. Case in point I was looking at desk organizers to create a charging station for our phone, iPad, Kindle etc…  I saw one I liked and left it there and continued to look up and down that aisle and no joke- a cute girl with exceptional taste wheeled right up and grabbed my organizer and trotted off to the checkstand.  Boo!  I considered chasing her and screaming and stomping my foot but really it was a lesson that if you really like something you better move it sister or someone else will.

I got my second choice instead but still I should have just grabbed the darn thing and taken it for a walk around the store to do my thinking instead of leaving it on the shelf.   And remember if you think you like something just buy it.  As long as you return it within 30 days you will get a full refund.  (And no I wasn’t the annoying lady that bought FOUR different white duvets before deciding to just keep what I already had. Cough.  That was definitely someone else.)

Don’t miss the check out lines. Some of the best stuff can be shoved around in the check out lanes.  This tends to be a place where they put random stuff to entice you to spend a little more or a place where people have changed their minds about things they grabbed- so get off your phone and look alive my friends!  I am constantly scanning around in the checkout line for little last minute things I may have missed.  Here is one of my favorite check stand purchases- this gorgeous wall art is an outdoor piece that someone had abandoned in a dusty corner by the checkout lines.  You would never have even noticed it if you were walking around the store because it was tucked behind the hanging rugs.  It immediately clicked to me that this would look amazing on the huge wall in my little girl’s room that I had no idea what to do with.  I paid $39 for mine and lookee what I found on a large national retailer’s web site for $199:

Take a look at your cart before checkout.  I don’t consider myself an amazing interior designer.  Our style has changed a lot over the past few years and I often buy things and get home and say “what was I thinking on this?” or stuff that just doesn’t match and looks off.  If I am picking up several items at Home Goods I often try to pause and take a step back and really look at my shopping cart.  Does it all look cohesive or does it look like a big mess of stuff that doesn’t go together?  Might be time to edit before checkout 😉

Just remember the ultimate rule of thumb.  It can be very easy to get carried away at Home Goods and walk away with a cart full of stuff you don’t need.  I try to keep my budget in mind at Home Goods and when I come home, I give myself a week to find a spot for my item.  If I love it but just can’t find a home for it, I will return it.  I don’t like a lot of clutter in the house so the item won’t do me any good sitting on a dusty shelf in the garage anyway.

And I would LOVE to hear your words of wisdom for shopping at Home Goods!  Especially any fun items you picked up and repurposed in some way.