Shop With Me: HomeGoods (plus Ross & Walmart)

I wrote this right after I got home from a much-needed stroll through stores on a Sunday and realized that I didn’t take any photos - because I didn’t really think about this trip as OMGCONTENT. I’ll cobble together what I have, but you’ll mostly have to imagine.

Here’s the thing - I’d had a hard week. Just trust me.

I am frugal, but I also like to indulge in retail therapy. It’s why I like stores like Dollar Tree.

So, on a lazy and planless Sunday morning, I had the husband and kid drop me off at a nearby plaza so I could just….wander. Wander and not talk to anyone and think my thoughts and maybe buy some stupid stuff. ALONE.

Note that when we first moved here, this plaza contained a Big Lots - which I loved - and, for a while, a really interesting thrift shop that often had books for 10 cents (DANGEROUS!). Then eventually it was bought and razed and became the somewhat bland yet still browseable complex that it is.

Today, I did NOT go into Joann (I have enough craft supplies and frames for the moment TYVM) nor Half Price Books (waiting for a sale/coupon - and also I usually just get library ebooks because that’s easier, cheaper - free! - and takes up no space at all).

Instead I started in HomeGoods.

The thing about HG is that the aisles are TIGHT. And I like to shop alone in this store. Don’t bother me, don’t talk to me, and don’t breathe near me. What this means is that I spend some of my time navigating away from other humans. If someone’s in the aisle I want to also be in, I’ll check - are they browsing and taking their time? I’ll loop around and come back. Are they powering through? I’ll share the space for that brief time.

I like HG because it’s all the “stuff” from Marshalls and TJMaxx without the distraction of clothing (I’ll get to that shortly). I AM VERY AWFUL TERRIBLE NO GOOD BAD AT CLOTHES SHOPPING. I’m acceptably OK at clothes-thrift shopping but not great (I tend to buy impractical things - and I haven’t thrifted in WAY too long anyway). So just strip that out, please, and leave me to look at the gourmet spices and the pasta and the coffee and the kitchenware and the random crap. Which is what I did. I just…strolled.

I did take one photo that I sent to a friend - a photo of all the things that totally could change my life with their organizational beauty.

So shiny. So pretty. SO many things that I know in my heart will just add to my clutter. But I dream of being one of those people who is so organized…Pinteresty TIkTokity organized.

In the end, I bought an assortment of bizarre, disconnected stuff that caught my eye: a tin of smoked sweet paprika (PRETTY TIN as well as a spice I wanted to have in my pantry but didn’t yet), a tube of wasabi, a set of six bath puffs (BETSEY JOHNSON brand for some reason - girl, get that licensing cash), a set of metal pan scrubbie thingies (yes, that’s their name, yes it ism hush), and a set of 2 telescopic microfiber dusters to finally dust the tops of some cabinets and the ceiling fans.

Then I went into Ross because it’s next door, but I didn’t buy anything. That store is chaos - and, please read above again, it sells clothing! And the clothing is overwhelming to me! And I can’t deal! But I was out and about on my wandering day and had already bought things so it felt OK to just wander the NONCLOTHING sections (food, pans, beauty stuff) before I left. I did consider the giant box of Hello Kitty ramen - but it was both too expensive for what it is and too close to the expiration date, so no.

[Sidenote: Sometimes when I’m strolling in a store like this and I’m alone and I’m not buying anything, I feel VERY self-conscious. This happened today. I hate that. Of course it doesn’t help that my pink hair makes me VERY easy to spot and recognize, but it’s not that - the hair actually makes me feel MORE confident in what I’m doing. It’s…other things. I don’t want to get into it today, thx.]

Finally I said to myself, self, you always regret it when you go into Walmart. But Walmart is also RIGHT THERE and you’re in no rush to get home. And I said self, you know what? You go on in there

Walmart is just…so weird. Because they DO SELL DESIRABLE THINGS. But also the entire experience is largely not pleasant. I might dive into this again in the future.

And so, again, I just….strolled. And most of the store was empty (hooray!). And I bought the OmniPork vegan spring rolls and ate them all for lunch and they are FANTASTIC and I hate that they’re so hard to find. And I bought a jar of pickles and a can of my favorite Amy’s soup (the tomato bisque). That’s all. I did check a few things - they no longer carry (nobody carries) the Reddi-Wip barista creamers that probably confused everyone in the world BUT NOT ME THEY WERE GOOD.

They did have Violife vegan cheese (I didn’t buy it) and SUPPOSEDLY somewhere also had Chao (my favorite) and an overall impressive frozen plant-based section (see Omni note above). The craft section was hopping. A child complimented my hair and then later found me again to show me how he was making some toys make loud noises and dance and we both had a giggle. A young mom asked me if she’d passed the spice aisle and I told her I wasn’t paying attention but then we had a little moment of mom-ness and I cooed at her adorable kids and I wished I could do something for this mom but we went our separate ways.

In the end, I came home with sore feet. The end.

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