It’s no secret that HomeGoods is my favorite store to shop at. If you talk to anyone at my local HomeGoods and mention my name- I’m sure they’ll say “She was just here!”

If you follow my Instagram stories I’m often posting items that “Caught My Eye, But Didn’t Come Home With me” once or twice (sometimes three times) a week, despite in reality that I’m probably there more like 4-5 times a week. I like to say that my gym’s close proximity to my local HG is the excuse to why I frequent it so often, but there was a time period a couple years back where I wasn’t going to the gym as frequently as I am now, and I still visited HomeGoods just as much. I love the search of items that aren’t always duplicated and everyone can have in their homes, like at more generic home stores such as Hobby Lobby, Pier One, or the At Home Store. It’s like going to a flea market or an antique store without the possible “old smell” that comes along with items from those places.

Whenever I’m asked where I purchased a certain item in my home, 9 times out of 10 my answer is always HomeGoods. It’s usually met with the response of “They never have that kind of stuff when I go to HomeGoods!” And the truth is, your local HomeGoods most likely DOES have those items- you just have to hit it at the right time.

That fireplace mirror, basket, and glass vases….

Bedding and curtain rods…

My favorite console ever (pictured on the shiplap wall)…

That basket and pillows….

That bedside table (clearance score by my mom for $30!!), lamp, and faux plant…

That wifi sign and basket set….

ALL SCORED from HOMEGOODS :)

So this short post will give you my top 5 tips for scoring at your local HomeGoods.

Tip #1: TIMING :

The most important tip to HomeGoods is it’s all about the timing. I hardly EVER visit HomeGoods on the weekends (it’s sort of like my attitude towards the gym as well…. weekends are for rest both body and shopping… lol) Weekends are when EVERYONE ELSE is visiting HomeGoods- and normally all the good items have already been picked through just because there’s more volume of customers in the store. The best times to visit HG are in the late afternoon/early evening during the week, and specifically on the days that they receive their shipments.

How do you know when they get their shipments? Just ask anyone who works there. I’ve made many friends in HG workers over the years and they’re always super helpful. My local HomeGoods in the Town of Wallkill, NY (or Middletown), gets their shipments on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I imagine staff in the back have to unpack everything and tag items in the AM, and that’s why usually mid-afternoon is when the carts of new items come rolling out to be put on shelves by the staff. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve purchased something- only to have a worker say “We just put that out!”. If you can’t go in the afternoon/early evening of the day your local HG receives their shipments- try when they first open on the next day. So in the case of my local HG it would be Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

Tip #2: DON’T LEAVE IT BEHIND!

There’s no hemming and hawing when it comes to scoring at HomeGoods. If you question a purchase and say “I”ll go home to think about it, or to measure whether it’ll fit”, it WILL NOT be there when you get back. I promise. I use to do this in the beginning when I was a HG Virgin-shopper. I learned the hard way many times. I hate when people say “If it was meant to be it will still be there.” NO IT WON”T and if your a complete home decor psycho like me- you’ll still think about that item from time to time. Sometimes it won’t even be there anymore in the time it’ll take you to walk up to the register to ask for someone to bring it up to the front for you (I kid you not!!). That’s why if you frequent the HomeGoods I mentioned- you’ll see me casually sitting on a piece of furniture “texting someone” while I wait for a worker to walk by (this totally happened with the furniture piece pictured above against the shiplap wall.)

You can always return an item should you bring it home and change your mind or decide it doesn’t go. You have 30 days to do so for a full refund in the original form of payment (otherwise you’ll get store credit)- and during the Christmas season you have even longer. ( I think November 1st, starts the time period that they’ll give you to at least January 15th to return items). There are no limits to returns- trust me, I return something every week (unused of course).

Tip #3: PAID HOLDS:

Going along with “Don’t leave it behind”- if you’re unsure of an item and don’t want to lug it home or should you not have enough room in your car for an item you can do what’s called a paid hold. (This car issue has happened so often to me- that I’ve often questioned why I don’t have a larger vehicle. My good friend LQ needed a bigger car after having a dozen kids and I want a mini-van so I don’t have to have another 10 foot rug hang out the back of my Honda. #priorities)

The amount of time they’ll hold on to the item for you varies by store. For example at the HG in Woodbury, NY they’ll hold it up to three days. I’ve had the Wallkill, NY one hold items for me for up to a week after I paid for them - because some of my clients have had to travel from far to get them (you can also list the pick up person as someone else and take a pic of the receipt to send to them). Again, you can always return an item if you change your mind. With that being said, in order to make the most out of your shopping trip you might be interested in my previous blog post here:

5 Essentials for a Successful Home Decor Shopping Trip

Tip #4: Know your HomeGood stores-

I swear each store has a certain department that’s better than others. For example: Nanuet, NY is great for pillows and curtains, Wallkill, NY is great for furniture, Paramus, NJ is great for wall decor and mirrors, Newton, NJ is great for bedding and storage. It may also sound strange, but I SWEAR that HG’s in lower income areas have better items for longer. My theory to this is that they’re not as often visited or picked through like one’s in higher income areas. And I’m not trying to offend anyone, but I’m assuming it’s because people in lower income areas are more concerned with paying their bills than buying a stupid coffee mug that says “#ughh” on it. For example- nothing stays long at all at the Homegoods in Paramus, NJ, and I swear it’s because Bergen County, NJ’s got a lot of money and stay-at-home wives to shop all day long (Life Goal: how can I become one of those????) My friend Jena always says that the HomeGoods I frequent always has better stuff than hers. So sometimes if you venture out to the one’s in lower-income areas, for example my local one in Wallkill, you’ll find better stuff.

Tip #5: Seasons and Mark Downs:

Looking for Spring Decor? The beginning of March when your yard still looks like shit (at least in NY) and you’re not sure if you’ll ever see spring again… is the PERFECT time to shop for the best spring decor.. lol. Looking for fall decor? The time to shop is a few weeks into August. Christmas Decor? Beginning of October. Organization and Office Shit? December (for all those "Organization” New Years Resolutions). Many times people don’t start thinking about decorating for a certain season until you’re ACTUALLY IN that season. IMAGINE THAT?? lol… but unfortunately HG doesn’t work the same way our brains naturally do. (And neither do other stores… Christmas crap is already out at Hobby Lobby and it’s July… just like the Back to School crap is in stores the day we get out of school for the summer…. but don’t get me started on that s***)

In addition- clearance items also go on sale in the middle of the actual season (with the exception of Christmas stuff). So summer decor started to go on clearance at the beginning of July. Now you can get great prices on outdoor patio sets and there’s still a good 6 weeks left of summer. The large basket next to my couch (pictured above) originally had a snowflake tied to the front of it- I scored it for $15 on clearance after Christmas and just snipped the snowflake off. Christmas gift baskets go on sale the day after Christmas- so it’s the perfect opportunity to buy hostess gifts if you have any late Holiday parties to attend. In addition- if you see anything wrong with any item (seasonal or not) - bring it to the manager’s attention, and they will mark it down for you. When I was in San Diego I found a beautiful tv console for my friends Mike and Shinobu- but it had a small scratch on the top. The manager marked it down for us 10%, saving our friends $30, only after I asked. Always ask!! What’s the worst that can happen- they say no?