Home Bargains is a chain of medium sized stores, scattered througout the UK. No-one is too far from a branch of Home Bargains now, as there is one is most town centres and/or out-of town retail parks.

They are a discount store, but not quite a pound shop: They stock all sorts of products, some of their lines are constant and regular, whereas some of their lines will be a bit hit-and-miss, so my advice would be, if you see something in Home Bargains that you want, get it there and then!

To give you an idea of what they sell, here is a bit of a list, although it's by no means fully comprehensive, that would be impossible! :

Toiletries and Beauty Products:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Including perfumes and aftershaves, deodorants, bubble baths. Cosmetics, skincare, and also includes a full baby range.

Toys and Gifts
~~~~~~~~~

Branded toys, modern and up-to-date: for example, Dr Who, Barbie, Bratz - usually at half the recommended retail price or less. Gift sets for adults such as perfume gift boxes, make-up bags, pottery pieces. Home Bargains also sell the full range of cards and wrapping paper too, and even the sellotape!

Household Sundries
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Basics like roller blinds, pictures for the wall, laundry baskets. Sheets, towels, mirrors etc. DIY goods. Plates and cups, plus paper sets for children's partys etc. Sometimes they might have the odd bit of furniture.

Cleaning and Washing Products
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Branded and unbranded washing powders, cleaning fluids and the utensils to use them with too.

Art and Craft Supplies
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fantastic array of art and craft supplies, a fraction of the price of proper art shops: They sell canvases, oil and acrylic paints, sets for children. Also, stationery, colouring books, 'make it' kits for kids and make-your-own-greetings cards kit for adults.

Food: Tinned, Dried, Packets
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Huge range of sweets and chocolates, tinned soups, sauces, dried foods, biscuits and crisps. Tea bags, baked beans, Mexican and Chinese food ranges.

Drink: Bottles, Cans, Soft and Alcoholic
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Full choice of soft drinks, cans, bottles, cartons. Some alcoholic drinks, not the full range though, but still a pleasant surprise!



I try to go into Home Bargains for a browse at least once a week because there is always something there that we need. I also use this shop for children's presents all the time because the toys there are around half the price of anywhere else for the same brand.

You can either use a basket or they have small trolleys for customer use (you need a returnable pound coin for this) - I do see people filling the trolley in the food section quite often.

The shop is clean, tidy, and easy to get around : there is always lots of space between the aisles, so there is plenty of space for pushchairs or wheelchairs.

The shop is always full of goodies to look at, but you don't feel as though you are at a jumble sale like you do with some discount stores: It's not cluttered and you don't have to sort through racks or piles of random stuff to find what you want, which is a plus.

They accept all the usual methods of payment, and there are always lots of staff around to help. There is always a queue but the checkouts move fast, and the cashiers even put your purchases straight into the bags for you.

My best random bargains from the fabulous Home Bargains:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Dr Who Electronic Tardis (a much wanted birthday present!) which was only £4.99, against the recommended price of £19.99

My Vidal Sassoon Hair Straighteners (ceramic plates, up to 230c) which were only £14.99

Regular supplies of Branston Baked Beans at only around 25p per tin, against double that at the supermarket

And also regular supplies of Campbells Vegetable Soup, again half the RRP.

An Artist's Starter Kit for around £5.00 which contained 2 canvases, a set of oil paints, a set of acrylic paints, and a set of brushes - this little lot would have been around £30 at least, from somewhere like Hobbycraft .



Overall Verdict: Home Bargains save us loads of money all the time, and their products are always good: Either branded, or good quality unbranded.