My favourite household stores (Household Shops - Tips & Comparison)

Member Name: jennikitten

Product:	Household Shops - Tips & Comparison
Date:	17/12/08 (13 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Range of great things to be found

Disadvantages: Have to lug them all home

Other than IKEA, generally big-name household shops can be expensive, and the best place to buy such products are budget places like Wilkinsons, local small-town discount shops like Quality Save, and of course the pound shop.

Quality Save sells a mix of things from toys and games to food to househols products. You do have to look and shop around to get the best bargains. My best bargain from there is probably a clothes airer I bought. The exact same one is selling in Tesco and online for about £30-£40, whereas mine cost £7.99. It's also good quality and holds a lot of clothes - bonus!

Wilkinsons is also good for a range of things, especially things like toothpaste and snacks. They also do a good range of cookware but I think Asda's range may be cheaper. I did pick up a mini wok for £2 though. I also bought some paint for my bathroom at less than £5 - Wilkos' own brand, but it's holding up well. I also get my legendary magic erasers from here, no home should be without them!

IKEA is good to add the finishing touches to a room as it has a nice selection of lamps at good prices (under £10), that are reasonably hardwearing. Asda sells lamps around this price but they are uglier and of poorer quality. I also bought my sideboard and cabinet here - they do a lovely range of cheap furniture which is fairly good. It was also my lifesaver in finding a dining room table for under £100, rather than the £300-400 of most furniture shops.

Next - the home section is usually ok in its normal sized stores, but the bigger stores e.g. in Manchester usually have a great range and are like a home shop in themselves. For discounted prices try a clearance or outlet store (same with John Lewis, which is obviously very good for quality but not for prices!)

Argos can be cheap for some home stuff but not others, and it's annoying buying things when you can't see them first - especially heavy things which have to be sent back.

Summary: I love shopping