I've done a number of reviews on items that I've picked up cheaply from Home Bargains, so I thought why not do a review on the shop itself?

Home Bargains is owned by a company called TJ Morris Ltd and the stores are currently popping up all over the country. I am lucky to have 2 different stores nearby which stock some of the same stuff and some different, so it does go to show that some different products are available at different stores.

What things do they sell?

You can pick up loads of different things off of your main shopping list in Home Bargains. It is not like a pound shop, which are normally just full of tat and the odd bargain. Home Bargains sell products that you would find in your local supermarket, just at a much lower price.

Health and Beauty

In my most local store, the first aisle that come across after the main offers in store is the health and beauty one. Here you can find a wide range of products which include:

• Bath - Radox, Palmolive and Dove to name a few of the brands that I have seen in this section. Here you can pick up your bubble baths, shower gels, soaps, toothpastes etc.
• Hair - Tresemme, Mark Hill (occasionally), Charles Worthington and Vidal Sassoon are a few of the brands on offer here. Shampoos, conditioners, treatments and styling products are available as well as leading brands of hair dyes.
• Body - In this section you will find deoderants, feminine hygeine, creams etc. Brand names include Atrixo, Dove and Gilette.
• Medicines - Available here are vitamins, painkillers and your usual medicines and also contraceptives. Brand names that I have seen here include TCP, Lemsip and Elastoplast.
• Baby - You can pick up all your nappies and baby wipes in this section as well as other essentials, feeding, baby grows and basic clothing. Huggies is one of the brand names I can remember seeing here but I tend to skip this section as I no longer have any babies!! I did used to pick some nappies and wipes up from here a few years ago though!

Clothing

As I have already mentioned in the baby section, you can pick up a limited amount of basic baby clothing at Home Bargains. Also seen at my local store are:

• Dressing Up
• Childrens and Adults Nightwear
• Childrens and Adults (limited range) Underwear/Socks
• Slippers and Summer Footwear

The clothing isn't the best section, but it is worth having a look at if you have children. I have bought PJ's for my son from here - Bob The Builder and Postman Pat to name the 2 that I remember - as well as socks and pants (Bob The Builder etc). They get through so many at that age that I thought they were worth a try, and they lasted quite well. Just the same as the one's that you would pick up from a supermarket, except a lot cheaper. The Pyjamas were under £5 a pair.

Toys and Games

I see a lot of the things that are sold here subsequently being sold on Ebay for a profit. Now I might be wrong, but I think a lot of people buy toys from Home Bargains to then sell on. In fact, I saw a woman at a till once with 10 of the same action figure, to decide not to buy them when she realised she'd misread the sign (normally this item sold for around £20 and she was complaining that they were £5!). I don't think she was buying for presents!

A lot of things in this section are out of season. For example, have a look in the last Argos catalogue then in the new one at the toy section. Items such as My Little Pony, Bratz, Spiderman etc that have been discontinued will more than likely be on the shelves of Home Bargains. I have picked up the odd bargain here around Christmas for my 2 little ones but more often than that, I tend to shop here for their friends birthday parties. They get much more than they would if I went into Woolworths or Argos, that's for sure!

You can also find crafts, stationery, cards (in my store they are in this section anyway), videos, DVDs etc here. There are toys for everyone from babies to us big kids!

Seasonal

Obviously it depends on the time of year as to what is in this section. Recently there has been a lot of gardening items which included bulbs and bedding plants as well as all of your gardening equipment. My husband picked up a few fishing items a month or so ago for what he tells me is a bargain price! He paid around £10 for a fishing starting kit for my daughter, who has wanted to join him on his fishing trips for a while now, which included a basic rod, reel, and weights, floats etc (I'll stop now as I have no idea what you do and don't have for fishing!). He said it was worth a lot more, even though it was basic.

I love this section at Christmas, when you can pick up cards (ideal for the kids at school) for next to nothing, wrapping paper, tags, decorations, stockings etc. Last year we also got some hanging lights for the garden for around £5.

There is a good range stocked at Halloween, when we pick up lots of cheaply priced goodies for the trick or treaters.

Easter is another holiday I remember seeing this aisle stocked right up for. You could buy reasonably priced eggs and gifts.

Homestyle

I often shoot down this aisle but very rarely buy things as I am so picky over my home and what goes in it but that's just me. I have picked up a couple of things from here though - a bed canopy for my daughters room is the main one that I can think of. It matched her Next Butterflies bedroom perfectly and was a fraction of the cost of the one in the directory.

In this section you will find ornaments, frames, canvas pictures (very nice for young people just setting up home together and so much cheaper than other shops), bedding (recently saw Bob The Builder in here), and kitchen equipment to name a few. Thinking about it, I did actually get my son a Spiderman Lunchbox and bottle last week for £1.99!! Then went off to Tesco and paid £12.50 for my daughter's High School Musical set...

Seasonally you will find other items in this section which have included outdoor dining at a very reasonable price.

Household

I love this section and get so much of my cleaning stuff from here! There are your usual brand names and a few other items.

• Kitchen - Washing up liquid, wash powder, fabric conditioner, cleaning products, kitchen roll and sponges etc. Brands here include Persil and Lenor.
• Bathroom - A wide range of cleaning products, toilets blocks, bleach, toilet roll etc. Brands include Toilet Duck, Cif and Mr Muscle.
• Garden - Jeyes Fluid etc.

Food and Sweets & Snacks

In this section of the store you can pick up tinned items, pasta, sauces, cereals etc. In my store there is a separate aisle for sweets and chocolates/biscuits. I normally pick up the odd tinned item and all of my biscuits, sweets and childrens chocolate bars from here. It is ideal to stock up for lunch boxes and snacks and there is also a small range of crisps and nuts available.

Some of the items are available week in week out, but other items come and go. If you look out for the bargains, you can save a lot of money here. I often buy penguin bars, super noodles, haribo sweets etc. You can also buy boxed chocolates which are ideal for Christmas time.

Also in this section you will find tea and coffee. A large jar of Nescafe is under £2 and a box of one cup Tetley tea is around £1.

You can also buy pet food in this section.

Drinks and Alcohol

In this section you will find everything from bottled water to wine. Again things do come and go but usually you can pick up most things that you would need. I sometimes buy Diet Coke and flavoured water from here as well as individual drinks for the kids lunch boxes and sometimes fruit juices.

In the alcohol section, normally found at the far end of the store, I have bought Ernest & Julio Gallo white wine (not seen that for a while though). There is also a range of beer and lagers and alcopops.

My Final Thoughts

I would highly recommend you go along for a look if you have a Home Bargains nearby. To check where your local store is or for more information, go to http://www.homebargains.co.uk/

I tend to visit the store around twice a month, to stock up on lunch box items and cleaning products and to have a look at the special offers that they have. Trolleys and baskets are available, but if you are going for a look and not for anything in particular, I would recommend getting a basket, because if you get a trolley, you will come out with it full!!

On a normal shop, when I pick up all the lunch box items and cleaning products plus any other little bargains, I will come out with 3 or 4 bags full and spend around £20. When I look at how much less I spend now on my normal shops to Tesco, I am saving quite a bit of money, and picking up other little bits as well.

The only downside that I can think of to this shop is that if you don't pick something up when you see it, it might not be there the next time you go! I can put up with that though as I know I'm getting a bargain.

Please ignore the criteria Ciao have added - this is offline shopping not online!