Simplify Your Space: Top Stores for Organizing Supplies

In this episode of The Pulling Curls Podcast, host Hilary Erickson shares her favorite stores to get organizing supplies. Hilary discusses five favorite stores. She highlights the affordability of Ross and Walmart, the variety at HomeGoods, the sturdy options at IKEA, and the convenience of Amazon.

Big thanks to our sponsor The 5 Word Organization Challenge

Keypoints:

• Discusses five stores for organizing supplies: Ross, Walmart, HomeGoods, IKEA, and Amazon.
• Ross offers cheaper options with limited selection.
• Walmart has well-priced supplies, better than Target.
• HomeGoods has a variety of pretty and affordable organization items.
• IKEA offers sturdy and minimalistic bins, but the store can be a hassle.
• Amazon provides convenience for specific items and home delivery.
• The Container Store is expensive and not easily accessible.
• Encouragement to buy supplies with a specific purpose in mind.

Producer: Drew Erickson

Transcript

[00:00:00.670] – Hilary Erickson
Hey, guys. Welcome back to the Pulling Curls Podcast. Today on episode 205, we are talking about my favorite stores to get organizing supplies at. And you’ll find that it is not the container store. Let’s untangle it.

[00:00:15.740] – Hilary Erickson
Hi, I’m Hilary, a serial overcomplicator. I’m also a nurse, mom to three, and the curly head behind Pulling Curls and the Pregnancy Nurse. This podcast aims to help us stop overcomplicating things and remember how much easier it is to keep things simple. Let’s smooth out those snarrows with pregnancy and parenting untangled, the Pulling Curls Podcast.

[00:00:42.780] – Hilary Erickson
Before we get started, today’s episode is sponsored by the Five-Word Organization Challenge. It is created to make organizing simpler and easier. So go grab it. You can find it under courses on my website or I’ll put the link in the show notes.

[00:00:57.210] – Hilary Erickson
Okay, I have five stores here. Hopefully, there are ones that you know of. I would say that most of these are from the United States because that’s where I live, but maybe it’ll spark some ideas on places to get organizing supplies for you. Now, my first one, and I honestly hadn’t shopped here until about six months ago, is Ross.

[00:01:14.850] – Hilary Erickson
I know, I know Ross. Usually, I think of them for low-end fashion. But if you go back to their organizing section, a lot of times they have the same goods that we’re going to find in these other stores, but a lot cheaper. I always like to walk through their organizing section or drop by there on my way.

[00:01:33.030] – Hilary Erickson
Their selection is pretty limited, but they do if they have what you want, usually it’s like the same brand, same quality that you would find in a regular organization store, but like a buck or two cheaper, which can matter if you’re getting like three or four of the bins. So big fan of Ross.

[00:01:50.040] – Hilary Erickson
Okay, the next one is probably not going to be a huge surprise. It’s Walmart. Now I wanted to give you guys some caveats about Walmart. I feel like they have a pretty limited supply, all things considered, especially when we talk about some of the other stores we’re going to talk about. But what they do have is priced really well. So I would call that probably my second. Sometimes I even find Ross cheaper than Walmart, which I absolutely love. You guys know I love to save a buck or two.

[00:02:15.090] – Hilary Erickson
But there’s nothing wrong with getting your supplies at Walmart. Usually they’re the same that you’re going to find a Target. Honestly, I think the Walmart organization selection is usually better than Target. Target might be a little bit prettier. And you guys know that I probably don’t veer to the pretty end of organization.

[00:02:33.020] – Hilary Erickson
Although I love it when a project looks great. I’m not saying that pretty is bad. I just probably would rather save money, especially if it’s something that’s going behind closed doors. So Walmart can be a great place to shop. Just be aware that their selection is a little bit more limited than the ones we’re going to talk about moving on.

[00:02:49.970] – Hilary Erickson
Okay. This one is actually probably my favorite spot and it is the Home Goods store. And I really hadn’t shopped there. I really felt like if I’m really going to go look for organization, I got to go to the container store. But I honestly think that Homegoods container store has a lot of different things, but Homegoods has so many good ideas, pretty things. If you’re looking for pretty, they usually have multiples of things.

[00:03:12.380] – Hilary Erickson
So if you want five of a similar bin, you can often find that at Homegoods. And I think that the price is a little bit better. And honestly, I just enjoy the store. There’s so many colors, things to look at, ideas. So make sure that you’re checking separate areas, though, because sometimes I’ll go peek in the bathroom organization section when I want to organize something small, or I’ll check in the kitchen, or there’s the main organization section as well. So make sure that you’re checking out the different areas in the store to get you what is best for your organization system.

[00:03:43.730] – Hilary Erickson
Now I love Ikea. I know that they are not available to a lot of people, and I have to say that all of these stores are really close to me, so I feel very lucky. But Ikea has some really strong… like if you’re looking for bins that are sturdy, Ikea has been one of my favorite places. And also their bins tend to have a very clean look to them, which I really enjoy, like a simple, clean look because it’s Ikea and everything has that look to it, a minimalistic look. So I’ve really enjoyed the bins of Ikea.

[00:04:11.880] – Hilary Erickson
Now you have to be careful. They have some 88 cent ones, which are a little bit more flimsy. But again, that doesn’t matter. Are you just storing makeup in your drawer? Then an 88 cent bin just helps organize things a little bit better. But don’t discount Ikea, except that you have to walk through that giant store. So usually I only go there like a couple of times a year because it is a pain. But I’m always inspired to do things while I’m there. It’s fun. Take a friend. I think it’s super fun to take a friend when you’re looking for organization stuff so you guys can bounce ideas off of each other.

[00:04:42.220] – Hilary Erickson
Now finally, my fifth store is actually Amazon. If I go to those stores and I think I know what I want, I’ll try and put those in the search bar. So I needed 16-inch freezer bins tall because I wanted to be able to stand up things and I wasn’t able to find those at the other stores. But when I type that into Amazon, a lot of times stuff will come up. I’m able to read reviews. And because I have Amazon Prime, it comes shipped to my door.

[00:05:08.800] – Hilary Erickson
I love it that it’s shipped to my home. And also when we go to the store that I’m going to talk about next, I worry about adding more to my cart than maybe I really need. So Amazon is great. When you come home, you need that one freezer bin or two or whatever. Or let’s say you need 10. Amazon is a great way to do that one. And then you’re done. You come home.

[00:05:28.930] – Hilary Erickson
All right. The one I didn’t mention is the container store. It’s expensive and honestly, there is not one remotely close to me. Like I would have to drive 45 minutes or so when these other ones are all within 10 to 15 minutes of my home. So I just don’t go there as much. I think it’s expensive. I think they’re gimmicky. I don’t love that the container store has bred this thing like it has to look pretty because it really doesn’t. It has to be functional in my house. Pretty is a win. I love pretty, but that’s not like the first thing I just need it to work.

[00:06:02.260] – Hilary Erickson
Those are my thoughts on my favorite organization stores. Come find me over on Instagram. I want to talk about what your favorite organization stores are there, especially if you’re not located in the United States. If I have any Canada listeners, please come tell us yours in the comments because while I think it’s awesome to use like an old Amazon box, which I 100 % have used old Amazon boxes. I still have one in my bathroom drawer that is so functional. I absolutely love it.

[00:06:28.630] – Hilary Erickson
It is nicer to have some supplies in specific areas, and I would encourage you guys not to spend a ton. But I have found that spending some really helps some of my systems function better. Remember, I’m not saying you need to go out and buy all of these things or go to all of those stores, but I’m saying you want to go in with a specific purpose of like, I need XYZ to fix XYZ problem. And a lot of times a store can magically help you do that.

[00:06:57.570] – Hilary Erickson
Stay tuned. We’ve got some great episodes coming up. The first one is about third trimester testing and making the choice to be induced. And then the week after that, we are talking about five things to do while you’re in labor at home. They’re going to be great episodes, so keep listening.

[00:07:12.500] – Hilary Erickson
Thanks for joining us on the Pulling Curls Podcast today. If you liked today’s episode, please consider reviewing, sharing, subscribing. It really helps our podcast grow. Thank you.

Keywords:

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