In case you missed the news, Home Depot is reopening this weekend after about a month of functioning for just delivery and curbside pickup. As of May 8, Home Depot’s garden centres will be open and its stores will be reopening on May 9.
Wondering what to expect when shopping in-store? There are some serious safety precautions taking place.
It goes without saying that Home Depot stores will be limiting the number of customers allowed in-store at a time, just like grocery shopping. There will also be markings on the floors, plexiglass screens, and added signage to help customers and associates maintain safe distances.
In addition to that, Home Depot is also increasing the frequency of cleaning and disinfecting throughout stores.
While each store focuses on bringing you the best and safest shopping experience, keep in mind that some stores will be pausing its curbside pickup service so it’s best to check before you leave your house.
Another thing to be aware of is the fact that Home Depot will not be accepting any returns until after May 19.
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A couple of years ago, I attended an event that my friend was hosting and she let me take home the centrepieces. One was an Ivy, and another was a Wandering Wanda, and that started my passion for having plants in my home. Not too long after that, I began to add more and more plants to my collection and while I love plants, I need them to be fairly low maintenance. Between work, life, a dog, a fiance, friends, and more, my plants don’t get the same love that they did when I first started my collection. I’ve spent a lot of time going to different plant stores around Toronto to scope out the best deals, the best selection, and the best in low maintenance plants.
Here are 6 stores in Toronto that sell great low maintenance plants!
Home Depot Stockyards
Instagram/@amandalynnhatch
One year for my birthday, my partner took me to Home Depot to buy me a gift and at first I was very confused as I had no idea what he was planning as we walked into the store. “Pick any plant,” he said. He may as well have gotten down on one knee and proposed right there. Home Depot Stockyards has one of the best selections of plants in Toronto. At any time of the year, you can find a variety of tropical plants for indoors, or an ever expanding garden centre for your outdoor needs. One of my favourite plants to get at Home Depot is a Monstera. This plant is relatively low maintenance, as they’ll survive many environments, but they truly thrive with lots of sun and water.
Sheridan Nurseries
Instagram/@sheridannurseries
I paid a visit to Sheridan Nurseries a while back to find the perfect large plant for my home. As it turned out, the plant I chose was toxic to animals and I had to return it for something non-toxic as I was getting a new pet. Sheridan’s return policy is amazing, and their staff is super kind. There are a few locations throughout the GTA, including Etobicoke, North York, and Scarborough. I got myself a Dracaena which I love because it can tolerate a lot as I’ve moved a lot over the last three years, and this baby has adjusted well to every climate. Now that’s a plant I can handle!
Shaw Flowers & Gifts
Instagram/@mirib1808
Anytime I’m in the area I make a point of stopping by Shaw Flowers And Gifts along Dundas West by Trinity Bellwoods. Being close to a popular tourist destination, this shop could charge an arm and a leg for its wide selection of plants, but overall it’s actually quite reasonable. Here you can find a selection of unique and rare plants, but also beautiful handmade pots and fun accessories. You never know what will spark your interest here! This is a great place to grab yourself a unique succulent, but don’t be fooled! While succulents can be great low maintenance plants, make sure don’t over water your new plant baby.
Mika
Instagram/@studiomikafleur
I say this almost jokingly, but it’s true, you can score big on all sorts of plants if you just take a walk down Dundas West. Further along past Shaw Flowers & Gifts just past Dufferin, you’ll find a variety of corner stores, coffee shops, and plant stores selling beautiful options for your home. In particular, Mika has a great selection and I love this String of Hearts. A type of succulent with a good draining soil and bright light, you won’t have to worry too much about this pretty little thing. Plus, you can propagate new strings with ease!
Craft Markets
Instagram/@thetrinitybellwoodsflea
If you’re looking for something low maintenance, but also super cute, then stop by your local craft market. Makers have been exploring ways to incorporate low maintenance plants into their work for a while now, and you never know what beautiful pairing you might score. You’ll find everything from traditional pottery to concrete planters here! A popular low maintenance plant found at craft markets is the Air Plant. While it only needs to be sprayed with water every couple of days, or soaked for 20 minutes in a glass of water, be careful not to forget about this guy!
Michaels
Instagram/@michaelsstores
If worst comes to worst and you just cannot keep a real life plant baby alive, Michaels is always a great option for faux plants. The store’s selection of fake flowers and plants look so real, no one will ever know the difference.
Featured Image: Instagram/@homebyemely
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With sky-high rents and living expenses in the city, making your house a home isn’t always easy — and making over an entire space at once isn’t always financially feasible.
When it came to redecorating my place — which, thanks to limited windows and poor lighting, felt small, dark and dreary — I decided to take a slow and steady approach. Instead of splurging on big ticket items like a couch, TV stand and a coffee table all at once, I patiently waited for steals on my ‘dream’ pieces to build my perfect living quarters.
With that being said, it’s important to remember that if you’re redecorating a place on a budget, not everything needs to be shiny and new. By taking advantage of Facebook groups like Bunz Home Decor Trading Zone and my neighbourhood buy and sell, I was able to purchase normally pricey pieces for less than retail. You can also find different steals and deals on decor and more at retailers across the city (re: our top 10 favourite places for affordable and trendy furniture).
Here are 6 items that I chose to save on:
Decor: These items are easy to save on and you can collect them along your home decor journey. I purchased decorative little trinkets like clocks, lanterns and more from IKEA, and paired them with old magazines and souvenirs from my travels like posters and other knick knacks.
Bed Frame & Headboard: Instead of buying a fancy bed frame, I purchased a basic steel one for about $80. While I bought mine new, you can find used ones for less on sites like Kijiji and Craigslist. To jazz up an otherwise boring bed setup, I created my own simple headboard using these DIY instructions, though Pinterest has tons of DIY inspiration that’ll save you a couple of bucks.
Textiles: When it comes to bed sheets, cushion covers, and decorative throws, it’s best to save. I was able to find the softest sheet set (which included 1 flat sheet, 4 pillow cases and 1 fitted sheet) on Amazon.ca for just $38, and a duvet set (which included 1 duvet cover and 2 pillow cases) at H&M Home for $39.99.
If you’re looking for a simple way to switch up your living room’s look, try swapping out your cushion covers. H&M Home has a variety of covers in different sizes, textures and designs. I purchased velvet covers for just $12.99 each, and H&M’s selection is all priced at $49.99 and less.
Faux fur throws add texture and luxe to otherwise boring spaces — I like to use them on chairs, my couch, and even my bed. These faux fur throws are a great find, and you can typically score them at Marshalls, Winners and HomeSense for between $29.99 and $39.99.
Couch and seating: While some say a couch is worth the splurge, I say save on this piece of furniture — especially if you aren’t living in your forever home, yet. I was lucky enough to inherit my couch from my partner’s parents, but I often see deals in my neighbourhood’s Facebook buy and sell group from condo dwellers who are moving constantly. Just be sure to check the couch for flaws (and dreaded bed bugs) before you hand over the cash, and that you have affordable means to transport it. Because the space is small, I opted for two Eiffel chairs instead of a loveseat sofa. The chairs, which are reminiscent of Eames, were just $49 each from Structube. Along with Structube, retailers like IKEA and Small Space Plus are good spots to scope out for affordable apartment-friendly furniture on offer.
Coffee Tables: After much deliberation, I decided to wait for a good deal to pop-up before I replaced my basic IKEA coffee table. I was lucky enough to score a major deal on these West Elm marble coffee tables (which regularly retail for $279) for just $40 each from a Facebook friend who was looking to move them quickly. Facebook friends and buy and sell groups are treasure troves for home buys — you just have to keep your eyes open.
Rug: While you could opt to spend $300+ on a rug for your space, I chose to save on mine. For just $200, I was able to find a faux cowhide rug at HomeSense that really warmed up the place — but other than the price, what I especially love about my synthetic rug is that though the colour is light, it is almost indestructible. Mud, spaghetti sauce and red wine have all come off with ease.
Depending on the style you’re looking for, places like HomeSense, Marshalls, Winners, IKEA, and even Walmart and Costco have deals for under the $300 mark.
Here are 5 items that I chose to splurge on:
Light Fixtures: Another way to instantly change the vibe of a room is to purchase new light fixtures. But with that being said, finding cheap light fixtures isn’t always easy, which is why I chose to splurge at Home Depot, where light fixtures average between $100 and $600.
TV Stand: To match my clean white theme, I decided to splurge on a brand new TV stand. Sticking to lower budget, I was able to score this one from IKEA for $249, which is well worth the price — my last IKEA media stand lasted me 7 years, and has since been passed down to a friend. Again, if you’re looking to save on this purchase, keep an eye on Facebook buy and sell groups, and resale websites like Kijiji and Craigslist.
Mattress and Pillow: I once heard that you should always pay good money for anything that keeps you separated from the ground, including shoes and mattresses, and I’ve lived by that rule ever since. A good sleep is essential for quality life, and for something that you spend 8 hours (more or less — we’re not judging) on, a splurge is well worth it. Casper was a natural go-to for me; I live in a tight space and manoeuvring a mattress in full form would not have been pretty. Luckily, the mattress is delivered straight to your home within days of ordering, vacuum sealed in a neat package. While the company (which was voted one of the best inventions of 2015) offers 100 days to test and try, I won’t be returning the mattress ($1075 for a full) anytime soon. Built with memory foam and a springy top layer, the mattress is soft, yet firm at the same time. Add on two pillows, which in my opinion are worth the $80 price tag, and you’ll be a regular sleeping beauty.
Dresser & Night Stand Table: With limited closet space, purchasing a dresser and night stand table was a must for my apartment. While I say I splurged on these items, neither broke the bank. I went to the trustiest source for affordable furniture: IKEA. My basic dresser was $119 and my night stand was just $69.99, but once more, you can find these items for much less by purchasing second hand.
Diffuser: I am absolutely obsessed with my Sage Wellness diffuser, which enhances the atmosphere with relaxing scent and acts as accent decor. At about $110 for the actual diffuser and $44 for a set of scents, it’s a bit of a splurge, but well worth it. Alternatively, you can find cheaper diffusers at stores like HomeSense, Winners and Marshalls.
What other items should you splurge and save on in your home? Sound off in the comment section.
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There are many reasons why we love shopping at Sephora: beautiful displays of shiny new products, welcoming stuff, free samples, reward programs, and of course, its generous product return policy that allows customers to bring back both opened and unopened products within 60 days of purchase (even without a receipt.)
However, next time you’re getting a product at Sephora in the hopes of returning it later, think twice.
The Wall Street Journal has recently reported that the Paris-based beauty retailer is using a special program to track customer returns. TRE or The Retail Equation program helps stores to evaluate customers’ return behaviour and ban those who return too many products.
The program is aimed at protecting companies from return abuse, which according to The Retail Equation website is a form of “friendly fraud” where someone purchases products without intending to keep them.
So how does it work? The website explains that every time a consumer wants to make a return, a retailer will scan the original sales transaction receipt and/or swipe the individual’s driver’s license or government-issued ID card (including passports) to make an identification of the person and his/her unique return behaviour.
In the official statement, Sephora explained its decision to track customers who return products without any proof of purchase: “We make every effort to accommodate returns, but a small fraction of customers take advantage of our policy, in many cases returning more than twice as much merchandise as they purchase. This limits product selection and unfairly impacts other clients. When we identify excessive return patterns, we notify those customers that we may limit future returns or exchanges if no proof of purchase is provided.”
According to Racked, Sephora is not the only retailer that uses the service. The list also includes Best Buy, the Home Depot, Victoria’s Secret, J.C. Penney and more.
Sources: www.racked.com, www.businessinsider.com