The Warm, Charming $13 HomeGoods Find I Tell Everyone to Buy

I sent an unassuming photo of my dining room, pictured above, to my sister recently. I can’t recall what the actual purpose of the photo was, but a few piles of things were sitting on the table in the snapshot. The mix included items getting loaded into the car for an afternoon in the country, a couple of decor pieces waiting to find their permanent home, and my usual work accoutrements (because this table functions as my desk). Amidst this holding pen of stuff, my sister immediately clocked the woven basket sitting on top of the table. Made from a chunky seagrass with perfectly proportioned handles, it was worth noticing. 

I’d found the basket days earlier at an interior designer’s tag sale. Sixty dollars for a gorgeous, large woven basket? Absolutely. I bought it without thinking twice, knowing it would go somewhere in my home. Eventually it landed in a sitting area, where it’s just the right size for throws. I quickly realized I needed more of these. Toys, books, workout equipment — all of these things feel more intentionally organized when they’re tucked away in a container of sorts. I couldn’t wait an entire year to go back to this one-weekend-only sale to see if more might resurface, though. I had an entire list of miscellaneous items in need of a home. So I went with the next best option: HomeGoods. 

I’ve seen plenty of baskets at HomeGoods before, and you probably have too. But I was shocked when I found what looked like the exact basket that I’d picked up at the sale — but available in an array of sizes. And the price? It made $60 look like a relative rip-off. I paid just $12.99 for a slightly smaller basket, while a larger basket was just $24.99. 

Now, I’m not saying the designer got the basket I picked up at her extra inventory sale from HomeGoods … but I’m also not saying she didn’t. HomeGoods no longer has e-commerce, so take a spin around your store — or check out what T.J. Maxx and Marshalls have online. I found a very similar style basket below, and it, too, comes in a range of sizes. 

Regardless, I’m now the proud owner of several of these baskets, and they’ve become the first item I suggest whenever I’m giving advice on decorating a room. You might fill one with pet toys and then realize you need a basket in another room for hand towels. You could use one for extra rolls of toilet paper in a bathroom as well or to corral smaller throw pillows at night when you take them off a bed. 

A basket takes items that you need — yet, often read as clutter — and gives them a place to live. Add in that gorgeous organic texture — and the ergonomic handles that make them easy to move from room to room — and they become equal parts form and function. But the best part is picking them up at HomeGoods for less than the price of a takeout lunch.