The 3 Household Essentials Trader Joe’s Superfans Buy Every Time They Go to the Store

There are countless Trader Joe’s Facebook groups and social media accounts dedicated to sharing the best viral snacks, restocked mini canvas totes, meal-prepping heroes, and wallet-friendly wines to get at the popular grocery store chain. But seasoned TJ’s shoppers know that the store’s offerings go so much further than the consistently sold-out frozen Kimbap or the TikTok-famous Chili Crunch. 

Trader Joe’s is also a treasure trove of affordable non-food items. But because sorting through all the Trader Joe’s aisles is a little daunting, I found a thread of the hacks the Trader Joe’s shopping pros on Reddit espouse to see which non-food items consistently stand out as the best buys at the store — and three options came up, like, a lot.

If you comb through a Reddit thread of the best non-food purchases to make at Trader Joe’s, it’s clear that shoppers are big fans of TJ’s colorful and inexpensive greeting cards, which cost just 99 cents. Reddit user @Sunny_Sally urged shoppers not to “sleep” on the selection, calling it “great and incredibly well-priced.” 

Plus, the price point means you can buy in bulk — preparing for all of life’s wonderful moments, from birthdays and Valentine’s Day to graduation and even sympathy cards. “I’ll buy a bunch at once to use throughout the year,” the Reddit user wrote, giving us major inspo. (Our Associate Lifestyle Editor, Sofia Rivera, has long-extolled the virtues of the greeting card section, too!) 

Ah, who doesn’t love to romanticize their life with a bouquet of fresh flowers? Trader Joe’s can truly be a one-stop shop for your gifting needs if you need a bouquet of fresh flowers to go with your card.

Dozens of Redditors applauded the store for its affordable and beautiful plant and floral collection, which is well-stocked year-round with gorgeous bouquets. But if you want to make your own mixed bouquet (because why not inject some beauty into your life?) there are many popular Instagram accounts, like @happy_arranging, that share beautiful ideas for how you can create your own stunning Trader Joe’s centerpiece for just a fraction of the cost of a florist. 

It’s no secret that Trader Joe’s shoppers should also snap up the store’s popular beauty products. While commenters mentioned the brand’s shampoos, body washes, hand soaps, and body butters and oils, the one beauty product that came up the most was the TJ’s branded viral Daily Facial Sunscreen in SPF 40. 

Many people have compared the formula of the sheer sunscreen, which costs just $8.99, to the cult-favorite Supergoop! Unseen Sunscreen, which starts at $38 for 1.7 ounces. Both formulas have the exact same active ingredients (avobenzone, homosalate, octisalate, and otocrylene) and a sheer, matte look without a white cast, and they provide protection of SPF 40.

While these non-food items are staples for Trader Joe’s shoppers in-the-know, Reddit users also weren’t gatekeeping some hidden gems that you should add to your shopping lists. Commenters also noted that the Marula Facial Oil, the reusable silicone food storage bags, their candle selection, their gel moisturizer, their seasonal cinnamon brooms, their Brazilian nut butter, and their room sprays also came up a few times — just not as much as the greeting cards, flowers, and sunscreen. 

Happy shopping!