So I've recently purchased my new house and apart from furnishing major items i find myself buying a lot of smaller simple things i never even considered.
One example would be these food containers i'm looking for https://www.kitchenwarehouse.com.au/product/oxo-good-grips-1…
Now most of the time these type of basic goods have a cheaper alternative, eg i can usually find something on aliexpress or some seller from china. Lately aliexpress/temu either don't have what i'm looking for or the pricing on there isn't really that competitive.
Does anyone have a system they typically use when they look for cheaper alternatives of basic things? Right now i'm looking at a lot of different types of containers/decor/things for kitchen / pantry / laundry / bathroom.
At present ill typically find something i like and then reverse image search to figure out what its called, search those terms in aliexpress/temu/google and then go down a rabbit hole to find something much cheaper that is basically the same. Hoping someone whos gone through something like that can give me advice on a better/faster way to do things while optimizing bang for buck. Willing to spend slightly more to save my time but i don't want to get ripped off.
Kmart is what you want for these basic home items. Find a large store, grab a trolley and go nuts. Tons and tons of useful things pretty cheap. Over time, you can replace them with better quality or aesthetic items if you desire.
https://www.kmart.com.au/category/home-and-living/food-stora…
Alternatively, if not looking for super basic, IKEA is worth a stop for decent quality and decent price point items. Their kitchen range is pretty comprehensive from cookware to knick-knacks.
https://www.ikea.com/au/en/cat/food-containers-20606/
You can also find Asian homeware stores in homemaker centres like Dollar World that stock pretty much everything you need at even cheaper prices than online.