We all love TJ Maxx. After all, what’s not to love? There’s nothing like finding a discounted Kate Spade purse or Michael Kors wallet, and it doesn’t get much better than walking through those doors of pure bliss while thinking through the multitude of possibilities hiding in the aisles. Here’s the typical adventure of a true Maxxinista like myself.
TJ Maxx isn’t ever a “stop”—it’s a destination. In fact, while traveling, you locate any and all TJ Maxx stores on the route and make sure to hit each one. After all, a town doesn’t qualify as a legitimate town if it doesn’t have a TJ Maxx--and bonus points if there’s a Home Goods connected to it. Who cares if it’s a little out of your way? Who cares if a two hour car ride turns into a four hour one? It's worth it.
You make time to go, because you know you can’t get out in under an hour. You park the car and walk up to the beautiful specimen of a store. You’re greeted by the familiar rush of air conditioning as you walk through the doors, but that only excites you more, because you know you’re home.
You begin your trek with the purse section, like always. In fact, you have a specific path throughout the store that you follow each time, and it always begins with the purses. This is your favorite section, because you never know what you’re going to find. You walk with a hopeful heart through the colorful bags, hoping to spot a Kate Spade tag. Once you do, you grab it immediately and examine it. Even if you already have the same purse in another color, this one must be looked at, because it's a great deal and cannot just be left here, so you carry it around for a while to think about it.
After raiding the belts and wallets, you make your way to the glorious jewelry counter. This isn’t just any jewelry counter; it’s locked, so you know it must contain the most valuable of treasures. Next comes the soap and makeup section. You tend to spend quite a while in this section, because everything seems to be on sale. If an item has a red discount sticker on it, it’s immediately more attractive.
The shoe section is next. Where to begin? Even if you aren’t a size six, you still scan the six aisle in hopes that your size is hiding amongst them. You continue through the aisles slowly, because you can’t possibly mentally register seeing this many pairs of shoes at once. Coach flip flops for $20? How can you possibly turn that down? Even if they are half a size too small… you can squeeze, right?
Still carrying the purse you can’t possibly live without, you make your way to the home goods section. This part is absolutely overwhelming. There’s clearly so much to look at. After too much time spent here, serious anxiety may arise. Feelings of inadequacy and stress may begin. Are you supposed to have all this in your kitchen? Will your food taste better with this pink polka-dotted cheese grater?
You continue on to the furniture, which makes you feel like even less of a person. The adorable blue side table, the glimmering gold mirrors, the sparkly paintings… you don’t own any of these, and quite frankly, you can’t afford to. Standing in this very spot, you don’t want to return to your apartment. You want to take all of these beautiful treasures with you, in hopes of a new life together.
You remorsefully examine the stationary collection and think about how cute these thank-you cards are. You make your way to the useless decorative pillows. Even though the pillows you currently have mostly reside on the floor, these gold sequined ones convince you that you need more. Resist the temptation. Remember, you already have a purse in your hands that you don’t need. Next, you swiftly walk through the clothes, which is hit or miss. There’s nothing this time, but no biggie, because you’ll be back in a couple days to check again.
Standing in line to pay for this purse is exhausting. You try to look straight ahead, hoping not to get distracted by the knick knacks that are silently calling your name. You step aside to inspect the discounted OPI nail polish, while the lady behind you kindly steps around you and passes you in line. You grab pink nail polish you probably already have, but you aren’t sure, and hey, it’s only $3. More goodies catch your eye, and soon, four more items have joined your family.
Is this why the useless random crap lives near the checkout? You take a second to truly ponder what you need, and conclude you need all of it. After paying for your treasures, you walk out feeling renewed and satisfied. Even though you’re $150 more in the hole, you’re happier than ever.
