The Best Buys Under $5 From Target’s New Home Essentials Brand

In the dark ages, "store brand" products were a thing we bought because they were cheap. The packaging was as close the name brand as legally possible, and we just kind of hoped the quality was the same. "Generic" was the derogatory term we used for such things. Now, when we look at Target's newest home and beauty brand, Smartly, we're kind of thinking the opposite. Why would you buy products that are available at every other store, when instead you could get these sleekly designed Target exclusives?

Okay, so we are talking about a line of things like garbage bags and paper plates here, but the simple packaging seems to call to us, saying, "This is the exact and only product you need for the thing you're trying to do." In some cases, it even does say that, like the zipper bags labeled, "Stay Fresh." Clearly, Smartly is aiming to be the Apple of home essentials in that respect.

Unlike Apple, however, Smartly items are way cheaper than other competitive brands. According to the company's press release, they're about 70% less than those products. You can go out and do the comparison shopping to check their math, but in the meantime, we've picked out the best home items you can grab for $5 or less.