Why I love the Aldi 'Aisle of Shame'

Thrifty friends long extolled Aldi for its great buys. So I visited a nearby Cincinnati store a few times and came away with cheap wine, good meat and some jeggings I still wear. (Yes, I know, cringe.) But I wasn't a regular. Until I discovered the "Aisle of Shame." Now I'm hooked. Yes on plastic ga

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Cincinnati Aldi stores sell seasonal items and others designed to inspire impulse buying in what it calls the Aldi Finds aisle and shoppers have dubbed the Aisle of Shame.

Thrifty friends long extolled Aldi for its great buys.

So I visited a nearby Cincinnati store a few times and came away with cheap wine, good meat and some jeggings I still wear. (Yes, I know, cringe.)

But I wasn't a regular.

Until I discovered the "Aisle of Shame."

Now I'm hooked.

Yes on plastic garden clogs; no on ax throwing

Aldi brands it the "Aldi Finds" aisle. Shoppers call it "Aisle of Shame," with 4 million fans on a Facebook page. That's apparently because they leave stores feeling a little ashamed of blowing their budgets on sometimes-seasonal and sometimes-oddball impulse buys.

I personally find no shame in buying my grandbaby a hooded beach towel for $6.99, or scoring some plastic garden clogs for $8.99, or stockpiling some Crofton cast iron cookware for Christmas.

Cincinnati Aldi stores sell seasonal items and others designed to inspire impulse buying in what it calls the Aldi Finds aisle and shoppers have dubbed the Aisle of Shame.

But I'm not going

to lie. I'd be ashamed if I plunked down $27 for plastic outdoor tables or $30 for a child's raised planter, featured in local Aisles of Shame recently. Ditto on a set of wooden blocks for $35 or an ax-throwing game for $30. No impulse buys from me at those prices. (As for the axes: No, at any price.)

And apparel? Took a pass on USA T-shirts and calico cotton dresses, which looked enticing online. Icky fabrics. Icky fits. (The jeggings, meanwhile, are holding up well.)

Speaking of online, Aldi Finds find my inbox every week now, so I know whether to swing by a store.

Cincinnati Aldi stores sell seasonal items and others designed to inspire impulse buying in what it calls the Aldi Finds aisle and shoppers have dubbed the Aisle of Shame.

Here are a few of my favorite things

And swing by I do.

Some of my recent favorite Finds:

Pleasant Ridge store, 5505 Ridge Ave.: In addition to the baby beach towel, I walked away with two stylish Turkish towels at $5.99 each, with brown-and-white striped linen on one side and white terry cloth on the other. (Fingers crossed they hold up in the washer.) I also picked up a $16.99 "pool saddle seat," also known as a lake toy, as a Father's Day gift. Fun aqua color and funny shape.
Colerain Township store, 9490 Colerain Ave.: I made another Father's Day run here, after seeing leather-wrapped insulated mugs in my Aldi email. Worth the stop; good quality for $8.99 each. My son is now The Coolest Dad in All the Land. My husband is Best. Dad. Ever. (I'm so over That. Punctuation. Thing. But he really is a very good dad.)
Newport store, 1301 Monmouth St.: This store gets low marks for sparse Aisle of Shame inventory (more was coming the next day, a staffer told me) and a confusing parking lot. But I still walked away with a final Father's Day gift. Who wouldn't want a $12.99 Yard Pong set for beach vacations and family picnics?

Cincinnati Aldi stores sell seasonal items and others designed to inspire impulse buying in what it calls the Aldi Finds aisle and shoppers have dubbed the Aisle of Shame.

Aldi now in the mix for bargain hunter

I'm a seasoned cheapskate. My closet is jammed with Talbots apparel, all from a now-closed Chicago outlet store. I regularly make the rounds to local thrift stores. My new fave is a Michigan spot where every piece of clothing – whether J. Jill or Costco Kirkland – is $2.

Aldi's in the mix now, too – until and unless the lake floatie sinks, the Dad's Day mugs leak and my jeggings give up on me. Absolutely no shame.

Want more Aldi news? Marcia Greenwood, a reporter with the Rochester, New York, Democrat & Chronicle, covers the company frequently. The news site is part of USAToday Co., The Enquirer's owner.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Why I love the Aldi 'Aisle of Shame'