For someone who writes a blog about frugal living, I hide a terrible secret: I hate sales shopping. Hate it! Avoid it like the plague! I hate shopping in crowds, queuing for overheated changing rooms, and the sight of all those picked-over clothes and shoes are hideous to me. Give me a nice, spacious store with friendly, helpful sales assistants and overpriced clothing any day!

So you can imagine my thoughts of TK Maxx. An entire store in permanent sales mode.. The mere thought of that store fills me with panicky dread.

However, I know lots of people who swear by the bargains they have found there: Marc Jacobs, Tigerlilly swimsuits and even Hermes watches! I decided those are enough to tempt even me in for a closer look. So I went, and I have to say, although I didn’t come out with anything overly fabulous, I will say that it’s certainly worth popping in every now and then. I was looking for some new summer clothes and stuff to take on our trip next month, and was pleasantly surprised at the range and discounts available.

It was still far from the most pleasant shopping trip I’ve ever been on, but here are a few tips for sales shopping phobes like myself to make the experience a little more bareable.

Go when you’ve got plenty of time

If you think you will just be able to run in and grab what you’re after, think again. All the clothes are kind of mushed in together pretty tight and it takes a lot of rummaging and a pair of sharp eyes to find what you’re looking for. So put aside a few hours when you have nothing else to do and the experience will be a lot more enjoyable.

Take your ipod and a water bottle

The former because you need to drown out the screaming children and the latter because damned if they have ever heard of air conditioning in the store I went to.

Avoid peak shopping times

Shopping in crowds is hideous at best, especially sales shopping. I had the misfortune to visit on a Saturday afternoon and some crazed woman actually snatched a piece of clothing out of my hand. So avoid the crowds if possible and go at a quiter time. Also the shop might be a lot better organised and tidier right after opening.

Go with an open mind

It’s hard to go shopping for a bargain and come out on top if you have very rigid ideas of what you’re looking for. It’s better to go with an open mind and a list of a few things you need – as long as you actually need them, otherwise it’s not a bargain no matter how much money you’re saving.

Be prepared to try things on

Sales clothing always looks a little sad, and TK Maxx is a massive culprit for this. Not much attention is put into displaying the clothes nicely, and it’s hard to tell what anything looks like on a 2p plastic hanger. So you have to be prepared to brave stuffy changing rooms in order to see what’s good and what isn’t.