This being NYC, I tend to buy at a local hardware store small stuff for home repairs of better quality than HD, as well as items for older appliances HD doesn't carry, plus the advice HD employees don't have to give. For better quality tiling, fixtures, there are a plethora of specialty stores offering much better quality. And for plenty of small junk stuff, if I'm not in hurry, just stocking up, there's Amazon for Gorilla glues and tape, screw assortments, specialty tools, flashlights, lightbulbs and other nonessentials but good to have just in case for minor repairs and replacements. The small amounts of specialty woods I use for restoring old acoustic guitars, mandolins, other assorted string instruments, are not to be found at Home Depot. The last thing I purchased at HD was about 2 1/2 years ago, some Magic board to place behind the new tiling on the bathroom walls for water proofing.
Last summer, I built two new flower boxes for our balcony. The pine lumber came from an old painted over dresser I bought at a tag sale for $10. The dresser beyond redemption but not repurposing. Recut, sanded down, refinished with a simple clear spray of polyurethane for withstanding the elements, a few galvanized screws, better than the particle board sold by HD, and cheaper.
