I wish all of you a safe and happy New Year's! From what I've read on message boards, some Targets went to 75% today, while others (like mine in NE Ohio) are still stuck at 50% off. It's rumored they are finally going to 75% off tomorrow (Jan.1st).

Here are some really helpful Target tips I received from Kristen:

*check back endcaps in the sheets and towels (domestics). last year, i got a set of queen-sized flannel sheets at 90% off- that's $1.99!

*chemicals- that's laundry detergent- often has things like air freshener and candles. if you go to the actual aisle, look for the christmas-y scents like apple cinnamon or pumpkin pie or grandma's baking, stuff like that. check the scanner, and they may just be 49 cents.

*women's socks- often, the christmas ones get overlooked. same goes for christmas shirts in the men's, women's, kids, and infant's departments.

*check hardware, automotive, and often the men's underwear department for those red target boxes of things like thermal mugs and auto kits. those count, too.

*i know for a fact that the entertainment department at my target hasn't put the calendars in the section yet. almost all (but not quite all!) of them are 75% off as well. some of the christmas books are, too, but usually those get shipped back the day after christmas. all christmas CDs are on clearance, too.

*a lot of times, things in the snacks department get overlooked. double check for hickory farms or starbucks stuff, or even the jack daniels coffee. a lot of times, people put them back in the regular section. warning: the christmas goldfish crackers and keebler stuff doesn't go on sale until later for some reason!

*also in snacks: check out the jones soda in case someone put it with the regular soda.

*in the cosmetics and health and beauty, scope the endcaps around the pharmacy for perfume gift sets. right now, also check out the sonia kashiuk section- the gift sets are on sale, and there's a very cute travel brush set that should end up being 5 bucks. there's also the salon stuff that's on clearance, and some makeup kits, too.

*in the jewelry department, all of the jewelry boxes in red and white boxes are on clearance. also, the christmas jewelry. there's a great set of radko snowflake earrings i got for 50% off, but an extra two dollars off would have been better!

*check out the small appliances (housewares) department, especially back endcaps. all of the red box stuff is on clearance, and in my store right now i saw the dish sets that were originally 40-60 bucks where the other dishes sets are, and those will be 10-15 dollars today! also, this year, we sold punch bowls and cheese domes and cake domes. check out the normal section for this and look for the red and white boxes.

*also, check out the tablecloth section. last year, my mom and i each got a complete matching set of red damask tablecloths and napkins (well, she got hers in ivory) for 90% off!

*also, check out the toys. tons of stuff goes super clearance after christmas!

*the sporting goods department is on super clearance right now, and those packaged bouncy balls are 75% off.