Warning: Don't Shop at Target on College Move-in Day

This, dear readers, is a cautionary tale. At all costs, try to avoid shopping at Target in a college town during student move-in weekend. Otherwise, you'll face something like this picture, which shows a similar scene at the Target near Temple University. This happened to us last weekend in Davis... only multiply the amount of people in this pic by ten. My husband estimated there were over 500 shoppers in the store with us, all vying for sheets, towels, shower curtains, cleaning supplies, and other necessities for that first dorm room or apartment. That said, I will say that the Davis (actually, Woodland, CA) store was well stocked and highly organized. And thankfully, all the checkstands were open and fully staffed with fast, efficient clerks.

So what's the best way to avoid this kind of chaos? Well, Target usually supplies an online checklist each year to help you compile your back-to-college shopping list. Of course, our son refused to look at it until after he moved in, which kind of defeated the purpose.