Even if you don’t have any children, you can still use back-to-school Sales to your advantage.   While there are many deals targeted to students, you don’t have to be a student to appreciate the savings.

In fact, if you wait until school starts in your area to shop, you’ll be able to shop the back-to-school clearance sales.  Since you don’t need the items immediately, you have the advantage of being able to wait for the rock bottom prices.

Here are a few areas you should watch in the upcoming weeks.

School supplies. Pens, pencils, notebooks, calculators, and binders are all on sale now. Don’t forget to think about home organization and craft projects when checking out the school supplies.  If you’re in the market for a new way to organize your coupons or your household papers, you just may find it now.

Computers and computer supplies.  Save on laptops, computer accessories, printers, printer ink and printer paper.  If you work for an educational institution or are in the military you may qualify for additional discounts.  Shop online through Ebates and save even more.

Cooking utensils.  Most of what is on sale in this area is geared toward the transient college student.  The quality may leave a bit to be desired.  But it could be a great time to pick up some extra utensils for camping or the cabin or a hot plate for your office.

Organizational tools.  College students are always trying to make the most out of small spaces.  Stores will have plenty of sales on things like shelving, baskets, closet organizers and more. 

Clothing.  Watch the sales starting the week school starts.  You’ll find good deals on sweaters, jeans, socks and underwear. 

Bedding and bath towels.  College dorm dwellers drive the market for twin bedding and bath towels this time of year.  This is another area you can save during back-to-school sales.

Lunch and snack items. Companies are clamoring to get their lunch products and snacks into the hands of moms and kids.  There will be a lot of coupons for these types of things in the paper and at Coupons.com and Redplum.  Be sure to visit this blog, where I’ll share other coupons I find.

Backpacks and Totes.  You can save a lot on totes and backpacks once stores start clearing out the back-to-school inventory.  Need a new laptop bag or a cheap tote for a preschooler? Now’s the time.  Would you like to start carrying your lunch to work? Now’s the time to find a new lunch tote.

Keep in mind that you can also get many school supplies for free or nearly free this time of year.  If you don’t have any use for them yourself, consider donating them to a local school, non-profit organization, or church group. You could also put together a nice gift basket of art supplies for a child or a writer’s gift basic for the budding novelist in your life.

And if you do have kids, here are some other strategies for saving on school items.