Kristin emailed in the following tip:
With six children (and another on the way!) the cost of new clothing and shoes can really add up! I think ahead to what sizes/seasons of clothing and shoes will be needed within the next year, then scour yard sales and thrift stores for what we need. Out of season/size clothing is stored in labeled totes until they are needed.
I normally pay about $1-3 per pair of shoes, $2-3 for a pair of brand name jeans, $1-2 for dresses and $1 or less per pair of pajamas.
Recently our oldest son had a growth spurt and needed new pants. Instead of having to run out and purchase a new pair, I simply pulled
out a tote and unpacked his pants in the next size up. -Kristin
Subscribe for free email updates and be entered to win $100!
{ 136 comments }
← Previous Comments
Does it defeat the purpose if you have a rent a place to store it all? : )
I’m only kidding, but with buying ahead and saving old clothes for younger children, the number of boxes around here is really starting to add up.
haha! Yep, kids definitely do take up space…or at least their stuff does!
I’ve done this since my kids were little (they’re 18 and 16 now). Local schools have used clothing sales and I would go with a price limit of $.50 per piece and buy ahead. My son is now 6’2″ and 150 lbs, so there’s very little used clothing in his size out there. My daughter is a perfect size 8, so it’s easy to find stuff in her size. For the past couple of years, whenever I see a nice prom or fancy dress in her size for less than $10 I buy it. I figure she can shop my selections when senior prom comes around. Anything we don’t use I will bring to the consignment shop. This strategy has worked very well with fancy dresses for dances so far. I have a pretty good idea of what she will like.
We did this with our baby when she was born and BOY has it been awesome. I got a HUGE bag of 9mo-2T clothes for $3 at a garage sale, and some of it still had the tags on! I love being able to just pull out the next tote instead of having to worry about finding a deal at the store when we need the next size.
Kohls & Boston Store/Bergners/Carson’s are great places to stock up because they have no time limits on when you can make returns (at least last time I checked!) as long as you keep receipts. If you get to that next season and the clothes don’t fit or your kiddo doesn’t like the styles, you can return them and get what you paid for them!
We do this too. It’s so funny how excited my kids are when they get “new” clothes out of the basement.
I have been stock piling since my 7 year old was born. Now while trying for our 2nd child, I have opportunity to loan out my extras. I know that most will be returned and in exchange they give me girl clothes to stash for the possibility of our next one being a girl. I’ll be set either way. My basement has 36 totes from newborn to size 14. Most newborn to 2T are boys & girls clothes. Yeah!
I usually do this too, and try to shop the super clearance at Children’s Place outlets, but this proved to be a total disaster with my son. He is turing 11 months old next week and can still fit in 3-6 month clothing. I had to bump him to 6-9 because I refused to buy any summer clothes in 3-6 months. Thank goodness his cousin was born in the winter before him, so his clothes were opposite seasons and we didn’t have to buy a whole new wardrobe. After him, I’m worried about stocking up again
Also, my daughter has been in a size 2 since she was 18 months old, and turned 3 on Valentine’s day. She’s getting taller, but has only gained about 2 lbs.
This is when I am thankful for hand-me downs!
Like I mentioned above, it gets SO much easier once kids are getting close to 2 years old. Its much easier to predict how long they’ll be in sizes 2T and up, becuase you can expect them to be in each size roughly a year. And on small toddlers… I have one too… I think she only gained 5 pounds in the last few years. I tend to base her clothes on what fits her in length rather than weight, since I can take waists in and buy adjustable waist stuff for her.
As I rule I do not buy ahead for any sizes under 24 months. I am saving my kids infant clothes for #3 (due in December) and when we find out what we’re having I will buy some newborn and 0-3 month winter items if its a girl (DD #1 was a July baby!), but other wise its just too hard to predict they size for the season until they’re wearing clothes for longer than a few short months.
I read in the Tightwad Gazette that it was okay to buy used shoes. The author had even asked a specialist about it and was told it was acceptable. I buy gently worn shoes for my daughters occasionally and pass them down to the next girl. With three girls close in age the clothes are getting passed down too. I am glad you posted this b/c I was about to get rid of all of our extra clothing and just buy new stuff as needed but I remembered I needed to be wise with our money and went back through everything and pulled some stuff out
. thanks again.
I was going to say the same thing. I love my Tightwad Gazette books, and I wish Amy were still publishing her newsletter.
I don’t see anything wrong with hand-me-down or (nice condition) used shoes. My pediatrician sister agrees. My son wears socks with all of his shoes, anyway.
i always purchase things on clearance, but my greatest Deal was buying my two little Boys WIntercoats in August last year, both from jcpenny, one was 2 dollars and the other 4 dollars, i think its about to go shopping for coats again lol
I read almost all the comments but thought I’d give my 2cents. I am so spoiled, as my mother is an insane shopper and loves to go all the time, she buys my kids items mostly at the end of season, (I have 4 kids, 3 boys, 1 girl ages 7mos-5yrs). I don’t think she has ever spent more than $10 on any 1 item. That might sound lofty, but the boys =use 3x + I save for my sister who plans to start trying for a baby in the next 2 yrs. Also, mostly stride rite shoes is what my kids own, though the occasional target/walmart brands make it too. I understand getting some play items and such @thrift/garage sales, and you can pick up some cute used items in general, but I don’t think it saves a TON of money to only frequent these, as everyone else stated, end of season clearance just makes more sense to me. After I see what my kids do with their shoes, I just don’t care to care to buy used, I think its a little icky, but I’m definitely not above it, I also had heard that shoes mold to the individual and that its prob. not best to purchase used, but I don’t think a kid would have drastic issues from wearing used shoes, that sounds silly.
Belk is also a great place to get deals at end of season. I get my 4-year -old daughter $40 dresses for $3-$4. Now, I have to say that not everything is exactly her style, but they are sweet dresses for church when she visits her grandparents.
For years, my son has only been able to wear Gap Huskys jeans and khakis. Not exactly an easy second-hand find. Stride Rite shoes are also the best fit. So, I pretty much have to buy him new stuff, but I do well with sales and coupons.
My kids grow in such weird cycles that buying ahead is sometimes hit and miss. I got my daughter some great Gymboree stuff for winter and she outgrew them before it got cold. On the other hand, I once bought her jeans that she couldn’t wear for two more years.
I stockpile clothing too. It saves ALOT of money for our family. I always make sure the clothing is in great to excellent condition and store it away. I put a few dryer sheets in the plastic totes and it keeps the clothing smelling good even after a long summer in the garage.
We have a high end second hand store in our area. I pick up alot of designer labels at yard sales and trade them in for store credit at the second hand store. I recently picked up designer clothing (no sizes would fit my kids) for about $15. I got just over $50 in store credit for the clothing. You cannot beat that!
I buy ahead too. Now the older one is in 3T so I only buy up to size 5 (if something amazing and classic comes my way as a hand me down I’ll gratefully accept any size). I look for more classic styles and figure I can fill in with trendier pieces closer to when she wears them. I do the same thing with shoes- I buy several sizes ahead. I make an educated guess with sandals and if I miss, then they were only a few dollars. I was particularly grateful this morning when she told me her current sandals were too small and hurt. I was able to go to the closet, pull out the next size and we were good to go. It is June so there is another pair waiting- I can’t imagine her outgrowing two more pair in three months. I hope.
I saved a trip to the shoe store, at least $30 and time we don’t have by buying ahead.
My mom has a neat way of keeping my niece and nephews in outfits all the time without storing too much. She will use threadup. But she does it in a really cheap way. She goes to a humane society thrift shop where they have a deal anything you can fit in a grocery bag for $3. She will usually buy a few bags full in similar sizes and get what she needs for my niece and nephews. Then she fills the rest of the bags with similar sizes of nice childrens clothing. She puts those other clothes on threadup so she can get the sizes she needs for my niece and nephews. They always have an abundance of clothing and are well dressed in name brand clothes.
What I have been doing for years to save money on clothing include the following. Looking on clearance racks at the end of the season (70%-90% off). I host a coupon/clothing/household goods exchange about once every other month with fellow military families so that we can save some money. I shop at military thrift shops on base for the best deals (must show valid military id). I sometimes get hand me downs from friends. I have saved all the clothes from our oldest son so that we would not have to re purchase what we already have. I shop at thredUP if I am looking for anything specific. I have received a few boxes from them stuffed to the brim with clothes in good condition. I have shopped at consignment stores making sure I am getting the best deals. Sometimes if I see stuff at the exchanges I will buy them because we are saving ourselves on tax. Other times I will shop at discount stores like Ross or TJ Maxx clearance racks.
I am now in the process of finding school clothes for my oldest so what we did was go to outlet store Pac Sun where they are having a sale plus an extra 30%-40%+ plus buy one, get one at 50% off. I got some clothes for myself at the GAP when it was on sale, with an extra 40% off stacking it with my discount (AAA-10%).
We consign or thredUP what we can and the rest gets offered to friends to see if their kids can use them. This is military families supporting our own and making a difference.
I have three boys- ages 4, 2, and coming in August. =) I have had good luck finding nice baby and toddler boy clothes at yard sales… but really no luck at all with 3T and up. I yard sale all the time, and I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve actually found something decent for a boy in those sizes. I’ve given up on it at this point. BUT, since I’ll have 3 boys going through the bigger sizes, I’m willing to pay a little more for jeans, shirts, etc., knowing that we’ll get three kids worth of use out of it. I’m with the ladies who don’t love to shop. My nearest outlet is 45 minutes away, and it’s not worth it to go there to shop a mega clearance sale unless I’m sure there will be stupendous deals in the sizes I’m looking for… Anybody else had this problem with older boy clothes? Any solutions?
I started doing this when my son was born, and again when my daughter was born and whiloe we just ahve teh 2 kids i have kept all their clothes since we would like to 2 more.I also have clothes for them at LEAST 2 sizes ahead of where they are. Like my son is in 18 month clothes (he is tiny) and i am working on finishing up his 3t wardrobe and my daughter is in 12 month clothes and i am finishing up her 24 month wardrobe. but i don’t pass up a good deal on clothes either like i just found a few shirts size 5 for Hannah for $0.50 and got them!!
← Previous Comments
{ 2 trackbacks }