[dropcap]W[/dropcap]ithout a doubt, we moms are awesome. In fact, half the time I have no idea how we manage to do everything in the time span of 24 hours, but we do. Stretched between my job, driving kids to school (sometimes even picking them up when hubby Mike can’t), preparing them meals, entertaining friends, setting time aside for Mike and me (when we can), working out – in a word, making our house a home – I have another chore to think about – our family budget!
One of the biggest dents in our budget is clothes. As a family of five, which include our three kids, it is important to stay on track when it comes to our budget. Thankfully, I’ve been able to pick up a few things here and there on how to make the most of our budget and stay with the fashion trends when shopping for our kids. And I’m bringing those tips for you lovely moms (and dads).
Reuse, Reuse, Reuse
If you have a big family like us, one of the ways to save on clothes is by reusing clothing pieces between the siblings as they grow out of them. For example, your youngest may wear the middle’s clothes, while the middle can wear the oldest’s outfits or so forth. Besides minimizing cost and teaching your children a valuable lesson on sharing, your kids would have unique pieces that they could then make it their own depending on their style and taste.
Go for second-hand
Second-hand buys are pretty great, when you think about it. Just like your kids have quickly outgrown their garments so have other kids, which chances are that parents have decided to donate them to on a second hand store. Now thrift shops and consignment stores may give some pause, but they are actually fantastic places to find great quality (and even new with tags) clothes for your children that are exactly on trend. The key is to take the time to find those great finds.
So check out some second-hand stores in your neighborhood; you may even discuss it with other moms and see if they’ve got some tips on where to find quality clothing items for a fraction of department store prices. Or even better – do what moms from my street and I did – we’ve made a mini pact where we trade clothes of our kids (they are all close in age) as they grow out of it. It’s sanitary and a pretty great way to bond.
Explore Online Shopping
If you still haven’t joined the online world, specifically online shopping then you don’t know what you’re missing. It’s amazing what you can find on the Internet from discounted clothes for girls and boys to easy-to-use cashback sites. You’ll find everything there!
I love it that I can purchase stuff while on my lunch break or in between meeting. All it takes is some browsing through different online stores for price comparisons and major sales and you’ll soon be finding some amazing clothes for your children.
Take proper care
Properly caring for your children’s clothes is a safe way to save a buck. It’s simple – the better they’re cared for, the longer they’ll serve their purpose and look as good as new.
Use quality detergents and fabric softeners when you wash, clean, dry and iron the clothes. Try to green up your cleaning routine as harsh chemicals are never a good idea, no matter how terrible the stains are (and yes, I am talking about those chocolate smudges all over their shirts). I like to follow the directions on the label to make sure I’m taking the best care of my kids clothes.
Well, dear parents, I hope my tips were helpful! Feel free to share any budget saving tips you may have as well. We would love to hear them!
I do a lot of consignment shopping for my boys. I love saving money on their clothes!!
Good to know for the future 😀 Thank you 🙂
Great tips! I think going second hand is better now than ever, so many people throw away perfectly good clothing because it may be behind season or they just don’t have room for it. People don’t wear their clothing down very often anymore.
Great article! I always try to find ways of saving money and I’m sure your tips are helpful for all moms. Second hands are really great- you can find so many great quality clothes at amazing price.
yes yes & yes!! great tips!
Great ideas! I love to shop for my kids, but I wait for really good sales, and most of the time I can use coupons on top of those! I’m all about saving.
These are great tips! I always resell my kids’ clothes too so I can use that money towards getting them new clothes.
Belle | One Awesome Momma
Awesome tips! We definitely go for the reuse option for our boys because they are close in age…our girls however are 10 years apart so it doesn’t work for them. I haven’t tried second hand YET but definitely open to it. I know there’s an event in our area that happens seasonally that I’d like to attend where second hand items are sold. I heard that it’s really nice.
I love these and most are great not just for Kids, I love the idea of ‘swishing’ essentially trading items that you no longer wear for other peoples items they no longer wear!
These are great tips! We only have 1 kid and I go to second-hand stores all the time. I can’t afford to buy a new wardrobe every season – although I’ve quickly learned to transition summer dresses to winter with pants instead of shorts (and other things like that). 🙂 And I love sales and buy online a lot (when she needs new clothes) – Old Navy has wicked sales!
Super advices from an experienced mom. I can’t wait to have our baby in June. I will follow up some of the advices. I like shopping a lot too! 🙂
I love this! You do not have to spend lots of money to stay fashionable! Great tips 🙂 I use all of them, myself.
Great idea to share clothes among siblings. I wish I can use this idea with my daughter. Even though she has a sibling. There’s two problems. Her sibling is a boy and 20 years older than her.🤦🏻♀️😁. But again GREAT idea.👍🏼
Julie | http://www.CaptionDaFashion.com
I think that using quality detergents is a great idea and will help make kids clothes last longer!
Hand me downs are the best! I lucked out and had a friend with rich in-laws who bought her daughters high-end boutique dresses often and they were both just a few years older than my daughter so we got some amazing secondhand treasures!
Kids outgrow everything so quickly! I saved my daughter’s clothing and ended up having a boy right after having her! haha
Really great ideas .. it’s amazing how fast kids grow. Sharing your link with my daughter .. I know she’ll love the tips. Thanks for your post!
I love shopping for the kids in my life but it gives pretty expensive. Hand-me-downs are what life is all about haha.
What I learned about being a mom of twins is that you shouldn’t really but so much clothes. Aside from the fact that I have friends and family who gives them clothes often, they grow up so fast and outgrow those clothes easily.
Shopping on a budget can be so hard. These are great tips top achieve this
Awesome tips. Kids grow up so fast, so buying clothes it’s like buying food. You have to buy a lot of them.
These are all great tips to save on children’s clothing. When my kids were growing up, I spent a lot on my daughter (being the only girl). The hand me downs were usually shoes because those little feet grow real fast! Me, my siblilngs and cousins did a round about for our kids’ clothes. Saved us a bunch!
For our kids we mostly buy second hand off one of the facebook groups in our hometown. For our daughter we have gotten some fabulous deals. Matter of fact the other day we paid about $30 for two huge trash bags full of clothes, a bag of shoes, a pair of ice skates and roller blades. Now if we could find some awesome deals like that for our son that would be awesome.
Online shopping is definitely on the rise and it’s easy to see why. Retailers can give you great bargains as they’re not worried about meeting the rent. Definitely recommended for anyone who’s still hesitating.
I grew up in second hand shops, thats all we wore during the summer. I also bought larger sizes when I saw great sales.
great article, I agree with the second hand idea, there is such a great boutiques online in France that sell the second hand products and I can tell you it is huge business, all my friends and colleagues buy expensive French brand like new but more cheaper .
Great tips! I love second hand clothes for my kiddos. ThredUP is one of my favorite places to get clothes.
These are valuable tips! I agree with you about how ‘kids have quickly outgrown their garments’. They grow fast, and next thing you notice they need new clothes.
some great tips here! We have two girls that are just over 2 years apart and definitely use the hand me downs. We also love to shop garage sales and see if we can buy in bulk. A few times we’ve gotten a box of clothes for like $2-$5.
Great tips! My hub will agree with you that kids outgrown their clothes and shoes so fast that second hand is a great way to save money. Like you, I shop online for on sale items.
I love hand me downs! Great tips.
Alix | http://www.apintsizedlifeblog.com
Great tips! Hand me downs are the best!
I don’t have kids but I think this can apply to us too! Great tips!
I really like the sound of taking proper care of kids clothes since I can’t figure out the number of times when my mom mixed to items in washing machine and ruined some really nice pieces, but hey I still love her no matter what.
BS, xx
I am a guy but took a lot of ideas from ur articles. I’m gonna be a dad soon and will apply these ideas. Thanks a lot
Second hand has always been one of my favorite things. You can find such cute clothing at second hand shops!
Recently I bought some clothes for my Year old neice. I realized how expensive kids clothes are comparing to the fact that they grow pretty fast!
Second hand clothes are a good way to save money. It’s a shame children can be so mean about following the latest fashion trends.
Kids clothes are pretty expensive. Therefore using second hand clothes are a good way of saving few bucks!
I don’t have children bit I definitely think a lot of these tips can be generalized as well! Great tips!
I love a great second hand shop. You never know what you’ll actually find.
I love Buncha Farmers stick to get rid of any stains in my girls clothes. We have been blessed that my sister always sent clothes that don’t fit her girl any more and on Christmas and Birthday my girl always get clothes.