I am often asked several questions about how can my husband and I afford to have a big family. Having 5 kids, soon 6 our clothing budget can be expensive but ours isn’t. How do we do it?
Purchase clothes at consignment store or thrift stores. Some thrift stores have certain days that offer discounts for certain items, know what days are for clothing and save. We used to have a consignment store near me that had $1.00 racks for kids clothing on certain days and many of these clothes were big name brands, check around your local area, maybe you have one of those consignment stores too!.
Trade or rotate clothing with other families that may have little girls around the same age.
Take hand me downs from friends or family. I find these to be the best! My kids have gotten garbage bags full of clothing from friends and family members that their children outgrew. At times I have not had to buy clothes for whole clothing sizes!
Scour clearance racks. My favorite places to scour clearance racks are Target (the 70% off racks are the best) or Walmart. Also purchase clothing for the next season, for instance as summer comes to an end purchase swim suits for the next year. Sometimes these items are more than half off because the retailer wants to get rid of it for their next seasons clothing.
Do not get rid of or pack up clothing that maybe getting a bit too short, here are a few tricks:
○ When pants or leggings are getting a bit short, they can still be worn as capri’s.
○ If dresses are getting too short, it’s OK put a cute pair of leggings underneath the dress which now may look like a longer shirt!
Purchase larger sizes when you do find bargains and store future sizes in Rubbermaid type bins with lids labeled with the size on the outside.
To make our clothing last longer I line dry all pants, shorts and shirts. I know it takes work but I have noticed that even the big name brands have shrunk in the dryer.
If you are planning on having more than one child, save the clothing for the next child. I have one closet full of kids clothing that is separated by size and stored in Rubbermaid bins. Then I do not have to purchase much for the next child. I have been doing this since my 1st child was born in 2005. I am thankful I have done this because I had no idea I would be having 6 kids!
Let’s face it kids can be messy, make clothes last longer by immediately getting out any stains. I have noticed certain stains will not come out if you wait.
What about you how do you stretch your dollars with your children’s clothing budget?
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