Kids grow so fast. You can buy them a whole new winter wardrobe and in two weeks time BAM, they’ve outgrown it!
So I thought I’d share a few tips I’ve found to help keep the cost of clothes shopping down.
I personally don’t follow this method, but I know heaps of mums that do and say it works well for them. So I thought I would share. If your taking the minimalist approach, see decluttering school for some great idea’s. The less you keep, the less it costs to replenish.
Stash clothes! I don’t keep everything, anything trashed, worn out or stained gets turned into rags. The rest gets labelled and put up in the cupboard and at the start of every season I go through the clothes in the wardrobes first. Donating/disposing as I go. Then top up from the stash.
Shop the end of seasons! Buy items in the next few size up and add them to the stash. If you have space, you can have a labelled box for each child that your stashing for. Brand names especially check online and in store sales racks.
Op shop! Market Place! Yard Sales! EBay! But secondhand. Op shops have gained a bit of momentum in the last couple of years and prices have gone up a little, however if you can get a $70 top for $10 your still getting a deal and supporting a charity also. I’ve scored some great deals secondhand. Sometimes brand new with tags still. I would also like to give a little shout out to my most treasured op shop in the COUNTRY. Andamooka CWA Op Shop, outback South Australia is my favourite by far.
Have a clothes swap party! Or spread the love and give your donation bag to someone to go through before passing it along to the opshop. How much fun would it be to arrange a play day morning with a heap of mums. Kids play, mums swap clothes. The kids may even get in there and pick some items.
When your kids get older and want the labels you need to utilise ALL of the above. A friend of mine gets her daughter to buy her own brand name socks. I copied and her and Mr 14 does this now too. All his pocket money goes towards his favourite brands. The girls have been wanting bib and brace short overalls for a while now. I refused to buy them for $60 a set, so I told them they could buy them if they wanted to. They wouldn’t pay that either, so they’ve been waiting for a sale. Kids find it harder to spend their own money than mums. 😂
Get a Woolworths rewards card and Fly Buys card. Make sure your set up to receive the Woolworths emails for bonus offers and select to save your points until Christmas. Download the fly buys app to ensure you activate all the bonus offers. Currently I have $150 Woolworths and $230 flybuys saved up. Usually I spend this on Bonds socks and undies at Woolworths or target (flybuys) when they are 50% off. Definitely a good way to get more bang for my buck.
Shoes, are also extremely hard to keep up with. I have kids I can buy brand name shoes for and they last the whole school year. Others outgrown them in a term. My youngest boy will trash a pair within a week (brand name or other it doesn’t matter). I’ve tried full leather, I’ve tried boots, I’ve tried sandals. Nothing lasts for him. This term alone, keeping in mind it’s not over yet he’s managed to work his way through a pair of Grosby school shoes, a pair of sneaker and a pair of sandals. Use the same suggestions with shoes as clothes and you should save a few dollars too.
Happy Shopping!
Bec
3Plus5 