Okay, I said I’d tell you how using clothing storage strategies effectively means saving a lot of money. First of all, if you have more than one child, it’s a big savings to be able to pass along all the items in good condition to the next child. (I only save clothes that are in nice shape, and I also try to buy good quality clothing that looks good after repeated washings. The low quality clothes aren’t worth buying, new or used, in my opinion; they look terrible after just a few washings.) If you didn’t have a system to pack them away, even if you kept them, you’d end up shopping for new stuff when you needed it, because you wouldn’t be able to find what you needed when you needed it! Believe it or not, plenty of people give away clothes that are in good condition and then buy new clothes for the next child, rather than have to find a way to store the clothes.
In case you’re wondering, my children do each get new (to them!) clothing, in addition to whatever is passed from one to another. But they don’t mind hand me downs; in fact, they enjoy knowing they’re wearing something that an older brother or sister wore when they were their age. They care more about looking nice than if the item comes to them with the tags on it or not.
I do the vast majority of my clothes shopping at thrift stores. However, I try not to shop only when I need something. You might recognize this principle from my description of food shopping – I buy when the price is right and stock up then, not when I decide I must have something right then. This is where I think the big savings in clothing shopping is; buying when prices are low and then putting them away for when you need them.
When I’m shopping, I keep an eye out for any clothes that fit my criteria – well made, tasteful, and classic. I generally buy fairly classic styles; I don’t care for super trendy clothes that look dated six months after they are purchased. Classic styles look great even five or ten years later. If I see something that I like, I buy it, even if I don’t have someone that it fits right now, especially if it’s half price that week.:)
Last week I popped into a thrift store where I donate our clothes; I don’t usually shop there. Since I had to take the clothes in, I did a quick browse through the store – that took about five minutes. I saw a new pair of Bass leather loafers ($8 after a 20% coupon I had in my purse), but in a size 7.5 and my son is right now only a 6. And also a pair of sneakers the size of my ds15, who I just bought new shoes for last week. So what? The nature of thrift store shopping is that you can’t assume something you want will be there when you want it. If it’s good stuff, I don’t pass it up. Ds9 will have good shoes in a year or so (assuming they fit him – my kids all have standard sized feet, which makes this easier, but if it doesn’t fit, no harm done – it goes back into the box to wait for someone else), and I have a backup pair of sneakers for the inevitable time when my ds15 suddenly tells me his current ones are ruined. (I’ve learned from experience that with my boys, I don’t get warning that their shoes are on the brink of destruction – it happens fast!). I save lots of time by buying what I like when I find it, and then pack it into the appropriate boxes in the attic.
When a new season comes, I don’t start off by taking my kids to the store. We shop in the attic! They go up and pull out the boxes in the appropriate sizes. Remember, I’ve been stocking throughout the year, so it’s not like it’s a bunch of hand me downs waiting that no one wants to see; they actually look forward to it. My shoe selection for the boys is pretty good (that includes sneakers, dress shoes, boots, some sandals and slippers); for the girls it’s weaker because of the frequent style changes, so I don’t buy as far ahead for their shoes. If there’s still anything they need after they’ve gone through the boxes, then I’ll shop with their specific needs in mind. It isn’t usually something very urgent, because generally there’s enough of everything for them to get by pretty comfortably. This year, though, my almost 14 year old has told me she really needs a black shirt to go with a couple of dressy outfits. She and the 12 year old share some clothes, but the 12 year old likes to wear her black shirt most of the same days her older sister would want it! Next week, there will be a clearance sale at a local fashion shop, and I’ll stop in there. Someone told me in the past that their clearance prices are great, if you can find something you like in your size. If I don’t see something there, I’ll move on to the thrift store. What is the thrift store doesn’t have something? Well, I’ve never reached the point that I couldn’t find something (except shoes) and then I had to buy brand new, so I don’t know what the next step would be.
By the way, girls are more challenging than boys, since the styles change more quickly (as I said with the shoes), and they all have different ideas of what they like. For the older ages, I don’t store many clothes for the long term except for pajamas, bathing suits, robes, thermals, very basic skirts, turtlenecks. The fashions change too fast and in the four years between my 12 and 8 year olds, many of the things that look great now will look dated then. But those same items can be easily stored from my dd14 to my dd12, because the fashion shift won’t be dramatic or pronounced enough to matter, generally speaking. So for the girls, I’m not usually shopping more than two years ahead. And the truth is, because we have five boys, I’m not usually shopping more than a couple of years ahead for them either, because there’s always someone growing into or out of a size!
In addition to clothes I buy, I also am able to benefit from clothes that are periodically passed on to me by others (mostly one good friend), though I’ve gotten items free from CL for my little kids a couple of times. It honestly does take effort to go through what comes and organize it all, and there are times I’d really rather not have to deal with it, but the payoff is that I have to spend very little to dress my entire family. When holidays come, I don’t have the sudden pressure of having to buy new clothes for everyone in addition to all of the other holiday expenses.
Effectively being able to organize the clothes you buy at a discount or get for free, and have them ready when you need them makes a huge difference to how much you’ll need to spend to keep your children appropriately dressed.
Avivah
