So, it’s that time of year.
I don’t mean when there is too much pumpkin, everything is apple cider, and people get excited about the leaves changing colors.
I mean the “Great Clothing Switch Out,” when you start going through your children’s clothing to weed out what is the wrong size and the wrong season. And what started as a full wardrobe has turned into more socks than you can count, plenty of underwear, and maybe two or three shirts with one pair of decent pants.
Yeah, that time of year.
So, how to do make sure that your child can dress for the upcoming season without completely breaking your budget (because if you are like me, you are also already seeing the cost of gifts coming in December).
Here is how we have always managed to keep clothing costs for our children down.
To start, we do save what isn’t stained or too patched from previous children. Our younger children usually end up with enough clothing just on what managed to get passed down from the older.
Tip for saving clothes: invest in the space saver bags and designate one bag per size. It usually ends up being enough pants, shorts, and shirts to make it to the next kid.
However, if you don’t have any of your own hand-me-downs, there are a few other ways to save.
Ask your friends with older/bigger children if they have anything. I get a ton of clothing from one family who has a slightly older child than mine; I go through the bags and pass on what I don’t need to another family. When I have extra from my children, there are people that I ask if they need more clothing.
If you are passing on clothing, remember, if you wouldn’t buy it because of rips or stains, don’t try to pass it off on someone else (I’ll cover what to do with these clothes at the end).
If you have Facebook, check to see if your town as a local Buy Nothing Page. This is a little hit or miss because some people will post a huge lot and you have to be willing to take it all and sort it at home, and sometimes the pictures are of bags and you can’t see what is in it. However, everything on this page is free, hence the buy nothing. Some towns also allow for ISO (In Search Of) posts, allowing you to post “ISO Boys Small Clothing” and people will tag or message you if they have what you need. While it could end up being a bust, it does cost nothing.
You can also check your area for consignment sales. Some are full time stores, such as Once Upon a Child, some are local twice-yearly events such as ‘Round We Grow, or Just Between Friends in southern New Hampshire. You can sometimes find local thrift groups on Facebook too. Also, sometimes you can gather up your extra clothing and bring it in to sell/consign. Just keep in mind that some of these sales have very high standards about what they will accept and you might not get much. Or you might get lucky and make quite a bit.
There are also your larger resale stores, such as Goodwill, Savers, and the Salvation Army. Savers is my resale store of choice; where we live, it is the nicest of the three and best organized. I do have a rule that I won’t spend more than $5 on a pair of pants and $3 on a shirt for my kids. If you are worried about durability, check for loose threads and holes in store. Our local resale store does allow exchanges on clothing (but not much else) within 7 days if they don’t fit, so you can buy something in store and bring it home to try on. If it doesn’t fit, bring it back.
You can always go to the regular stores, but check the clearance section first. I know that it is usually the out of season stuff, but you can stock up on the next size up for next year or you might get lucky and find something that you can use for the current season. If you do buy at a big store, such as Target, Wal-Mart, or even the department stores such as Macy’s, check their website for additional policies. For Target-owned brands, the store will take any worn-out clothing and exchange it if it was bought in the last year. Since I save most clothes to pass on, I don’t usually use this policy, but if things get holes quickly or the seams fall apart, this is a good policy to use.
Also try online resellers such as ThredUp and Swap.com. There are many, many others for both clothes and toys and yes, some of it can get pricey, but if you need something for a family party or wedding or holiday pictures, the online resale shops tend to have higher end brands for less.
My next way to save: extended family. My children are very blessed in that their extended family is incredibly generous. Grandparents are almost the sole cause for my children’s nicest clothing. When making wish lists for birthdays and Christmas, I include the children’s current sizes and usually they get something, even if it is a pair of really good jeans.
And I promised that I would suggest what to do with those clothes that are so worn out that you can’t save them or give them away. Look for a local textile recycle bin. They take old household textiles- clothing, bedding, cloth napkins- and recycle them into rags for reuse. This is also a place to check the major resale stores too. Our local Savers will take “Unusable Fabrics” and send them to rag collector too.
I touched on it earlier, but if you have some nicer clothes that you don’t want to just give away, you can try to consign or sell it yourself. Some of the ways to do this involve consigning to ThredUp (online) or a local store, or selling on Facebook Marketplace. You can also try sites such as Poshmark and Mercari, where you take the photos and price the items. This could put a little cash back towards the new clothes that you have to buy.
