Saving Money on Children’s Clothing

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One of the biggest line items on the family budget is for clothing, especially if you have children.  It seems that they grow out of their clothing overnight.  Infants grow through up to 7 sizes by the time they are 24 months old and by the time your child is a tween they will know all the brand names and start demanding to wear them.  No matter what your child’s age you can keep them well dressed without breaking the bank.  Here are several tips you can use to reduce your monthly clothing costs.

Hand-me-Downs
You will probably find that most people would rather give their children’s outgrown clothing to someone they know before they consider donating them to charity.  Accept them.  You may not be able to use everything but you are certain to receive at least a few items you can use and you can’t beat free!

Garage Sales
If you are willing to dig a little you can find quality items at a fraction of the retail price.  Check out garage sales in upscale neighborhoods for the best finds and don’t be afraid to bargain for a better price

Swap Clothing
Check out FlipSize and Outgrowing In.  They way these sites work is that you send in your children’s outgrown clothing and “swap” it with someone else for clothes in your children’s current size.

Auction Sites
Take a look at Ebay.  You can get great deals on a “lot” of clothing, which is a number of pieces of clothing in the same size.  Look at the auction items that are ending soon.  You can often find a lot that is ending but has not been bid on yet.  If you don’t want to bid look at the “Buy it Now” option for items.  This is the price that the seller will accept outright for the item and you can purchase it immediately.

Purchase clearance items off season
Look for clearance sales on out of season clothing and purchase clothing for your child a size larger for them to wear next year.  You’ll not only get the lowest price on their clothing but your child will be prepared for the season when it arrives.

Consignment shops
Consignment shops typically cherry pick the best of the gently used clothing that is brought into their shop to be sold.  Once Upon a Child for young children and Plato’s Closet for teens are among the best you’ll find.  You can get brand name clothing for excellent prices at consignment shops.  They also have clearance sales towards the end of the season during which you can purchase items at an even larger discount.

Clothing Rental
Sites such as GoodKarma rent infant clothing.  Prices start at $27.99 per month for 7 outfits.  When your child grows out of them you return them and you’ll automatically get 7 different gently used outfits in your child’s new size.  Fanciu rents special occasion clothing.  The item you rent will arrive 3-4 days before your event along with a postage-paid mailer.  The day following the event you pop the item in the mail.  You don’t even have to launder the clothing.  Prices for a special occasion clothing rental can be as low as $15.

Take Care of your Children’s Clothing
No matter what option you select taking care of your child’s clothing is a task you don’t want to overlook and will save you money in the long run.  There’s nothing worse than putting a new shirt on your child only to have it stained by the end of the day.  To extend the life of your children’s clothing wash them in cold water and dry on low heat and treat stains as quickly as possible.  A couple of great stain treatments to have on hand are Grandma’s Spot Remover – great for grass, mud and even paint stains, Raise – used to remove underarm stains,  and Krud Kutter – good at removing crayons and grease stains.

With these tips clothing for your children’ doesn’t have to be expensive.   You can dress them nicely and you can still be frugal.