Saving Hand Me Down Clothing Can Save You Money
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When my first child was a toddler, we had no idea if we could have more children. In fact, he was three and a half before our second child was born. But, ever hopeful, I had saved his baby clothes for the next child.
Who would have thought that I would get so much bang for my buck by saving those hand me downs for the next kids?! In fact, thanks to durable clothing, proper storage, and a little patience, we’ve saved quite a bit of cash by holding onto hand me down clothing.
In fact, even my girls are able to wear some of the items that my oldest wore when he was a preschooler!
Last week, I sorted through and did a “changing of the guard,” if you will. The youngest FishBoys were cajoled into trying on a number of different clothing items to see if they still fit. What was too small was passed on to the next kid or the giveaway bag. What was left was there for him to add to his wardrobe.
Here are some tricks that have helped us save money on clothes over the years:
Buy Durable Clothing
I don’t spend big bucks on name brand clothing. I never wanted to fuss over stains and tears which is what I would do if I was buying expensive clothing. Instead, we’ve chosen to shop for classic, quality items, usually on clearance. I prefer new, though I know lots of people who find great ideas at thrift stores. Either way, buy something that appears to have a lasting quality — in both substance and fashion.
Store Clothes Properly
As you may know, I have major bug and rodent issues. I can generally handle spiders, but every other creepy, crawling thing better stay away. As such we’ve invested in Sterilite boxes to store clothing. These stack well in the kids’ closets, come in a variety of colors, and generally keep bugs and rodents from investigating your stored clothing.
Be Patient
The patience part comes in when it’s time to change your kids’ wardrobes. It can be a chore to switch out the old and figure out what hand me downs will work. Kids can vary in taste as well as body build. But, think of it as shopping in your own home. Not only will you save a bundle on gas, but you’ll save money on clothes, too.
I have 3 girls and 1 boy. My oldest wears the clothes, and then I do exactly as you have done. Pack them up in the giant containers and wait for the next kiddo to grow into them 🙂 I only have to purchase shoes and bathings suits each year for them and occasionally something that has all worn through…like pants with holes in the knees. It never seems to matter that the material is jeans or whatever, we always have holey knees. So I chop those into shorts, and maybe have to purchase some pants 🙂 My current six year old is wearing a whole ton of “sweat-pant shorts” that work fabulously after I hem them. It has saved me SO much money over the years. I also buy my oldests clothes when they are reduced prices the previous year before. We always tell each girl “be careful in those clothes. You are ruining your sister’s shirt!” lol. Yes, every year at swap out time can always be a pain, but it’s a short lived pain. And it’s no more hassle than taking them all to the store, trying on different clothes and sizes and trying to find things that will fit. We just do the trying on at home, and in our own time 🙂 What better way?
Great tip on hemming the shorts. Thanks for sharing that.
Great tips! Since spring is coming and we are ready to go “shopping” in our bins I think my kids are going to be helping me sort and organize this year. Why is it the older they get the more they trash their clothes and the less there is to keep for the next kid?
We love hand-me-downs at our home. We have some very wonderful friends who pass their daughter’s clothing on to us and my sister-in-law passes her son’s clothing down. It’ s wonderful that with three kids under four we have probably only bought only 10 items of clothing.
The “changing of the guard” is my least favorite part. I almost hate the change of seasons because it means an entire day overhauling our closets and drawers.
I’ve discovered that it makes it a little easier if I place outgrown clothes into the bin as we go through the season, that way I already know I’ve taken everything out of their closet and drawers that no longer fits.
And using Oxiclean to get stains out of those hand me downs helps to preserve the clothing even longer! 🙂
After my second child I went through a horrible “I’m done having kids” phase. I ended up throwing away so many clothes because I was quite certain that I wouldn’t be having more children. I regret that to this day!!!