Frugality with Clothing

Clothing needs for a family of various sizes can be one of the most frustrating chores to tend to for a variety of reasons.  We have had bins and bins full of clothes we've found at yard sales for children to grow in to, or ones that children have grown out of and saving them for the next child.

The challenge is very real to try to stretch every penny to cloth a growing family.  I love the challenge though.

I began every March in Pennsylvania, taking stock of every piece of clothing the children had.  With this inventory, I documented every pair of blue, black, tan jeans or pants, every detail that I could think of to ensure I knew everything my kids had in their dressers and closets.  I took that information and built a list of things to begin looking at yard sales, thrift stores, facebook flea markets, ebay, and every clearance rack I could find.  

I had to streamline their wardrobes when they were little, so I tried being very basic with one pair of tan, black, and blue dress pants, a couple long sleeved and a couple short sleeved dress shirts for church and special occasions.  I tried keeping an eye out for things I knew they would like, but being realistic.  

I worked very hard to find everything I could for them at yard sales first.  Yard sales were the best source for things I could find for $.50 or barter for a large purchase, grouping things together.  I loved being able to find things for my family very inexpensively.  

Once yard sale season was over, I took stock in how much I was able to fill with yard sales.  Once I saw how much, or how little, I was able to visit a variety of thrift stores getting things on their sale days.  I made sure to look for good quality clothing, always, and it always helped to look for name brands like Liz Claiborne, Old Navy, Lee, and etc.  I loved going to huge thrift stores and finding deals.

Next I'd always keep an eye out for my kids' sizes on the facebook fleamarket sites.  Sometimes I could get some good items, other times I just kept scrolling due to the unrealistic cost.  

Ebay was among the last points only because of the cost of shipping.  I've liked ebay because you can look for specific measurements for clothes to ensure a better fit.  Many times I've found jeans, shirts, things like that for less than half of what they originally cost brand new.

Which leads me to the last point--new.  Buying something new is so totally foreign to me.  We have always tried stretching so much for so long that it seems unnatural to buy something "new" off the rack.

Fortunately, when we followed this plan, we were able to drastically reduce our clothing budget.  

How do you make time for this type of work?  A little at a time!  One day for the inventory while you do that particular child's laundry, then move on to the next one.  It is more like a conveyor belt type of action once things get moving.  Once the inventory is done, you are done with it for a whole year.  Once you get your list done, you can simply just move on to your list.  I've tried pulling everything together in an Excel document spreadsheet so that I can see things much more clearly.  

I hope this helps someone!

Is there anything I've forgotten or not looked at?  Probably!  I hadn't even mentioned the bags and bags of clothes we were blessed with from friends. 😊

Have a blessed day!

God Bless,