How to save money on kids clothes

Kids clothes can be expensive. Especially when they only wear them for a few months or a year at most. The thought of spending a lot of money on a shirt or pair of pants that might just end up getting worn out, or not worn very long does not sound appealing to me. Since I started having kids I’ve learned a few tricks on how to find good quality kids clothes without having to pay full price. And just like anything else, nothing gives me a little thrill like scoring great deals on kids clothes.

Stock up on the next size up in clothes

If you can, stock up on the next size up from the current size that your child is wearing. Especially with babies and younger kids. They grow fast and there is nothing worse than needing clothes in the next size up and having nothing for them to wear.

Keep a list of what you have in each size

Another thing I do is keep a list of how many of each item I have in each size. I started doing this when my oldest was a baby and I had received a bunch of clothes as gifts from people after she was born. Also, garage sale season had started and it was hard to resist some of the cute baby girl clothes. Since I didn’t want to end up with 25 onsies and only 3 pairs of pants in a certain size, I knew I had to start keeping track of what I had. I also started sorting them in bins for each size. What I do now is keep a list in my phone of what I have, so when I’m out garage saling, I can see what I need and don’t let myself go overboard. With 3 kids to buy for I definitely need to limit myself. This is what a list for one of my kids might look like:

• 2T
• Long sleeved shirts – 7
• Short sleeved shirts – 7
• Pants – 8
• Shorts – 8
• Pajamas – 8

I update each list as needed every time I go shopping.

Buy clothes at garage sales

This is by far my favorite way to shop for kids clothes. As I said, kids wear their clothes for such a limited amount of time and I love being able to find items for $1 or less. Especially baby clothes. Babies do not wear their clothes out and I’ve found some almost brand new looking baby clothes for really cheap at garage sales. If garage saling is not your thing, or there aren’t that many in your area, don’t worry, there are other ways to save.

Used clothing stores

This is the next best way to save money on kids clothes. The items won’t be quite as cheap as garage sale prices, but they are still cheaper than buying them brand new. Most used clothing stores are pretty picky about what they will take, so you know you will find quality clothing in great shape. Another great thing about consignment stores is that you can take your kids’ clothes there when they outgrow them and get money for them. Some stores will pay you right away and others wait until your items have sold.

Shop store sales

You can find great deals on clothes when stores have sales. The best way of course is when the store is having a clearance sale. If you can, purchase clothes for the next season at an end-of-season clearance sale. Sign up for email reminders for when your favorite store is having a sale. One of the best days to shop for kids clothes is on Black Friday. This is when most stores are having great sales on clothes. My daughter loves wearing leggings and I buy all her leggings for the year at Target on Black Friday.

Kids clothing groups

There are groups on Facebook dedicated to selling used kids clothes. Often people will sell their clothes in lots or bundles. Say you are looking for a bunch of 6 month clothes for your daughter. This would be an easy way to find what you are looking for. You can search Facebook to see if there are any of these types of groups in your area.

Follow these tips and you will never have to pay full price for your kids’ clothes again.

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