Back to School: Clothe Your Kids On A Budget is a guest post from Sami.
Back to school time can certainly be a huge budget buster. It feels as if each year the amount of supplies needed increases by a ton per child and then there is the issue of a school wardrobe. The kids have grown leaps and bounds over summer and you need a school wardrobe that will *fingers-crossed* last for approximately nine months – on a budget.
It is my hope that my purchase planning system will help you accomplish just that.
Step 1: Make a list.
I start with a list of everything my child will need for the upcoming year. My general list goes something like this for my daughter (son):
- 7 short sleeve(ss) t-shirts/tanks
- 2 ss button downs (5)
- 7 long sleeve(ls) t-shirts
- 3-5 ls button downs (7)
- 3 skirts
- 3 pair blue jeans (4)
- 4 pair other pants/colored jeans (5)
- 5 school dresses
- 7 pair of tights
- 5 pair of leggings
- 4 lightweight jackets (or sweatshirts)
- 4 sweaters
- 1 dress coat
- 1 heavy coat & snow pants
- 1 pair tennis shoes
- 1 pair winter boots
- 1 pair “fun” shoes
- 10 pair socks
- 10 pair panties/undies
- 2 pair thermal under-roos (3)
Step 2: Inventory
After I make a list, I then go through any stockpiled clothes that I have stored away – generally hand-me-downs and cute things I have purchased over the year. I have Jade try on clothes when I am not sure about the fit.
I then check off what I have that fits (I include things that are a teensy bit too big) and make notes (e.g.: Blue Velvet Pants – $1.50). I always leave tags on stockpile items so I can plan my budget for next year, and of course blog about my savings ;).
Step 3: Visualize
After I have a working inventory, I pair up the clothes into possible outfits.
Pairing up outfits helps you see what else you might need or if there is something you have no match to. I donate those items that don’t have more than two coordinating “friends” (exception: dresses).
Step 4: Make a Shopping List
I make a list of the items we still need, or that I would like to have with a notation on color families. This year’s families are navy & purple, pink & brown, red, black & white.
Step 5: Go Shopping
List in hand, I hit thrift stores first. I stock up on basics first: jeans, pants, skirts, t-shirts, etc.
I then fill in any remaining gaps and pick up trendy items at traditional retail stores. Of course, I always buy tights, socks, underwear, and such new– unless they come in their original packaging. 😉
Generally, what remains on my list are shoes, sweaters, and leggings — for some reason these items don’t make it to the thrift store in good repair.
I hope my system helps simplify your back-to-school experience!
How do you save on back to school clothing? Leave a comment. 🙂
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Sami is a wife, mom to two kiddos and thrift-store addict. Three years ago she was laid off from her high(ish) paying professional gig and has since been trying to make ends meet on a small income. She blogs at Mi Casita Mi Vida about her thrift store adventures, decorating a new apartment on a shoestring, and her family’s frugal lifestyle.
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Great ideas. Thans for the article and all comments that follow. I’m going to try this.
We were lucky, my nephew is 10 months older than my son and my sister’s MIL is a SA thrift store employee so the hand-me-down train rolls into this house often. Between the clothes she handed down and the pieces I grabbed at an Old Navy clearance sale I have enough to create 18 different outfits. I bought a new outfit for the first day, a pair of indoor runners and some underpants and we’re set for the year for under $50.
That’s awesome Rachel!
I love the list! I am curious, though, where do you live? Two pairs of long underwear makes me guess somewhere north? We moved north to WI last year but with the warmest winter in recent history, we still haven’t experienced a WI winter!
Both of my children attend private school that requires uniforms from approved stores only (Target isn’t one of them). When my daughter started kindergarten, we shelled out $300 for her to start school with one outfit per day. Then I found out about the school’s used uniform “store” where a volunteer mom collects used uniforms, stores them in rubbermaid containers in her basement, and hauls them out to the school for a “uniform sale” on a Saturday morning every month during the school year and once during the summer. The prices are about 1/10 of the retail store price. Now about $60/year gets plenty of clothes for both of my kids.
Also, since I live in north Georgia, I shop for school supplies and clothes when Tennessee and Georgia have their tax-free weekends for back-to-school.
I think your blog is wonderful. I read every entry in the God provides section, and all I can say is that I was both encouraged and convicted. May we all remember Who is the Giver of every good gift in our lives, from donuts to Disney.
“from donuts to Disney”–love it! I never thought of it that way. 🙂
Wonderful organization method! I have been getting my kids school-ready for many years with varying degrees of success. I get frustrated with the like-new clothing that remains in the closet because when I look at that clothing, I don’t see a shirt or pants; I see wasted money! I will try your method. Thank you for the post!
I dont coordinate colors and such. But I do go through hand me downs first see what we have see what we need make a list head to the thrift store then we head to the stores. This year I only need to buy my 7 yr old leggings a few pairs of jeans and a coat. Im super excited as I have 4 children and it can get costly!! We have summer clothed and partially school clothed the entire family for 200 $ in the last 5 mths!! Thats great as I used to have no knowledge in how to thrift shop and would just buy what I thought was cheap at retail. I married a great thrift store shopper and am saving money and we have more kids LOL
Wow Abbigail–sounds like you got off easy with the 7 year old! 🙂
I also enjoy thrift/consignment shopping! I regularly resale my gently used items to the thrift/consignment shop. They will either give you cash or store credit which is usually more than the cash amount. One of our favorite exchange stores offers coupons which always helps us maximize our budget!
The last few years i have made clothes for my 3 kids. Things like shorts, skirts and dresses. Mostly from fabric I have stock piled or clearances from the fabric store. I then buy shirts to cordinate and new shoes. I also love to repurpose old clothes into new ones like pants to shorts and long sleeves to tanks.
I’m going home tonight after work, and going through all the kids clothes and making my list, thank you so much for the great ideas.
You are very welcome Kathrin. 🙂
I’m impressed. My sewing skills are limited to sewing on buttons and repairing small tears–haha!
clothes: kohl’s. i buy gift cards at the grocery (giant eagle) when i can get fuel perks. then i use them with coupons, sales & kohl’s cash. i hit target & walmart clearance racks routinely. shoes: stride rite & crocs have great deals a few times a year. again, clearance at target & walmart at odd times of the year make for great deals. once upon a child. hand me downs. gap, lands end, children’s place have clearance stuff on their website & off season deals are stellar. sometimes, those gift cards with fuel perks pay off there too!
Thank you, Kimberlee, for the feature guest post! I am so excited!
You are very welcome Sami!
I know you only sometimes coupon but Target offers some great coupons on their site for clothes. I was able to pick up leggings last week for myself for $2 a pair- They were on sale for $5 from $8 and they offered a $3 coupon online. (I swear by these when travelling so easy to pack-I lived in them on a long trip to Europe where every ounce in my suitcase counted) I also can pick up great items like Tanks which I like to wear under many of my Shirts/Sweaters for $3 with target coupons a few times a year.
They also work on clearance clothes 🙂 so many times dresses from summer can be paired with leggings and boots for a winter look.
Great tip Jamie–thanks! We have purchased a few things at Target, but the store is about 20 minutes away so we don’t shop there often. A few coupon/clearance deals could make the trip worth it though.
I also do this! I try my best to match up with end of the year clearance. These items I usually buy in the next size up (or two) and they go into my stockpile for next year/season. I would safely say that at least 1/3 if not 1/2 of my stockpile comes from the Target clearance section. Great tip!
If you live near a “Once Upon A Child”, I’ve found plenty of good shoes there. They are very well priced on most things. My children have to wear uniforms for school, so I can get their pant/shorts/skirts there. Everything is always in good condition. I’m planning on making a trip there soon. My two oldest need some things. If you get a chance and have never been, you should check out “Once Upon A Child”.
Awesome organization. I always shop thrift stores and find the cutest things, but don’t always come up outfits. I will definitely try this process to keep it simple.