How to Dress Your Kids for Cheap

Dressing your kids is a major perk of parenthood. I love kids clothes, and I loved them long before I had kids. They are so freakin’ cute!

However, I don’t love to spend money. $30 for a pair of jeans? Who pays that? Not me. And I like to think that my kids still look, in the words of my three-year old, “spiffy.” Below are my tips to not spending an arm and a leg to cover your children’s arms and legs.

Buy used clothing.

1. Here, in order from most popular to least popular, are the sources of second-hand clothing that I use to clothe my kids:

• consignment sales
• thrift stores
•  consignment stores
•  garage sales

Thrift store haul: 9 items, $15.

I think that the best deals can be found at garage sales,  I just can’t make the time commitment it takes to find good sales and shop every week. Consignment stores can be pricey (well, not as pricey as retail) but I find them useful when I am looking for something specific, like a blue long sleeve shirt for family pictures. Consignment sales are great because everything is already organized for you by gender and size! This is also true of thrift stores – ur,  sort of.

2. Shop two sizes ahead of what you currently need. With smaller sizes (0 month through 2T) it is fairly easy to find whatever you need whenever you need it. Small ones outgrow clothing so quickly, much of it is still in good shape. As you veer into 3T territory, at least with boys, there is less selection because they are wearing out clothing. My solution to make sure that I have what-I-want- when-I-want-it, is to shop two sizes up. My kid is a 3T.  I frequently look at 4T and 5T stuff. This allows me to be more picky about what I buy.  My kid doesn’t need those jeans right now – I have some time to find what I really want. It also allows me to avoid paying retail for something I need immediately.

3. Speaking of shopping two sizes ahead: once you hit 2T, your kid will most likely stay in one size for about a year. So shop that size for all the seasons. Pick up a year’s worth of that size and hedge your bets.

4. Keep an inventory of what you have and what you need in your wallet. If you are shopping in three sizes at once (or more, depending on the number/gender of your kids) you won’t remember if you need 4T shorts, or already have six pair. It also won’t help if you have the inventory list at home, and you decided to stop in at Goodwill.

Take All Hand-Me-Downs

Yes, ALL hand me downs. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, as my dad used to say. Say yes now, and you can sort though it later, donating what you don’t need or want. Once you establish yourself as a willing patron of handouts, they multiply.

If you have to buy new, don’t pay retail

Let’s not pretend that I am an expert here. I very rarely shop for new clothing. I think I could count all the new items of kid clothing I have bought (excluding underwear and socks) on my fingers. But, if I had to buy new, here is what I would do to minimize the trauma.

1. Use coupons. Check for coupon codes online. Sign up for coupons from Gymboree and The Children’s Place. Get annoyed when they stop sending them to you because you failed to come to their store and buy something.

2. Sale shop. Or better yet, clearance shop. I am not immune to the siren call of the Target clearance racks. I don’t usually buy anything, but sometimes they have something great, so I always look. The last time that I was in Target, the very helpful salesperson told me that I need to come on Tuesday – they mark down their kid stuff then, and the boy racks are picked over by Wednesday. I actually pinned a pin on Pinterest that says something about the Target markdown schedule – then I failed to read it. Good thing for helpful sales clerks.

3. Pick well made clothing or clothing with a guarantee. I have found The Children’s Place makes pajamas that wear well and run large. My friend Erin says that Sears guarantees their house brand kids jeans – if they wear a hole in it, they replace the same size for free. And she says they go on clearance in January for 75% off.

Take care of the clothing you have

1. Playclothes, anyone? My kids have “dress” clothes and “play” clothes. Play clothes are for the backyard and the park. If we aren’t wearing them, we change before going out.  Incidentally, playclothes are also for spaghetti eating. This was the norm when I was growing up – is everyone else still doing this? If something becomes stained or torn, it moves from one category to the other. My friend Lee Ann has her boys eat breakfast in their PJs, which is genius – spills and stains on PJs aren’t really an issue.

Playclothes. Notice the stained, patched, too short pants.

2. Speaking of stains, I try like hell to prevent them. The Oxy-Clean Max Force Pre-Treater is my friend. Every time I do laundry, I sit on the floor in front of the washer and inspect every item before it goes into the washer, stain sticking any questionable item. When the washer is done, I sit on the floor in front of the dryer and inspect every item to make sure said stain came out before putting it in the dryer. If the stain isn’t gone, I give it another couple washes before admitting defeat.

 While I am doing this, I also button all buttons and zip all zippers.  Hard edges beat up your clothes.

3. Line dry if you can. I remember reading somewhere that dryer lint is actually part of your clothing that has rubbed off. That was an “a-ha” moment for me. Line dry and avoid both heat and things like zippers beating up the fabric. I wish I could line dry more. With little ones, the logistics are harder because I can’t just wander outside to hang up laundry whenever I please. And if I bring them out with me, they want to stay out for an eternity.

4. Repair, repair, repair. Yes, I know that it is boring and repetitive. I know this because five is the record number pair of pants that I have repaired in one week. IN ONE WEEK. But do it. Do it nicely and they can still be dress clothes. Do it quickly and they can be play clothes.

Sell the clothing you no longer need

1. Find a consignment sale or consignment store.

2. Hold a garage sale.

Twice a year, I sell clothing that my youngest has outgrown at a consignment sale. Yes, it does take work to inventory and tag all your stuff, and then haul it to the sale and load it onto the sales floor. Last time I made $300. That covers a lot of kid clothing. Especially when you are buying used.

You can’t sell anything that is ripped or stained. So use freecycle to give your unsaleable items away  to someone who can use it.  For that matter, try freecycle to score some free clothing!

Sew your own

This may not be your thing, but if you read my blog at all, you may have noticed that I like to sew. A lot. It’s a hobby I would pursue even if I didn’t have kids. 

Clockwise, from top left: Kickin Back Sweats (Sewing for Boys), Dream Big T-shirt (tutorial here), Treasure Pocket Pants (Sewing for Boys), Raw-Edged Raglan Tee (Sewing for Boys).

It used to be that you could sew clothes for cheaper that you could buy them. That was back in the olden days. The clothes that I make always cost more than the used clothing that I buy. But I get unique clothing for a fraction of the cost that I would pay at a boutique type childrens’ clothing store.  Here are some ways to sew for your kids for less.

1. Buy patterns on sale. At fabric store chains, all the big pattern companies (Simplicity, McCall’s, Butterick) go on sale for a buck. Wait and stock up.  If you have boys, it won’t take you long to acquire every boy pattern out there, because there are only, like, six. Which, incidentally,  is why I bought the book “Sewing for Boys”.

2. Reuse patterns. Trace them off instead of cutting. Then you can use the same pattern in larger sizes later. I have to admit though, if I got a pattern on sale for a buck, I probably would take the lazy route and just buy another of the same pattern for an additional dollar.

3. Buy fabric on sale. I never buy anything at my local fabric store chain without a 40 or 50% off coupon. Fabric.com also has some great sales.

4. Upcycle used fabric. The brown long sleeve t-shirt above? Made from a recycled t-shirt.

What are the ways that you dress your kids for not a lot of money?

Cutting Boys Hair At Home

Guess what I am getting ready to do?

Tools for a home haircut

Okay, what I already did (three times)  and didn’t get around to blogging about yet.

B after I cut his hair

I cut my kid’s hair. And I think I did a pretty decent job of it. I have been cutting my husband’s hair for years, but his is a simple clipper cut.  He keeps asking if he can just take the clippers to B’s hair, but the kid has pretty crazy hair – curly in spots, virtually no hair growing on the front half of his head – so I was really hesitant to just buzz it, even if it was with a really long blade comb.

B after a haircut - from the back. I have no idea why he is holding his ears.

 I knew I needed a scissor cut. I had been taking him to this kid’s haircut place in town, but the haircut is $18.95. Which seems really outrageous for something I think I can do myself.

Man, was I nervous though. I checked out four books from the library to try to figure out how to do it. I found that as a tactile learner,  I can’t read about how to give someone a haircut and have it make any sense. Here is how I prepared.

The book I found most useful is Cutting Your Family’s Hair, by Gloria Handel. There are lots of close up, full color pictures to use.

I watched videos on YouTube. This video was the one I found most useful. Yeah, it’s twelve minutes long, but it really is helpful to see what she is doing.

 I looked at other people’s blog posts about how to cut boys hair. Heavenly Homemakers has a very useful diagram about how to hold the hair at the correct angle. I printed it out to refer to the first couple of times I cut B’s hair.

I learned that you should always hold your scissors vertically on the sides, and horizontally on the top.

Somewhere (I didn’t bookmark it!) I found a great tip to cut the width of three fingers on the top third of the head, the width of two fingers on the middle third of the head, and the width of one finger on the bottom third of the head. For me, this made way more sense than trying to cut a guide and follow it by combing sections of the cut hair into the next uncut section.

So, here in a nutshell is how I do it.

Step 1. Visit your local beauty supply and shell out cash for the stuff you need: scissors, a comb, a spray bottle and a cape. You may already have a comb with graduated teeth that will work.  Shell out cash for a mini pair of clippers if you like, for shaving the neck and trimming by the ears. This set me back about $60, which I have actually recouped now that I have cut B’s hair three times. The bulk of the expense was for the clippers.

Step 2. Plant your kid in front of the TV, and turn on something he loves to watch. We use a small chair that is his size, and I get down on my knees to cut. The chair goes on top of a drop cloth – actually some old drapes that we also use for painting. I bought a kid size cape, so I put that on him.

Yes, that car is on its side. Apparently it isn't running and B was fixing it.

Step 3 – Wet his hair down. I do recommend buying the bottle  from the beauty supply store that is specifically for this. I love this thing because it produces a fine mist. I use it all the time for styling my hair too.

Step 4 – Comb his hair out, and then begin to cut a guide. Always remember that haircutting scissors are VERY SHARP. Use a great deal of care and attention to not cut yourself (on the hand) or your wiggly little man.  I start in the back, at the nape of his neck, and I cut a line across to mark where I want the hair to be. Then I move around to the sides of his head. Be really careful around the ears, fold them down to cut behind. The last thing you need is to cut his ear. Then move to the front. I also cut a straight line across in the front, keeping in mind that dry hair will “shrink” a bit, so don’t go too short. Curly hair (which my son has right in front) can shrink up to two inches.

Step 5 – From here, I depart from what others do ( using the guide you just cut to cut the other sections of hair) because it makes marginal sense to me, and I just can’t get my two hands to work together to do it that way. Instead, this is where I start cutting the top 1/3 of his head at three finger widths. The hair is being held between your pointer and middle finger, and the middle finger, ring finger, and pinkie finger are all stacked underneath with the hair pulled taut and the pinkie finger resting on the scalp. Work with small sections of hair, and use the angles in the diagram from the post from Heavenly Homemakers. Keep your fingers horizontal when cutting on the top of the head, and vertical  when cutting on the sides. Like this:

Three finger widths – my middle, ring and pinkie fingers are stacked, and I only cut the hair above my middle finger – which you can’t see from this camera angle.

As I move down his head to the middle third, I switch to two finger widths – only my middle and ring finger are stacked up. I move my pinkie out of the way, and the ring finger rests on his scalp. As I move to the back of his head I start holding my hand vertically instead of horizontally. 

Step 6  – Continue cutting using finger widths as guides, working from the front of his head to the back and then switching from side to side (from one ear across the top of the head over to the other ear).

Step 7 – Use the clippers to save his neck below the bottom of his hair ( the line you cut across) – you are just getting rid of wispies and tidying up. Also tidy up the line around his ear.

You’re done! Pat yourself on the back for saving a boatload of money.