Shopping Trip

I learned today that shopping for a soon-to-be 4 year-old is hard. At least when she's with you!

I had a couple of coupons I could use. The younger kids and I took off this morning because my Princess wanted to do something special today.

We went to JCPenny and to Kohl's. I had $10 off of anything at both stores! We went to JCPenny looking for something for my little man, his birthday is tomorrow! (I just can't believe it!) While we were there, my Princess found a stuffed animal that is also a purse. It's a while doggie with a blue rhinestone shirt that is actually the purse part. She could not stop looking at it.

We continued to walk around the store and I finally got her distracted enough to put the dog on the register. The lady double bagged the dog and we escaped with only paying $5 for her birthday present! Awesome!

Then we made it to Kohl's. My little man is totally into cars/trucks. He calls them "vroom, vroom"s. A couple of weeks ago, he found one of my Buddy's trucks and moved it along the floor saying "vroom vroom." So cute! No one even told him how to do that! My total at Kohl's with the $10 off coupon was not enough, so I bought me a new waterbottle...escaping Kohl's with only spending $5 again!!

Call me cheap...call me thrifty...I call me smart! Oh, and successful!

--sorry no pictures, but my Princess would totally know I got it for her if there was a picture!!---

My kids clothes

I have three kids. All different ages, all different sizes.

My Buddy is almost 5, really long and super skinny. This year he needs all new clothes. 

My princess is 3 ½. She’s still carrying some of her baby chubbiness, but has also grown out of all of her clothes.

My little man is 2 ½ months old. He was born during a different season than my Buddy. Some of the things My buddy wore, he can wear, but he will also most likely need some new clothes of his own.

So how do I go about organizing my kids clothes? Do I have any ideas for finding cheap/cost effective ways to get new clothes while not busting my budget?

Organizing:

1.  I put all of their clothes on hangers. The only things in their drawers are: socks, underwear, jammy’s, and their shoes. I hang up clothes after each and every laundry day. 
2.   I also make sure to put the clothes that came as outfits back on hangers as outfits. Then inside the closet all the shirts are together, all the pants are together, all the dress shirts are together, and all the sweaters are together, making it easier to decide what the kids will be wearing that day. All of the clothes are put on the hanger in the same direction. The clothes all face left. Might be a little neurotic, but I’m a little neurotic! 
3.     I do not keep a laundry basket in their closet. Their dirty clothes get put in the laundry room immediately after they remove their clothes. This keeps the clothes from going all over the floor of their bedroom and closet.
4. I am not one to use only plastic or only wire hangers. I think it depends on your preference, and I mostly use the hangers that come from the store when hanging up my kids clothes. My husband prefers wire hangers, so his are wire but the rest of the family uses plastic. So go with whatever hanger you like.

Cost effective “new” clothes for kids:

1. Shop consignment: I am famous for taking a basket of my kid’s clothes to consignment stores and getting some money back for them. I either turn around and spend that money in the store, or I go and buy them new clothes from a retail store. 
2. NEVER PAY FULL PRICE!! When not consigning, I shop the clearance racks. You can often find clothes for 40-60% off. I also sign up for emails to come to my inbox because 80% of the time they have a coupon attached.
3. Trading clothes. Remember when you were a teenager and you’d share clothes with your best friend, it’s the same idea. Talk with your friends who have kids bigger or smaller than your kids and swap. Make sure to write your name on the tag if you want the clothes back.

When the seasons change it can be tough on the pocket book, but with these simple ways to find cost effective clothes it shouldn’t hurt your bottom line too badly.

How do you organize your kid’s clothes? How do you protect your budget when it comes to growth spurts and new clothes for your kids?