Let’s talk about what the kids are wearing.
Clothes. I try to stand by this rule of mine. My kids don’t have more clothes than they can wear in a weeks time. Boys get a pair of khaki pants and a pair of navy blue pants to wear to church until they are too small. Sometimes they don’t have either and we rely on the best pair of jeans until those are ruined. They have no more than three pairs of jeans, five pairs of shorts. The rest of their wardrobe is basic t-shirts, white socks and underwear. The girl is a bit more difficult but I still try to keep her clothing limited to what she can wear in a weeks time, she does have more shoes for obvious reasons….she’s a girl. I have to keep up on the laundry, but this rule really simplifies clutter. I have to admit I do buy them new outfits for special occasions such as Christmas and Easter with the hope that they get more than a few chances to wear the said outfit.
It is rare that I buy the kids clothes at full price. I take advantage of used clothing stores. I also sell whatever clothing I can to the consignment shops and use that money to buy new clothing. I have worked very diligently at keeping my kids label free. My daughter doesn’t know the difference between a pair of Nike’s and the Target brand of tennis shoes, yet she has worn both. I may not always have this luxury of ignorance so I’ll enjoy it while it lasts. I want my kids to be well dressed, but I don’t care if their clothes come from Goodwill or Talbots as long as they are decent. edited to add: I am determined to start buying more from garage sales, thrift stores and ebay.
This is another good rule of mine that has stood the test of time. I buy simple clothes. Like solid color t-shirts, plain khakis, plain jeans and sweatshirts that can last through the ages and not be dated in a couple months. I avoid most trendy clothes for the boys since that is where the hand-me-downs have to sit in wait for a few years before #3 can fit into them.
BTW- I caught Oprah on Friday and she is doing a debt diet. I found it fascinating, I need to go check out the web sight. Some of the families were doing such obvious stupid things. The shocker, one teenager had 25 bras, 70 t-shirts and 17 pairs of jeans!!!!! DUH-HUR! And they can’t figure out why they got into so much debt. We Americans are BIG. FAT. PIGS! I know I’m guilty of excessiveness too, but I’m vowing to try harder.
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My boys have about 3 days worth of clothes. Plus one outfit for Sunday — except for the youngest who is benefitting from having extra because of leftovers. I have the one drawer rule. They each have one drawer and all their clothes have to fit in it. Of course, they don’t care because they are boys. So it is easy.
I believe in keeping it simple with clothes. There is just to much other stuff to do and keep up with.
–annie
THIS is inspiring! I will be working on this one!!! Thanks for sharing.
Trying to pay off my credit card and it seems that something always comes up and sabotages my plan.
I never thought that I would be caught dead in a Goodwill store but I am going there every couple of weeks and have actually found designer clothing with the tags still on it!
it’s funny how some people just don’t get it – 25 bras! that is incredibly odd. my bra is currently poking me because the underwire has popped out…will i throw it out? nope, i’ll sew the wire back in and soldier on!
thanks for all these tips – it’s great to read about others trying, and succeeding, in eliminating excess.
j
You have inspired me to purge my three kids’ clothes. I have always shopped at thrift stores, even when I was single. But now my problem, is because sometimes Salvation Army has kids clothes for like $1, I buy too much! We live in an ‘affluent’ area, and I find designer clothes for a bargain. Our Good Will gets all the Target donations, so I get Target clothes & shoes with the tags still on. Hubby appreciates my great deals, but he says it is en masse, therefore not saving us money!
oh am I lovin’ this blog! just lovin’ it!
I have introduced all of my friends to Goodwill, including my Mom, who refers to it as “GW Boutique.” It makes NO sense ot pay 20 bucks insterad of 2.50 for kids jeans when they’re going to spill paint on them and outgrow them in 3 months. My 11 year old daughter already wears size 7 women’s shoes — she outgrew one pair of new (retail) shoes in 6 WEEKS.
For Easter I splurged on a silk dress, shoes, earrings, and a purse. Total: $12.
I also accept ANYTHING that anyone is giving away. If I can’t use it, I give it to someone who can, or make something I need from it.
I’m thinking of doing a slideshow of thriftshop delights on my site.
My Aunt (grew up in the depression) swears by the 3 outfit rule ” One to Wear, One To Wash and One for Spare”
Army/navy stores have good finds sometimes.Khakis,painters pants,sweats,even cargo pants.It’s been my experience that men and boys really like pockets! Love reading your blog and love that you are sarcastic,like me and mine.Always see the absurdity in life!
I am a huge Dave Ramsey fan… we cut up our (2) credit cards about 4 years ago and haven’t had one since. The use before that was minimal, anyway, but we decided to get rid of them entirely. My kids have a decent amount of clothes, and they do name brands almost exclusively (although my 14 yo daughter has been know to take a Wal-Mart t-shirt and use fabric paint to put the WM logo on it to mock Aero or AE t-shirts) however, I get those name brands exclusively on clearance
We do not do credit for clothes, for Christmas, for appliances, for … well, anything. It is different – but when you’ve been doing it as long as we have, it is pretty much normal – AND even better, my kids think credit is evil! How cool is that!
I really the web site, preserve it up. I find this kind of stuff fascinating. Seems like an honest mistake on the sales rep’s part, but it’s a thing that shouldn’t happen.
I just found your blog and I love it! This post especially hit home for me. Growing up, I had probably two weeks worth of clothes (which is more than enough for anyone), but we lived in a neighborhood with lots of wealthy families. The kids in my high school drove luxury cars while I was taking the bus (I finally bought my first car, a 2004 toyota carolla, on my 24th birthday this year) and a lot of the girls would go shopping with their moms on the weekends and drop hundreds of dollars no problem. I clearly remember sitting in class one day my sophomore year, and I asked the girl next to me what she did over the weekend, and she said she went to the mall with her mom. When I asked ‘Did you buy anything?’ she looked at me like I was crazy and said ‘Of course’.
Looking back, I saw how my parents saved up money for what really mattered, like taking a family vacation every once and a while. I would much rather have fond memories than a closet full of stuff I never wear!
I stumbled into your blog and really enjoy it. My husband and I were both raised in ‘cash and carry families’. If you don’t have the cash, you don’t carry it out of the store.
This is such a refreshing, honest blog. I plan to visit everyday.