Like I have time to scour God's green earth for the latest in size 5 pants (navy blue), or a church dress for Michaela that doesn't make her look like she just left a nightclub.
Speaking of which....
What in the world is WITH little girls' clothes these days???
Oh, DON'T get me started! Arrgghghgh! Ok......that's a whole other post.......By the way, notice the "Moms for Modesty" button on the side-bar? Yeah, that's me: A MOM FOR MODESTY.
MO--- DES--- TY. Ya know, where people actually have some shame? Yeah, thaaaaaat.
This ain't no "show off what God gave ya, Honey" blog. Nope. We wear CLOTHES around here people!
Ok, rant officially over.....
***
Anywho, like I was saying. I went clothes shopping for my kids today.
I only go twice a year because that's when the big consignment sales hit my area. Imagine department store sized buildings with nothing but oodles of kids' stuff that people are trying to sell. And not just clothes. Toys, books, baby furniture, bikes, you name it. If it has to do with children, you'll probably see it there. And the clothes! Rack upon rack upon rack of NICE STUFF. We're talking brand name. All for a fraction of the cost (well, it is if the seller actually wants to sell it--otherwise it'll just sit on the rack if it's too pricey).
Not that I couldn't get stuff like this at yard sales, but I don't have time to search yard sales for all the clothes my kids need. Not when Noah just grew like 4 inches in the past month! No. These consignment sales are my thing. I go with a list for each child, and I find everything I'm looking for. If something's not there, then I look in the next sale that's coming up. If I still can't find it, then I try a thrift store. THEN, if there's still some holes in someone's wardrobe, THEN I might try buying it at Walmart or Target.
Needless to say, when I plan right, I don't hardly EVER buy my kids clothes at retail prices.
Are you kidding? Not with 6 kids in the house. There's no way we could afford to dress them even half way decently if I didn't shop the consignment sales. Just no way. And not to mention, all the TIME it would take for me to clothe my brood if I had to check every store in town for what I was looking for.
And the modesty thing is a big part of it. Even Walmart has so much flimsy, floosy, show-off-ey, type clothing that I can't possibly outfit my kids shopping there. At least at the consignment sales, I can find ALL kinds of clothing from many different brands. That's a whole lot less time consuming than shopping at individual big name stores, AND I have plenty of modest clothing to choose from. Even if an article of clothing is last year's model, I'll still have a chance to buy it if it fits into what I'm looking for.
I know some people shuddder at the idea of used clothing, but honestly, how long do kids wear this stuff? Not long. In fact, a lot of people could look in their closets right now and even find stuff with tags on it. They've never worn it, and they never will. Their loss is my gain. I got Gabe some nice Carter's rompers like that. Carter's. New. 4 bucks. Cha-ching!
So I did really well this time. I found a lot of what I was needing for the kids' summer wardrobes. The things I didn't find, I know I can get pretty easily and cheaply somewhere else. And I got a bunch of brand name stuff too, for dirt cheap! That's a good feeling.
I like getting nice stuff for my kids, and I like not paying a lot for it.
Things like this help keep life wonderful (as opposed to stressful), ya know?
4 comments:
I love finding used stuff too. In fact later this month I will be going to a sale much like the one you were talking about. I do enjoy shopping however and do get some new stuff that is on sale or clearance. I figure that it is going to be passed down any way so paying a bit more for a few key new items is worth it.
I am so with you on the modesty thing. That is one place where I am glad that I have boys. I see all the hoochie momma girl stuff and it makes me shudder.
Yaaayyyy!!!! A mom who appreciates modesty. Sadly, there are fewer and fewer of those out there. I'm a pediatrician, and I'm amazed at what 7-yr-old girls come into the office wearing (let alone the teens).
Even with only *one* kid, I never pay full-on retail for Twinks clothes.
Just. Can't. Do. It.
When she was tiny, I would "shop ahead", and buy things for her that were often two or three sizes (or years) ahead of where she was just then. One memorable week when she was three, I got four pairs of shorts (that she should be able to wear this summer) for .25 cents a pair at a huge clearance sale at Sears, two adorable cardigans for 1.00 dollar each that she was able to wear this past winter, and three dresses that she can fit into this spring for 2.00 each. The cardigans and dresses were from
Penneys and Wal-Mart respectively.
There's a thrift store down in The Greater Metro that tends to get *really* high-dollar stuff all the time, and we shop there regularly. Amazing how many of the people I know won't go in to a thrift store. Geez, people, you just *wash* the stuff first...
And for what it's worth... no naked bellies, and no butt-cracks at this house. Twinks doesn't even like to dress that way - she's uncomfortable with it, and that's fine with us...
Three kids 4 and u nder. I always shop sales. No other way. of course with boys I don't have to worry about the modesty issue too much. Wish I was closer to hit this sale with you!
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