Having children is expensive! Not only is there college to think about and to plan for, but there are also diapers, toys, shoes, sports teams to join, equipment to buy, dance lessons to pay for, private schools to consider, and food to feed them, not to mention clothes to purchase to keep them in style! These things all add up and can really break the bank if you let them. One way to cut serious costs with your children is to purchase used baby clothes. You’ll be amazed at the deals and quality of clothing that you can find at second-hand stores and even garage sales.
Think about it. Most people receive tons of new baby clothing items before a child is born. In addition to clothes that are received as gifts, most new parents can resist buying a few new things for their child as well. Grandparents are notoriously known for buying tons of adorable outfits for precious grandchildren as well. What ends up happening is that new babies wind up with more clothes in their closet than mom or dad! While it’s true that young babies may need an outfit change more than once a day, it is still not uncommon for babies to have more outfits than necessary. What this means is that the clothes that a baby does have rarely end up getting worn more than once or twice.
If you’re experienced with children you also probably know how incredibly fast they grow, especially babies before their first birthday. At times it may seem as if they are literally growing before your eyes as quickly as they change sizes. Because of this reason, there may be numerous outfits that they never even get a chance to wear before they’ve already outgrown them. If they did get a chance to wear each and every outfit for a particular size, it’s unlikely they wore it often before outgrowing it.
Whether it’s the fact that a baby just has way too many clothes, or the fact that babies outgrow many items of clothing before wearing them more than once or at all, many used baby clothing items are in pristine condition. Shopping at garage sales and consignment stores, or even buying used clothing from a friend or neighbor can save you hundreds of dollars. What once sold in a department store for $30 will typically be resold for less than $10.
If you are picky about name brand labels, there are consignment shops that specialize in name brand clothing only. Typically, these shops are very particular about the quality and types of items that they accept. High-end designer label baby clothes are often sold at a fraction of what they originally cost. Prices of clothing at these high-end consignment shops may be closer to $20-25, but it is important to keep in mind the original price of many of the items was probably well over $50 or more.
If labels aren’t important to you, then start scoping out garage sales. You’ll be amazed at what you can find. Many people price clothing items at $3.00 or less, so imagine the bargains you can find! The earlier you get to the sale, the better, as baby clothing tends to be quite the hot item at garage sales.
Regardless of where you find your used baby clothes, you’ll be helping yourself in the long run. Not only are you being green and recycling, but you’re saving yourself loads of money. No one will ever be able to tell that you child is wearing second-hand clothes. Once you’re finished with your baby clothes, pass them on to a friend, or even better, have a garage sale or sell them back to the local consignment store and make yourself some money!