Fashion Cent$

Keeping children clothed is a challenge on a budget.  Items are pricy and keeping up with growth spurts can be a nightmare.  There are some ways to clothe kids that are less expensive than others...I will give a list of ideas where to find bargains for clothing and then rate them in order of Most Frugal Method~

1. Given free.
2. Thrift store.
3. Consignment shop.
4. Home made/handmade.
5. Sales
6. Discounted
7. Swaps.
8. Garage/Yard sales.
9. Coupon or other money off prices.
10. End of season discounts.
11. Hand me downs.
12. Auction

Did I miss any ways?? Give me a holler if I did and tell me where to put it in this next list! ;-))

MOST Frugal to Least. . .
1. Free  We can't beat free.  Free can be in the form of somebody sharing with us or just handing down our used items to our next child, but FREE is FREE! It beats all the deals! Free can be a swap too~as long as no money is exchanged~it's free right?

2. To rate these next ones, I must admit that attitudes and beliefs will come into play as well as our budget.  Is lightly used or used as good as new, but may cost a little more?  You decide your values, but for me when I had little children I paid as much as $10 and $20 per churchy dress outfit per child because they were sometimes hundreds of dollars and were not hurt by the original owner! So here's my list from #2 on:

Garage/Yard sales~I've found often that people having these  generally know what to ask to move their merchandise quick.  The rule of selling is to be sold out as quick as possible by pricing accurately because the longer the day the less the money.  Many will go for less quicker in order to move items quicker, but then I also have 'shopped' later and found items that while earlier in the day folks were not dickering obviously by what was STILL there, so I found great stuff for less~jeans generally $1; tops $.50-$1 depending! But anyway you look at it, the next two on my list gain their merchandise from the yard sales and they are out to make something...so...

3. Thrift stores.  I have found these to be a little pricier than the garage/yard sales, but sometimes you can find some real jems! My daughter got two brand new items today for $9 that either would have been three times as much! Both had the tags still on them! Whoohoo!

4.  Consignment Shops.  Now this again depends upon philosophy, because often you will pay a good bit more than the thrift store or garage/yard sale for items, but if you are thinking discounted new, then you will want to compare the prices here.  I have found discounted items to be about a less as consignment shop prices for new verses old or used stuff! So take your pick here! I just want to enourage you to shop until you find what you need at a GREAT price and doing this means you KNOW what an item will go for regularly...

5. Discouted retail: Can be out of season items or marked down, but these compete in price often with consignments...

6. Auctions are a toss up...I've never bought clothing this way, so I am unsure...except on eBay.  So I'd say know your prices because you can end of paying too much!

7. Home/handmade: Frabric prices have driven me away from my sewing machine! I was shocked when I shopped for plain ole cotton-poly blend for some curtains. . .gone are the $1 a yard or less days! My mother made all my formals when I was in high school and college from the fifty-cents a yard tables at the local fabric store~no more! So this is really an investment when you consider materials and your time...there are too many clothes begging for homes on the cheap!

This prioritized list is MY own ideas of values and value for my clothing budget.  Notice I said NOTHING about name brands or the like? They don't enter into this equation for me because I can find some of these at our most inexpensive places.  For growing kids, this can be a challenge to keep them clothed. We are so blessed!

It makes sense to have a value for values in fashion cent$

Staying in Line. . .or On the Lines...or Lining UP!

You can chose today's headline for my thoughts today from my laundry "palace" where I don my 'fairy status' to get my family's duds all cleaned and prepared for another round of life!

With the washer swishing, the dryer dinging, and yup~the clothesline full~laundry is getting done as fast and best I can with my budget in mind.

If you don't have a clothes line, you could be missing a wonderful opportunity to save on your laundry expenses each month! Line drying is good for the really heavy items like towels, blankets, and blue jeans...not to mention the scent of freshness that the sunshine offers. If you've ever dealt with soured clothing or strong odors such as garlic, then you know how hard it is to get fresh smelling cloth from normal cleansing...try hanging it in the open air~not under a tree, but open where the breezes and sunshine can get to it...I used to hang all my white uniforms to keep them whitened because bleach can yellow some fabrics when I was working as a nurse. Of course these were the days when nurses wore white! But the only real draw back I can think of to line drying could be allergies for most situations, and of course weather...clothes won't dry in WET weather~duh!! lol!

Be sure that you monitor the weather when your clothing is out~rain water doesn't "hurt" it, but it can make the drying time a whole lot longer...

I sent out two huge loads...yeah, we use this many towels...and my hubby reminds me of a 70% chance of rain~well, I am monitoring the situation: any drying time is better than none! AND I can bring in "almost" dry towels and clothing and throw in the dryer to soften if they don't get totally dry. Note that your towels will be rougher, and if you will consider this, it could be a benefit for your skin...it will remove more dead cells and create softer skin~now if you have a condition that this would not benefit, I'd use what my doctor has recommends~but if not~give it a try! I have also put up drying racks and lines inside our home before as well! This was in a situation where our dryer was down~and it's not only rain that is a problem~clothes freezing on the line are no good too ;-))

Do you have a place? Can you string up a line or two to save some on your costs?

I have used the bathroom shower bar to hang clothes hangers with wet clothing~be sure and shake and straighten out the item before you leave it to dry...or it will need ironing! Oh how I detest this most! But if you hang your items carefully on the line or hangers, they will come out nice and ready to be either folded or placed in the closet...be sure the items are thoroughly dry too: they will sour and smell if not adequately dried before storage! Feel all over the article of clothing~especially the thicker areas like cuffs and collars, pockets and hems! BE SURE they are dry before storage!!

Another tip in clothes line procedures is to use care in hanging unmentionables~I always dry these in my dryer, but when I have not had access to one~in the past, I would hang these on inside lines between other clothing or items...I personally don't want to see peoples "drawers" on the line drying! It's too personal, but hanging them where they are privately drying is a good solution...call it PRIDE! ;-))

Line drying might be extreme~yes, some of the suggestions I make are that for sure~but if we want to consider thrift practices that are solid ways to live on less we should look at all the options~and remember this: it's not been all that many years that it was common practice~the ONLY practice for drying was line drying!

Hanging Out today~watching the sky~enjoying the breeze!