Kids can be quite expensive, and of course their clothing is no exception. I’ve had two children, and bought gifts for countless baby showers, but I still find myself surprised at the sky-high prices of baby clothes. It’s amazing how quickly little onesies and tiny outfits can break the bank! In my years buying baby clothes I’ve learned a few tricks that helped me keep my budget in check while still dressing my kids cute! Here are 5 creative ways to save on baby clothes! contains affiliate links
1. Craigslist – Craigslist.com can be a great resource for finding high quality used (and sometimes never worn!) baby clothing. Just run a search in your area for whatever size baby clothing you need and browse the results!
2. Consignment Shops – Search the yellow pages to see if there is a kids consignment store near you. Most consignment shops offer discounts or special rates for people who are buying and selling in their shop. You can sell the clothes your child has outgrown in the shop and use the money you make to buy new clothing in the store! This has worked great for our family.
3. Buy Next Season’s Clothing on Clearance – This requires some planning ahead. When browsing clearance racks, calculate what size your baby should be in the next year and buy the clearance clothing accordingly. For example, this fall, you can purchase next year’s summer clothing at a deep discount. If you watch the sales closely, you can often get 80% or more off really cute clothing! Even if the clothing doesn’t fit next year, you can use your contacts at the consignment shops and re-sell the new clothes! Either way it can be a great opportunity for you!
4. Diapers at Home – When you are at home, let the baby crawl around in only a diaper. Between spit up, and diaper explosions, babies can easily go through half a dozen outfits a day. Letting them live in just a diaper at home, can save you several outfit changes a day, which means you won’t have to buy as many outfits per size. Baby will probably prefer it anyway, both my kids do!
5. Ask for Hand-me-Downs – It never hurts to ask friends/family if they have any hand-me-downs to share. Babies and Toddlers are too young to know or care that their clothing is second hand. It can never hurt to ask on facebook if anyone has clothing of a certain size for sale or trade. Most people are more than willing to pass along their unused baby clothes after their kids have outgrown it! Just be sure to ask if they want it back when your child is done with it.
Using any or all of these tips can drastically reduce the cost of clothing your baby or toddler! These are tried and true tips that have helped my friends and I save hundreds of dollars on each of our children!
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Want more money saving tips? Try one of the following:
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What about you? Have you found any creative ways to save on baby clothes?
Hannah @Supermommy!...Or Not says
I hit garage sales pretty hard during the fall season and am able to find a lot of my kids’ clothes for very low prices-even lower than thrift and consignment! To fill in the gaps of what I couldn’t find at garage sales, I use the tricks you mentioned :)
Joanne Viola says
All great suggestions! I visited from The Modest Mom :)
Blessings,
Joanne
Amy says
Great suggestions!
I have just gotten into Consignment Sales. In the city closest to us they have about five a year, not all of the deals are wonderful, but each one has a 50% off day on the last day. Also, I feel better about paying $5 for a toddler dress if I know the money is going to a local family instead of a big store. This fall I have signed up to consign our clothes for the first time. It only took me about an hour to get everything ready! A great way to sell and save!!
Scarlett says
I agree with the garage sale comment. I have had some great finds during the summer months. I have also signed up for our local Macaroni Kid newsletter. Not only does it have listings for local consignment sales that only run a couple of times a year, but they also list all the kids activities in the area on a weekly basis! I’m also a Goodwill shopper. I never was before I had a child, but honestly, I have found clothes there in good condition, and many were name brands I would NEVER buy a 20mo. Just last week I scored an LLBean winter jacket for $1 in like-new condition. Yes, $1!
Kristina says
AMEN! I love this. Both of my daughters have some stinkin’ cute clothes that I never bought brand new. I got some ridiculous deals on craigslist, also some hand me downs, and just last week I bought end of season shoes at a consignment shop for 10 for $10. I HATE paying full price for kid’s shoes when they either lose them the next day, or grow out of them the next month.
Great post!
Lisa O'Driscoll says
I completely agree! When I found out during my first pregnancy that I was having a girl, I went crazy and spent all kinds of money on super-cute pink clothes (we had thought for years that we couldn’t have kids so I really went over the top). I was so bummed when she outgrew each little baby outfit in a matter of weeks! At least I didn’t have to buy anything for girl #2…LOL
Anup says
Babies are delicate and sensitive, shopping for their clothes requires lots of care and attention. The growth of the baby is going fast so we have to choose the one size bigger in clothes to cut the cost of purchasing.
Andrea says
This is a great post! I buy most of my girl’s clothes at end of season sales up to a year in advance.
One big problem that moms have with buying clothes ahead of time is knowing what size to buy for each season. Living in the Northeast, I had the same problem. I solved it by writing http://www.sizecast.com, a free website that lets parents predict their baby’s future clothes size in over 80 brands!