Thrifty Tip Of The Day – Plan A Frugal Wardrobe For Your Growing Child

Posted by oshun on May 4, 2009

When it comes to clothes for our growing kids, less is more. How many items of clothing have you bought on a whim just to have it worn once and then quickly grown out of? All those little suits and dresses look really cute on the rack, but how much mileage will your little one get out of it before it makes its way to the Goodwill? I had this expensive problem up until the age of 3-4, until I got wise. Here’s what I did.

I’ve found that if I plan my son’s wardrobe around his lifestyle, I save a ton of money. I figure 5 easy-to-clean outfits for pre-k – clothes that it’s ok to get paint and other fun stuff on – that’s 5 bottoms and 5 tops, for each day of the week, Monday – Friday. Throw in 3 extra tops and bottoms each, since 4 year olds still have accidents, and one of those will be the “backup” that stays in the cubby at pre-k. Toss in a 2-3 sweaters for the dead of winter. For the weekend, the same tops and bottoms will do, since he’s mostly rolling around and getting dirty anyway. Add several sports tops, the kind you layer over a regular top. I have one suit hanging in the closet, and that is a hand-me-down from an older cousin… much better than the Kenneth Cole suit bought last year and only worn once that cost I-won’t-even-say.

The summer’s even easier. Roughly 10 pairs of shorts (3 of those denim), 10 cool tops and he’s good to go. Again, that allows the back-ups for the accidents and spills that happen at this age.

So far this formula has worked for me. There’s plenty of mixing and matching (I get a variety of colors, styles, etc) and I do laundry 2-3 a week. Most importantly, the clothes are getting worn as opposed to sitting in the closet. The tops that have gotten a bit too small but still fit are worn while running around the house. Adjust this general rule of thumb to your own child’s age and lifestyle and see if it works for you.

Right now, as I pull out my now-5 year-old’s summer clothing from last year, I’m pleased to see the majority of the shorts still fit. Last year I bought them slightly big and now they’re just right. The only things I have to replace are shoes and tops. I will replenish the tops with the oversized styles that are popular and that he can more than likely wear next year as well