Project #3: Children's Closets & Dressers

This week I went through ALL the clothes the kids have. It took me two sessions. I think I spent about 3 hours total.

I wanted to get an accurate count of what they have so that when I am out shopping the deals I get things they need and don't overbuy anything. There are so many cute items out there and great deals that it can be tempting to keep buying even when we have enough.

So, now I have a huge pile of items to get rid of. Some I will take to the second hand shop. Everything that they won't take will go straight to the thrift store with the rest of the goods. Here is a picture of my beautiful pile!

The closets all look great and are filled with clothes that fit and look nice. Well, the play clothes may be ragged, but that is to be expected!

My oldest son's closet:

My daughter's closet. The rest of her clothes are in a dresser:

My youngest son's closet:

The clothes they have yet to grow into are in Space Bags on a shelf. This keeps them easily accessible for me and helps me remember that they are there. I love having everything organized!

Clearance Sale at BabiesR'Us

I went to BRU to use a $5 ecard I got from them from Facebook the other day. They have some good sales going on right now.

There are a lot of clothes on clearance with an additional 30% off the clearance tag. There were outfits marked at $9 that were really cute. They would be $6.30 final price!!!

All the Gerber cloth diapers are B1G1 50% off. The packages run about $14.99 each, number in package vary. But this would be a very cheap way to get started cloth diapering. Or, you can buy some to donate to humanitarian efforts, which is what I did.

2-12 pack Gerber flat fold diapers $14.99 + $7.49
1 pair cute socks sz 36-48 months $0.70
TOTAL OOP after $5 off: $20.04

The Mini Social-$10 FREE

Someone just pointed out this fun website with items for mom, baby and child. It's called The Mini Social.
Adorable tights in just about every color you can imagine! A selection of Melissa & Doug toys and beautiful jewelry. They've got some cute stuff!

Right now you can get $10 off your first order when you use the coupon code NEWYEAR10.

Hurry on over and see what you can find! There are many items for $10 and under. Plus, they have a referral program where you can get $10 in store credit when your friends place their first order. So join today!

Converting Onsies into T-shirts

I don't know about you, but I think a 3 year old is too old for a onsie! It makes potty learning a nightmare! But, maybe I am just dreaming about the potty learning thing. Salem is already good at using the potty, he just doesn't want to very often. I can get him to go all day dry...until about 3pm. Then we have several accidents the rest of the night. Gotta work on that!

I got a ton of wonderful hand-me-downs for Salem from a sister and a friend. Amongst the clothing were 4 cute short sleeve onsies, 3 in size 3T and one size 4T.

I spent about 4 minutes cutting the bottoms off to make a regular t-shirt. No sewing skills required!

First, lay the shirt flat on your cutting mat.



Next, take your rotary blade (or scissors) and cut just above the hip binding. Some people recommend gently following the curve down so the belly stays covered.



Voila! You have a t-shirt! Some lighter weight knits might curl a bit, but there should be no fraying or runs. If you don't like the unfinished edge you can hem it. If you have a serger, you could have just used that.

Consignment Sales

One way to get nice clothing at great prices is buying at consignment sales. It's also a great way to earn a little money back on your own outgrown clothes.
One of the schools in our area has a yearly kids consignment sale. This is the second year and my second time participating. I'm really looking forward to it.
I will be volunteering to help for 2 hours. When you volunteer to help with the sale you get to shop the night before the public! I'm hoping to find some great deals this way.
Each seller was given a packet of tags, instructions and a seller number. I really like the packet. It gives all the information needed to participate in the sale.

First, I have gone through all my kids outgrown clothes and toys. We pulled out everything we don't need or want. Then, I sorted things that are ready to tag and clothes that need to be soaked in oxy solution.
I'm starting to fill out the price tags during TV time. At this rate it'll take awhile!
I will end up spending a couple hours when all is said and done, but I feel it is time well spent.

Check out more frugal ideas at Biblical Womanhood.

New Clothes on a Budget

We went to the Colorado Mills Mall on Friday to get some things for the kids. There were a few needs and then I made a little splurge purchase, too.

We went to The Children's Place and found racks and racks of markdown clearance stuff. Many things were $1.99, but not what we needed. I also had a 20% Off coupon from the Birthday Club. Here's what we did get.

3 pairs of tights
1 onsie
1 4T shirt
1 pair 4T jeans
2 pairs baby sunglasses
1 baby golf style hat---splurge

Regular prices added up to over $48
Total spent $30.23

Then we headed to Target to get a shirt for my oldest son. It was $5.39.

Our last stop was the Gymboree Outlet. Now, I never shopped there before a few months ago! I had been in a few times years ago and was blown away by the high prices. Well, it turns out that you can get some killer deals on the clearance racks, especially with a coupon. Unfortunately, they do not take coupons at the outlet store.
Okay, the Gymmies were not a killer deal, but my youngest needs new pajamas. We looked at several stores and the Internet before making the purchase. I will pick up a few more pair second hand next month.

1 pair Two-Piece Gymmies (reg. $19.50)
Total spent $8.63

More to come on how I keep the clothing budget down...