Saving money on Clothes - For the long term
Pre-baby I tried living by the mantra - "Buy Quality - not Quantity". I'm trying to use that principle when it comes to baby clothes - but its hard not picking up every cute little outfit.
I know my husband and I want another baby so we've been conciously buying gender neutral clothes that will last. I found a website I really like but have almost everything from there (http://www.mybabypeanut.com/).
Any other ideas for gender neutral baby wear that are great quality and will last for baby #2?
Also they grow fast. Sinking a lot of money in clothing for babies isn't a good idea because they will out grow them in a month or two. This does somewhat help with clothes lasting for multiple children.
My last point is that if you have a boy and then have a girl, you will WANT to buy girl clothes. (and vice versa). It will be fine to let some things cross over, but you will want your boys to look like boys and your girls to look like girls.
I've got 5 kids - 3 boys and 2 girls - all ages 7 and under. Only 1 outfit ( a pair of yellow ducky feety pajamas) lasted for all 5 kids. They were jammies from Walmart for less than $10 (I'm sure). So quality in baby clothes may not prove to be as good of an investment as they are for adult clothes.
I agree with all of this....from another mom of 5.
I bought a lot of gently used white Gerber onesies for the first year.
Quoting ReesesPieces:
My opinion: babies are gross and will stain clothes with poop, puke, and food. Not everything you buy (no matter how great the quality) will make it through multiple kids. Other things (no matter the quality) will last.
Also they grow fast. Sinking a lot of money in clothing for babies isn't a good idea because they will out grow them in a month or two. This does somewhat help with clothes lasting for multiple children.
My last point is that if you have a boy and then have a girl, you will WANT to buy girl clothes. (and vice versa). It will be fine to let some things cross over, but you will want your boys to look like boys and your girls to look like girls.
I've got 5 kids - 3 boys and 2 girls - all ages 7 and under. Only 1 outfit ( a pair of yellow ducky feety pajamas) lasted for all 5 kids. They were jammies from Walmart for less than $10 (I'm sure). So quality in baby clothes may not prove to be as good of an investment as they are for adult clothes.
I agree with what the other mom said. Most of ds's clothes ended up getting thrown out because they were stained. I loved getting the one piece outfits from Target and Walmart.
Another thing to mention is that even if there are no visible stains, once you store the clothes for a year or two, the remaining protein from spit up, slobber, and such will actually cause yellowing on the clothes - mostly white or light colored clothes. It's not very noticible on patterns, darker colors, and on certain fabrics like fleece. Even if you put them away in great condition, sometimes you will still get discoloration around the neckline of the clothes. That's the worst....I always cringed whenever I'd unpack the clothes from the previous child because of this. So again, in my opinion I don't think investing a lot of money in quality children's clothes is a smart financial move.
Agree
Quoting ReesesPieces:
My opinion: babies are gross and will stain clothes with poop, puke, and food. Not everything you buy (no matter how great the quality) will make it through multiple kids. Other things (no matter the quality) will last.
Also they grow fast. Sinking a lot of money in clothing for babies isn't a good idea because they will out grow them in a month or two. This does somewhat help with clothes lasting for multiple children.
My last point is that if you have a boy and then have a girl, you will WANT to buy girl clothes. (and vice versa). It will be fine to let some things cross over, but you will want your boys to look like boys and your girls to look like girls.
I've got 5 kids - 3 boys and 2 girls - all ages 7 and under. Only 1 outfit ( a pair of yellow ducky feety pajamas) lasted for all 5 kids. They were jammies from Walmart for less than $10 (I'm sure). So quality in baby clothes may not prove to be as good of an investment as they are for adult clothes.
Babies grow out of things so quickly. For that reason you can find tons of like new, second hand clothing for great prices at garage sales and consignment shops. About 90% of all of my children's baby clothing was from garage sales and consignment shops and they were awesome clothes...considering many of the items were probably worn only a few times. There is junk out there too but I spent the time sifting through and found it a great way to save. Then I had a garage sale and re-sold the clothing! Kinda like clothing your kids for free =)
There are some things I don't skimp on and do buy brand new & quality. That would be shoes, book bag & lunchbag (LL Bean-lasts years!) Winter coats and gloves. I have bought second hand spares in winter coats and snow pants and have found great thrift buys in those things too though.
Quoting ReesesPieces:Another thing to mention is that even if there are no visible stains, once you store the clothes for a year or two, the remaining protein from spit up, slobber, and such will actually cause yellowing on the clothes - mostly white or light colored clothes. It's not very noticible on patterns, darker colors, and on certain fabrics like fleece. Even if you put them away in great condition, sometimes you will still get discoloration around the neckline of the clothes. That's the worst....I always cringed whenever I'd unpack the clothes from the previous child because of this. So again, in my opinion I don't think investing a lot of money in quality children's clothes is a smart financial move.
52 week money challenge
- LivsMom2012
on Nov. 25, 2012 at 2:11 PM