Day 6--Dirty Laundry
Since it's the weekend I thought I would post on something a little lighter. So here are my tips on baby/toddler clothing and laundry.
Buy Ahead
This is controversial but if you buy ahead you can really save money. It's much easier to do once your baby is in 2T and up but you can still do it when they are little. Most children's clothing stores have very liberal return policies. Carters will take anything back as long as it was purchased at a Carters store. Gymboree will give you a refund as store credit no matter how long ago you made the purchase. So save those receipts!!
Take advantage of Deals
Lots of clothing places have deals. Carters often does a 25% off your entire purchase. If I can't find enough clothing I like I always buy pajamas. You can never have enough pajamas. Plus when Carters take the discount they discount each product. So say you need to spend 40 dollars to get the discount. You only have 28 worth of clothes. I buy enough pajamas to get the discount on my clothes. Then if I decide later I don't need the pajamas I still get the clothes at the 25% discount and get my money back on the pajamas.
Other stores like Gymboree have a rewards system. You can take advantage of that in addition to the Gymbucks promotions that they run each season.
I like to buy things like socks, pajamas and play clothes at TJ Maxx or Marshalls. They tend to have a good selection of Carters clothing as well as Ralph Lauren.
Reconsider White
I learned this lesson from my sister-in-law and she says she wished she had learned it a lot earlier! When you child starts to self feed it is a messy business. If you are one of those who has a perfectly non-messy toddler then please feel free to skip this section! And also please come to my house to teach mine!!
From the time the Little Guy was about 18 months we had to either go back to using a bib again, eat without a shirt, or change after every meal. And it never failed that on the day he wore something white he managed to get things all over it! I particularly find this is a problem with long sleeved clothing.
So I think white is super cute for babies but I rarely buy anything white or very light colored for the big guy right now.
Nix The Dryer
I saved the hardest sale for last. Now that you've read my tips and are thinking to yourself that I really know what I'm talking about I'll spring this one on you.
Do not dry your clothes.
I thought both of my sisters-in-law were nuts when they told me this. Who has time to line dry everything? My response is me!! It really doesn't take much time at all to line dry your clothes. I just use a simple drying rack and it pretty much stays up in our house all the time. The only thing I dry are socks and white onesies and occasionally pajamas once they get so ratty looking that they wouldn't re-sell.
Why? I am using all of my clothes the second time around and seriously you can not tell that any of them have been worn. They don't fade. They don't have those little pills all over them. They haven't shrunk. It's like the Littlest one has an entirely new wardrobe.
I don't know if you've ever tried to consign or even checked out ebay auctions for used clothing. But clothing in EUC (Excellent Used Condition) sells very well. You can make most of your money back if you are getting good deals to begin with!
So I challenge you to try it!!
Sometimes More is Better
I love to shop for my babies. I'd rather spend money on their clothes than mine and I am ok with that. I know everyone doesn't have the same budget, style or desire to dress their children a certain way. However I have found that for me sometimes spending a little bit more is better.
One of the big areas this has worked to my advantage is shoes. Little Guy is the 4th person in our family to wear a certain pair of shoes. They are still in great shape even after he wore them for a season and my sister-in-law will be able to consign them for a good price. Were the pricey to begin with? Yes. But in both her experience and mine, when you buy shoes that are less expensive they fall apart after 1 child!
You can get great deals on shoes at outlets (group a bunch of friends together and use a coupon!), Zulilly, Babysteals or buying ahead. Zulilly especially has great deals on brands like Crocs, New Balance, See Kai Run, and Robeez.
I think the same reasoning goes for clothing as well. There are some things that are ok to splurge on and some things that you don't need to!
Those are my best tips for clothes buying and keeping them in good shape! Now if only someone will write some tips for me on how to stop shopping!
Buy Ahead
This is controversial but if you buy ahead you can really save money. It's much easier to do once your baby is in 2T and up but you can still do it when they are little. Most children's clothing stores have very liberal return policies. Carters will take anything back as long as it was purchased at a Carters store. Gymboree will give you a refund as store credit no matter how long ago you made the purchase. So save those receipts!!
Take advantage of Deals
Lots of clothing places have deals. Carters often does a 25% off your entire purchase. If I can't find enough clothing I like I always buy pajamas. You can never have enough pajamas. Plus when Carters take the discount they discount each product. So say you need to spend 40 dollars to get the discount. You only have 28 worth of clothes. I buy enough pajamas to get the discount on my clothes. Then if I decide later I don't need the pajamas I still get the clothes at the 25% discount and get my money back on the pajamas.
Other stores like Gymboree have a rewards system. You can take advantage of that in addition to the Gymbucks promotions that they run each season.
I like to buy things like socks, pajamas and play clothes at TJ Maxx or Marshalls. They tend to have a good selection of Carters clothing as well as Ralph Lauren.
Reconsider White
I learned this lesson from my sister-in-law and she says she wished she had learned it a lot earlier! When you child starts to self feed it is a messy business. If you are one of those who has a perfectly non-messy toddler then please feel free to skip this section! And also please come to my house to teach mine!!
From the time the Little Guy was about 18 months we had to either go back to using a bib again, eat without a shirt, or change after every meal. And it never failed that on the day he wore something white he managed to get things all over it! I particularly find this is a problem with long sleeved clothing.
So I think white is super cute for babies but I rarely buy anything white or very light colored for the big guy right now.
Nix The Dryer
I saved the hardest sale for last. Now that you've read my tips and are thinking to yourself that I really know what I'm talking about I'll spring this one on you.
Do not dry your clothes.
I thought both of my sisters-in-law were nuts when they told me this. Who has time to line dry everything? My response is me!! It really doesn't take much time at all to line dry your clothes. I just use a simple drying rack and it pretty much stays up in our house all the time. The only thing I dry are socks and white onesies and occasionally pajamas once they get so ratty looking that they wouldn't re-sell.
Why? I am using all of my clothes the second time around and seriously you can not tell that any of them have been worn. They don't fade. They don't have those little pills all over them. They haven't shrunk. It's like the Littlest one has an entirely new wardrobe.
I don't know if you've ever tried to consign or even checked out ebay auctions for used clothing. But clothing in EUC (Excellent Used Condition) sells very well. You can make most of your money back if you are getting good deals to begin with!
So I challenge you to try it!!
Sometimes More is Better
I love to shop for my babies. I'd rather spend money on their clothes than mine and I am ok with that. I know everyone doesn't have the same budget, style or desire to dress their children a certain way. However I have found that for me sometimes spending a little bit more is better.
One of the big areas this has worked to my advantage is shoes. Little Guy is the 4th person in our family to wear a certain pair of shoes. They are still in great shape even after he wore them for a season and my sister-in-law will be able to consign them for a good price. Were the pricey to begin with? Yes. But in both her experience and mine, when you buy shoes that are less expensive they fall apart after 1 child!
You can get great deals on shoes at outlets (group a bunch of friends together and use a coupon!), Zulilly, Babysteals or buying ahead. Zulilly especially has great deals on brands like Crocs, New Balance, See Kai Run, and Robeez.
I think the same reasoning goes for clothing as well. There are some things that are ok to splurge on and some things that you don't need to!
Those are my best tips for clothes buying and keeping them in good shape! Now if only someone will write some tips for me on how to stop shopping!
This was one of my favorite outfits from this summer. It was given to me at his baby shower. I remember thinking....he will NEVER fit that. Can't believe he does!
My absolute favorite outfit on the Littlest Guy this summer.
My other favorite. Both shorts were given to me by my sister.
One of my other favorites.
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