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| This was too cute not to post. Mara was helping Gracen play her violin:-) |
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| Mara's spring outfit. |
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| Look at the cute side puckering & pink bow! |
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| Love the detail of this shirt. She has a jumper dress to wear over this shirt for another outfit & when it's hot the dress can be worn without the shirt. |
So this is probably going to be my favorite post in the "Living On Less" series. Many of you know how much fun I have outfitting my three children. BTW, for those who might be wondering if I plan on blogging & posting so frequently, the answer is, no :-). When I discovered I was going to be a mommy for the first time, I wasn't overly particular on the type of clothing my baby would wear.....until she was born & then I started to form opinions. Most moms seem to have their own "style" of how they outfit their kids so I don't think I am an odd one. For my girls, I like them to dress like sweet little ladies, which involves lots of pinks, dresses, cute skirts & coordinating hair bows & clips. There isn't as much in the clothing world for little boys but I have my style for Finn, also. His clothes are a hybrid of a cute little boy & a little man. Collared shirts, jeans & coordinating socks & sweaters make up the at least half of his wardrobe. My children also wear clothes that are ample in size. We aren't expecting high waters around here & they don't need to bare their mid section to keep cool. Toes are continually pressed down on within shoes to assure a proper fit. Some items you don't see in my children's closets are character themed clothes (Disney Princess, Hannah Montana, Cars), sweats (a pair or two for lounging maybe), out of fashion clothes, light up shoes, or clothing from cheap box stores like Walmart. You may be wondering of I allow my kids any choice with their wardrobes. Yes, I certainly do. Both girls help pick things out for themselves when it's possible to do so & I keep in mind their individual tastes when shopping solo. I receive many compliments on how my kids are dressed. I dress them very nicely on surprisingly less money than you may think. In fact, I paid LESS for most of their GAP, Gymboree Columbia & Children's Place clothes than if I had bought their things from Target or Walmart so dressing them nice isn't a matter of having much extra money because it isn't. Here are a few of my secrets: 1. Know where the best kid resale stores are & know when to shop. I have a list of stores & I periodically stop in to each of them. My top favorite always has a tag sale going on where two different colored tags are 30% & 50% off. I shop those colors, first. Last time I was in there, I scored an expensive diaper bag for under $20 & it was brand new to boot! 2. Know what brands to look for & know how to check the manufacture date (this comes in handy when you want to turn outgrown clothes in for store credit). Know what is a good deal & don't buy something "just because it's on sale". Need it, have a plan for it. Sometimes I chuckle when resale shopping & the price is the same or more than what I can buy a similar item new for (with my coupons/sales). This is common at Good Will. Buy European brand shoes when possible. They hold up so well! Don't buy shoe brands from store like Payless Shoe or Target. When I make my sweep through the store, there are very few clothing brands I will consider & they all have three things in common: Good resale value the next time around, excellent quality, CUTE! 3. Shop ahead. This has worked well for me as all three of my kids have been average or slightly below on size charts since they were born. When Gymboree is having a huge online sale, I can shop ahead for my kids for the next year & score complete outfits for under $20. I have marked bins where things are kept & I go through them several times a year to make a mental note of what I have & what I still need to be looking for. 3. Buy clothes from the same "line" so you can mix & match for more variety. Gymboree puts out new lines frequently. Although, I don't care for all of them, I will buy from those that I do like & buy versatile pieces. When I am thrift shopping, I keep in mind what pieces from a collection I already have so I can add to it. 4. Never pay full price! The most I will pay for something is half price but usually I walk away paying 60-80% off. 5. Buy items that will hold up. I know what socks & underwear hold up & don't get holes. There is one brand of underwear & socks that I buy for my kids & they last & last & last! They are NOT from a box store but I buy them on sale, combine a coupon to that & pay less than a box store anyway. 6. Take care of their clothes. My kids are taught to be gentle to their clothes but they still end up in the laundry baskets with plenty of stains. Around this house, I am known as "The Stain Master". I will soak & work on a stain for sometimes more than three days. Most of the time, the effort is paid off because I successfully remove the offending mark! 90% of Mara's clothes are fit to be stored away for Gracen's use. Hang dry when appropriate. Make friends with your iron for those pesky collars & skirt hems that flip up. Use a gentle laundry detergent. DO NOT use bleach or fabric softeners. Bleach breaks down the fibers & fabric softener dulls the surface along with being toxic & just plain smelling horrible. Wash in cold when possible. Turn clothes inside out before washing. Use a front loading machine if possible. Fold heavy items, like sweaters rather than hanging on hangars as they can become stretched out. And please, for my sake don't wash your clothes in scented detergent. Sometimes when I bring an item home from a second-hand store, I have to wash it several times just to remove that horrible detergent smell. It will be a later post that I talk about the evils of scented laundry detergent :-). I will end my post on this subject but please stay tuned....there is always more!
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