Moving Right Along: Moving Away from Pride {Second-Hand Duds}

I am a very prideful person. Not in an ‘I’m super proud of my accomplishments’ way, but in an ‘I can’t let anyone know I don’t have my whole life figured out’ way. This has led me to make a lot of mistakes and has led to a lot of discontentment in some areas.

One of the areas that I found myself struggling was kid’s clothing. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but kid’s clothes are expensive! I would get so frustrated when I would spend $100 at Target on clothes for the kids and come home with only four or five outfits. Finally, I decided that my pride be darned. My kids didn’t need new clothes!

How cute are these little newborn outfits from Target?? But at a $22-24 each, we just can't afford to buy things like this unless it's a special occasion.

 

Most of the clothes in my kids’ closets weren’t bought brand new. This is one way I have found to get more for our money. Instead of buying them three shirts at $9 each, I can get them nine shirts at $3 each by shopping at a consignment or second-hand store. So many kids outgrow their clothes before they’re anywhere near worn out, and I always make sure the items I buy are in good shape. We do make exceptions for some things. At the beginning of the school year, not only did each of the girls get two or three pairs of jeans from Once Upon a Child, but they each got one new pair from a retail store also. We also buy sneakers new, but rather than buying brand names like Adidas or Nike, we get something from Target or Wal-Mart.

Both of the dresses the girls are wearing in this picture were found at Once Upon A Child and I probably paid less than $6 for both of them!

We also inherit a lot of hand-me-downs from relatives and friends. Since Judah has five male cousins older than him, I really haven’t had to buy a whole lot of clothing for him at all. And both of the girls have received clothing from older girls in the church. Sometimes you have to spend a little time weeding out the stained or worn items, but it’s so worth it!

Even The Boy's 'I love Dad' shirt here was a hand-me-down from the cousins

This picture is from when we still lived in Kearney a couple of years ago, but don't they look cute in their second-hand sweatshirts? : ) I may be slightly biased, I know.

If I’m being completely honest, it still sometimes feels like I’m somehow depriving my kids by not buying them brand-new brand-name clothing. I see kids at school or the mall wearing the latest styles and worry that my kids are self-conscious about their second-hand duds. But I know that it’s really all in my head. My kiddos have very cute clothes and they have enough that I’m not scrambling to do laundry every second. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

This is Sissy Bell on her last day of preschool last year. Not only was the dress a consignment shop find, but I made her schoolbag myself. So while a new backpack could have cost $20-$25, I spent about $9 on fabric and made her her very own special bag unlike anyone else's!
 

When they get older I know this method of shopping will not fly quite as well, but we’re trying to get our finances handled while they’re young so that when they’re older we can say ‘yes’ to a few of the higher priced items. They still won’t get the most expensive of everything just because we don’t think that’s a great use of money anyway. But a pair of Nike sneakers or Buckle brand jeans may be in their future. Maybe even two if they ask nicely and give me a chocolate bar. : )