Thrift store shopping for kids can save money and please your children (Photo: justbetweenkids.com)
My mom likes to remind me that I’m a little late to the game when it comes to thrift store shopping for kids. It’s true, she was thrifting way before I thought it was cool — in fact, from when I thought it was patently uncool, like “hide in the car and pray no one sees me” uncool. Then I had kids. And quit my full-time job. And sent the kids to Catholic school. And the budget shrank. And shrank. And shrank. Suddenly, my mom became a genius, and thrift store shopping for my kids became not only cool but a means of survival.
I don’t go as far as trolling the local neighborhoods for garage sale signs every Saturday and Sunday like my mom does. Quite frankly, I don’t have the patience to go to that much hit-and-miss effort. Instead, I’ve embraced a more streamlined method of thrift store shopping for my kids and my clothes that enables us buy designer duds for a relative pittance. The side bonus is that we utilize perfectly good (sometimes brand-new) clothes that others have decided to discard.
How to Thrift Store Shop for Kids Without Knowing What You’ll Find
Admittedly, thrift store shopping for kids does inject a little uncertainty into the shopping experience, making it more of a treasure hunt than a routine errand. The key is knowing where to go to find what you want. To do that, you have to familiarize yourself with the thrift store and consignment market in your area. Some thrift shops for kids are far more specialized and selective than others. Learning the offerings of various thrift shops will help narrow your search and make your shopping excursions much less stressful.
Finding a quality thrift store for kids stuff is possible with a little research (Photo: blog.salvationarmyusa.org)
Used Uniforms on Sale
Take my kids for example. They wear uniforms to school, which can be pretty darn pricey when purchased new. But their school very conveniently holds a used uniform sale a couple of times each year. Uniform pieces don’t tend to take heavy duty wear and tear (particularly the expensive ones like skirts, jumpers, and shorts), so it just makes sense to spend a couple of dollars apiece on pristine used items rather than $30+ dollars apiece on new ones. The kids end up wearing the exact same pieces as their classmates either way. Then, when my kids grow out of their items, we take them to the sale to be reused by other families, giving those items a second (and sometimes a third) life.
Outside of school, things get a little trickier.
My daughter is 10, and as any American parent of a pre-teen girl will tell you, if it doesn’t come from a store where it looks like a unicorn threw up the inventory and boy bands blast in the background, it just isn’t cool. It doesn’t help that these places inflate their prices to roughly the size of the Goodyear blimp, even with “sales” and coupons (I can picture you moms nodding out there — you know what I’m talking about.) My six-year-old boy is massively easier to please, needless to say.
Quality Second-Hand Kids’ Thrift Stores Offer Designer Labels For Less
You’d never guess that this kid’s outfit is actually from a thrift store
Fortunately, quality second-hand thrift stores for kids are becoming more common. I’ve found a couple of kids thrift stores locally where I can please both of my kids, and my budget. The one I frequent most often is quite selective, inspecting each article of clothing for wear, stains, style, etc., ensuring that their customers will have quality inventory to choose from. This takes a good bit of work out of the thrift store shopping process, as the items have already been pre-screened with a careful eye.
Thrift shops for kids like this might be more expensive than other second-hand options like Goodwill or the local flea market ($12 – $15 for a pair of designer-label jeans, for example), but the extra money is worth it if I know my daughter can get a good, clean pair of jeans from her favorite label at a fraction of retail. And without the neon glitter overdose and the boy-band headache. Win-win.
Eliminate Household Clutter and Turn Your Wardrobe into Cash
To add an additional win to this experience, this thrift shop for kids also buys used items for resale. So each time we visit, we take items with us that are in good enough condition to sell — items like special-event dresses that only get worn once or twice, toys that didn’t see much playtime, rain boots, jackets, and the like. One recent trip earned us $27.25 for items we were going to get rid of anyway. Take that off of the $95 of springtime clothes my kids picked out, and I ended up spending just $67.75 for everything. Not too bad, I think, especially considering a couple of the items still had their original tags!
Last season’s clothes can help pay for this season’s (Photo: argent-web.net)
Get Cash for Purging Your Wardrobe
An added benefit to thrift store shopping for kids and for all of us in general is that it makes purging our wardrobes so much less painful. When the seasons change and we’re ready for revamped closets, I have no qualms about yanking things out and donating them. After all, I didn’t spend much on them to begin with, and I know I won’t spend much to replace them. It allows everyone in the house to have an ever-morphing wardrobe on a budget. How much of a budget? Well, in 2013 we spent approximately $250 per person on clothes. All year. For quality, designer labels. That’s a sacrifice I can live with.
Helpful Hints for Thrift Store Shopping Newbies
If you’ve never tried thrift shopping for kids, consider giving it a try. Do some research to find the quality second-hand thrift stores or consignment outlets in your area and take some time to thoroughly peruse them. If possible, go without the kids the first time so that you can do some serious browsing without potty breaks, snack requests, or questions about how much longer you’ll be. Take your time and find the shops that are truly the right fit for you. Once you’ve found them, shop away! If it spares you just one boy-band headache, I know you’ll thank me.
Happy thrift store treasure hunting! Let me know what you find.
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During the financially lean early years of raising my three young children (all born within three years more than 35 years ago), I shopped only at a local second hand store. It began as a necessity, but became a bigger issue as I became aware of pollution produced in virtually every manufacturing process. Buying fewer new items decreased the demand for energy, and thus decreased pollution. This was years ago — it’s even more important today to do all we can to reduce pollution. Even after my finances improved, I continued to shop the used clothing stores, and to this day, my children have no problem shopping for used clothing for their children. It’s become a normal family practice.
I’m with you, Tamara. Even now that I’m working part-time and have a little more cash at my disposal, I just can’t bring myself back to buying new. It seems so logical to save money–and resources–by thrift shopping. And honestly, I’ve come to love the experience. I find I feel excited and exhilarated after a good day of thrift shopping, rather than remorseful over money spent after a pricey trip to the mall.
Hi! I am Elaine from http://www.swapdom.com and am writing to congratulate you on the article. I am a fervent thrift shopper and also sharing economy enthusiast and think that we should all be aware that our lives are changing dramatically and the amount of stuff we accumulate is ever-growing. Consumerism is reaching heights that can only spell disaster for the economies and we should all be trying to do something to help. Thrift shopping is one but another new idea is Swapping with a twist! Take a look at http://www.swapdom.com where one person’s trash may be another’s treasure. Swapping has never been made so easy. Circle swaps where everyone gets what they want and clothes,kids’ gear and household items do not get thrown out but find another home! Love the idea and love the whole idea of sharing!! Thanks
I love this idea, Elaine! I will definitely check out the site.
I have been thrift shopping since I was really young, and have always found the thrill of finding a steal on a second-hand item much greater than anything from a typical retail store. I am glad you mention quality second-hand thrift stores because they are still typically hidden gems. Not many people seem to know the wonderful products that you can get (sometimes even with the tags still on!) at these stores along with the amount of money you can get back from bringing them some of your past season pieces. I have even brought my ten year old niece with me before, and she also enjoyed finding things at great discounts but still good quality. Being from Arizona, My Sister’s Closet, has always been a favorite, and I know they have expanded into California, so if you are ever in one of those states you should definitely check it out!
Thanks for the comment, Madeleine. I completely agree–the thrill of a good thrift store bargain can’t be beat! We may get that rush big time this weekend, as several communities around us are having community-wide garage sales. I’m not usually a big garage-sale shopper, but it’s a little too tempting. I may just have to check them out. Happy thrifting!
I’m a child of the early 70s and my mom took me shopping at thrift stores WAY before it became cool to be seen at one. Now thrift stores are a way of life for my family and I. In the last decade, I’ve refused to buy new clothing for myself (except for underwear and socks). When I was pregnant, I filled a huge bag full of maternity clothes for less than 80 dollars – what someone might spend on one or two articles of clothing. Hopefully, when my son grows up, it will be cool to ONLY shop in thrift stores. By the way, I took your advice and sold a bunch of his gently used toddler clothing to the local kids’ consignment shop. So when that check comes in, I have you to thank, Sue!
Love it, Jenny! I’m with you–I’d like my kids to see thrift shopping as “normal” and mall shopping as an occasional but generally wasteful splurge. They really enjoy our trips to our favorite second-hand shop and love the treasure hunt as much as I do. I was able to completely outfit both of them for fall–school uniforms, “hang out” clothes, dress clothes, multiple pairs of shoes for each–for a total of $200. I honestly don’t know why people would shop any other way!
When I was little, my mother had giant Tupperware boxes in the attic filled with clothes from relatives and friends who had outgrown them. They were organized by size and every time I got bigger, I got to open a new box. It was so exciting and it inspired an early love of thrifting in me. I have since then become an avid thrifter as an adult, but been disappointed in how little other people take advantage of this incredible resource. More people need to get the word out there and break the stigmas about second-hand clothing. Not only is it a way to make your style unique, but it is also an easy way to go green!