Trick #1 Clothe Them

There are few basic necessities that all children require:

Food

Clothing

Shelter

Clothing

Water

Clothing

Bed

Clothing

You get the idea...

Perhaps my priorities are out of whack, but, hey- no child of mine will be arrested for indecent exposure on my watch!  As I type that I'm recalling that Roe was in a diaper 83% of the day today.  (I calculated that- don't question it)  Well, at least the option of clothing (and cute clothing, might I add) is always there.  

When  you think of clothing six kids, the first thought is- THAT MUST BE EXPENSIVE.  And, I'm not going to sugar coat it- it is.  But, I coupon, sale, plan, buy-ahead, hammy-down, and save accordingly.  

Although we homeschool, I still take my kids back-to-school shopping in August each year.  Why?  Well, first of all, I'm a creature of habit, and "if it was good enough when I was a kid, it's good enough now!" (in an old, scratchy, masculine tone)  Secondly, since everyone is hitting the stores, the stores are generous with their sales-- generous, or doing their best to sway you to come through their doors, but, I like to pretend we're friends, so I say generous.

So, this is it- the nitty gritty of how we get it done- and it's not even painful, like one bit.  

Step 1: Budget.  This is going to work differently for each person- heck, it works differently for us each year.  But, the responsible, and least fun part of the shopping extravaganza is being brutally honest with yourself and your wallet.  How much cash can you spare for the clothing of your children?

Step 2: Plan.  In this phase comes the brutal task of going through each and every kid drawer in my house.  It is not a short task, but essential to know exactly what we even need.  (need... hmm.. my husband will be questioning the usage of that word...)  Regardless, I go through the drawers and see what the kids have.  To cut back on laundry, I like to keep our clothing limited- 10 t-shirts, 3 jeans, 5 shorts, etc.  So, I go through and see which categories are lagging, if any.  With this info, I make a list for each kid of the things they are lacking.  

Step 3:  Divide and conquer.  With steps 1 and 2 done, I am ready to divide the budget.  Sometimes, I just divide it up evenly, sometimes one child has a heavy "needs list" and requires more, it just all depends.  Either way, now I have my number (challenge accepted).  I take out CASH and divide it up into 6 envelopes, labeled with each child's name and a list of their "needs." While, I do hold onto the envelopes myself, each child will take their envelope up to pay and is responsible for keeping track of their money and what they need.  At each store, the kids walk around and throw WHATEVER they want into the cart.  We then take them to the dressing rooms and one-by-one we take them in to try things on.  While we're in there, we take out the calculator and their envelope and calculate the costs and see how many "need" items are left.  Any leftover money, they can get what they want- but it all has to be clothing (otherwise my boys would come home with the cheapest pair of tennis shoes and Pokemon cards :/)

Step 4: SHOP!!

I love this method, and so do my kids.  Believe it or not, back-to-school shopping is a fun family event we all look forward to each year!  My kids LOVE feeling a part of the process, and I love seeing them make responsible (or not) choices to fit within their budget.  Want $100 Nikes?  Awesome, but that's half your budget, and you still have 5 other things to buy.  It takes the burden off of me to say yes or no and puts the responsibility of prioritizing to them.

I know your next question: WHERE??

Here are my top picks for kid clothes:

1st stop is ALWAYS Nordstrom Rack... they have great brands at great prices- and sometimes, we can knock out a whole list there, since they have everything from shoes-underwear!

My other favorites are Gap, Zara, H&M, and, well good old Target (who, by the way, is doing BOGO 50% on kids shoes this week... might have to start there!)  

I'm sure if I started this post by telling you that I hand my 2-year-old $200 to purchase her own clothes, you would think I'm crazy.  But, even Roe loves the power to choose what she's going to wear (however, she may not understand the limitations to her envelope as well as the others)  And, let me tell you- age ain't nothing but a number- so far, Roe has picked out ADORABLE crimson boots and the cutest jean shorts!  I probably wouldn't pick SO many pink shirt/pant outfits but, hey, at the end of the day- when she's 30 and asking why I dressed her so ridiculous, I can turn to her and say, "darling, you chose that!" And, that, my friends, is the key to winning motherhood!  Redirecting blame.  JK, it's getting the laundry done- and if anyone figures out that magic trick, please let me know!

Every Mom has a few good tricks up her sleeve, here are just a few of mine!  Hope you enjoyed Trick #1!!  If you have any other clothing trick hacks, please comment below!!  

For now, I'm putting the bunny back in my hat and heading for bed (aka Netflix binging)

Sippy cup cheers to new, unstained clothing- wish it stayed that way longer!

-Cindy