I went to the consignment shop this weekend looking for clothing and accessories for my newest addition. I am going to have my fourth son in less than ten weeks, so I am trying to find baby items at a cheap and reasonable price. I went to our local shop to look for baby clothes, and I found sleepers and outfits for less than $3.00 each. I have also found some great baby accessories. I went in looking for a baby rocker or bouncy seat, so I went to Walmart to look also and they were running about $40 and up. So when I saw the exact same bouncy/rocker for $29 I couldn’t pass it up. The rocker was in excellent condition, it was clean and running. I was very happy with my purchases. I was also surprised to see that they were having a sale on their clothing, so that’s even bigger savings for me. The best thing to do when shopping for children’s clothing is to shop out of season that is when you get the best deals.

Thrift Shopping Tips:

1. Always do your homework: Comparison shop. Look in the ads and go into your favorite stores to make sure you aren’t paying to much for clothing or baby accessories.
2. Get there early. Most thrift shops start putting out their new stuff as soon as it comes in. So for instance, my local thrift shop will begin accepting new clothes for summer in a couple of weeks. If you are looking for summer clothing for your little ones the best items will be out about a week later.
3. Shop out of season: If you are able to shop for your children out of season you will be able to rack up on a lot of great deals. I went shopping this weekend for winter clothing and everything in the store was marked down by 50%. This was good for me, because I have older children who aren’t really growing that fast. I was able to purchase jeans, long sleeve shirts and coats for the next winter for cheap, cheap, cheap!
4. Never go into thrift shops if they aren’t clean: This is telling you that they aren’t selective in the clothing they accept from customers. And they aren’t big on cleaning. If you have no choice make sure you clean your baby items (clothing and accessories) with bleach and wash them thoroughly. You never know what’s in the clothing????
5. Consignment: Most thrift stores allow you to shop in their stores and obtain store credit for bring in clothing of yours to sale. The credit built up can be used immediately in to purchase items in their store. Some consignment stores even issue checks for the clothing that you bring in to be sold. Just ask to see what their policy is.

I hope these tips are helpful when you begin your thrift shopping journey.