What Shall We Wear???

I have done a little secret series on food, shelter and clothing, all the things needed to sustain life on earth.  To God be the glory for all life sustaining things He provides so we can focus on the more important, eternity.  I have written about how I work toward being a good steward with our food.  I have written about how we try to be a good steward with our house.  This blog is about...our clothes.

Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:25-33, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Look at the bird of the air: they neither so nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?  And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His  righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

WOW, HALLELUJAH & AMEN!!!

It seems that there is much waste in this world.  I know, that sounds like a penny-pinching dumpster diver talkin', but 'tis my opinion.  People of wealth tend to use something only once or not at all and then they are over it.  I am grateful that some who live this way have are sensitive to their wastefulness enough to donate their items to thrift stores instead of the city dump.  This IS a biblical practice.  Remember the story of Ruth?

Back to our clothes...I buy them at thrift stores.  I frequent the stores that are near well-to-do neighborhoods.  There, I am able to buy high quality, name-brand items for next to nothing.  They are gently used items and about half the items still have the tags on them.  (Once, I bought a pair of jeans with the brand tag (not price tag) on them for $5.  I had NEVER heard of the brand (paper,cloth&denim), but when I looked it up online, they were $228 jeans.  That was kind of neat!  Not that I care, I only mention it as an example of the donations I wrote about earlier.)

How often do you shop?  I shop only twice a year at the beginning of a season (spring and fall).    Summer clothes are less expensive than winter clothes.

Keep in  mind...The following prices are for the name-brand items that my kids desire and that NEVER go on sale at the stores for which they are originally bought.

What do you spend on each item?  When my three were small, I could buy a seasons worth of clothes for all of them and only spend about $100-$130 out the door (usually about $1-2 per piece average).  Now, they are older and wear adult sizes.  I am still out the door with a mere $170-$260 bill, depending on the season.  I have a $3 limit for shorts, $5 limit for jeans/pants/dresses, $2 limit for shirts and $7 limit for jackets.  After all is said and done, I like to have an average of $3-4 per piece.  Therefore, if they find a few shirts for $1 or less and MUST HAVE a $7 pair of jeans, that's fine.  At my last shopping trip in the fall of 2013, we had a $3.30 per piece average.  Not bad for winter clothes!

What is a season's worth of clothes?  Well, for each kids that is about 7 pairs of bottoms and 10 shirts.  A pair of dress pants for boys for church and a couple of dresses for my girl.  When I shop for the cold season, I spend a little more because they will also get a couple of jackets.  Sometimes, they have some things they can still wear from the previous year, so that helps, too.

You don't buy used underwear and shoes, do you?   For shoes and underwear, I do NOT buy used.  I find online deals, coupons,
last year's styles and clearance sales at local stores and buy quality items for at least 70% off.  Bed clothes are usually a part of gift giving on birthdays and Christmas, but still purchased at great discounts, as I buy them at end of season sales.

Do you shop for yourself at the thrift store?  As for my and my husband's clothes, I shop the clearance rack at a local department store and buy quality items for at least 80% off.  This works for OUR clothes because we care less about name brands and more about fit and quality.  I have a store card that gives even greater discounts and cashback to spend at the store.  I shop on the dates those discounts overlap.  My best deal was when I paid $52 and my "TOTAL SAVED" was over $300 (of course, I could not find that one to photograph).

Some of my shopping receipts.

Only putting thought into my kids clothes twice a year really frees me up to do other things.  As homeschoolers, style is less of a priority for them, I know that.  This IS all they know.  I have shopped this way for & with them since they were born.  I know this may not work for everyone, but it is one of the many blessed ways God meets our family's needs!