Children's clothing is an expensive proposition! Making the most of

Children's clothing is an expensive proposition! Making the most of that budget

Even if you have only one child, by the time that child is two or three years old, you know that children's clothing is going to be taking a big bite out of your wallet, for many years to come. Young kids aren't usually very particular about what they wear. Jeans and tees are good for the rough and tumble play, but you need to have a heck of a lot of them on hand they're typically good for an afternoon before requiring laundering. Girls like pretty dresses, but ice cream and grass stains don't know the difference between sweatpants and sun dresses. If you've got two or three kids, you start to feel you could put them through college for less!

You also need to add into the cost of buying children's clothing the laundry soap and stain removers, plus the energy required for washing and drying. While this is a necessary expense, it does add to the total bill.

So it's apparent that saving on children's clothing costs is always a good thing. The question becomes, how can you have nicely dressed kids without going broke? Here we've got some answers.

With two or three kids, if they're relatively close in age, the hand-me-down method can save some money. However, kids too far apart in age poses a couple of problems. One, you've got to store the clothing somewhere until child #2 grows into the size. Second, children's clothing manufacturers have their own form of planned obsolescence built into their styling and details. That cute lace trimmed dress Jane loved when she was 6, may be 'out of fashion' by the time 3 year old Susan grows into it.

There's a perfect solution to this problem. When Jane outgrows that dress, take it and all the other outgrown clothing to a children's consignment shop and sell that batch of clothes. You'll generally get 40-50% of the selling price, with a lower percentage for cash and a higher return for an in-store credit. This strategy can fund a significant portion of your children's clothing budget. These consignment shops are fairly picky about what they take, as their reputation depends on a quality selection of kid's clothes, so don't be disappointed if they won't take that raft of faded tees these make good dust rags, or doll clothes!

Patched jeans and washable sneakers? These can be included in your next garage sale. Better yet, get together with other Moms in the neighborhood and build a collection of all kid's clothing. Advertise your exclusively all-children's clothing garage sale in the paper. You'll be swamped with Moms from all over town and are guaranteed a sellout by the end of the day.

Socks and underwear? Buy at the factory outlet stores. You can also find kid's clothes that are adorable and priced at 50% off or more.

These days, making the most of your children's clothing budget requires a little creativity, but the effort pays well. Of course, there will always be a few special clothing items you'll want to save, just for sentimental reasons. And that's certainly OK too!