School, winter and summer shopping make buying clothing for children expensive. Children’s clothing can be expensive, but following these tricks will help you to save a lot of money.
Avoid Purchasing Dry-Clean and Iron Only Clothes
Children get dirty, and they wrinkle their clothes. If you can purchase clothes that do not need to be dry-cleaned or ironed, a simple round of laundry will keep these clothes looking new. Items that require dry-cleaning and ironing do not look as good as they could when they’re regularly washed in the washer.
Dye
Because kids are prone to get dirty, they invariably pick up grass stains, mud stains and the occasional spaghetti disasters. Rather than constantly buying new shirts and pants, use special clothing dye that can make shirts, pants and hoodies look new. There isn’t a way to dye white clothes white, so another color will have to be chosen. Children love doing this activity because they can help pick out their favorite colors. For clothing items that are originally dark in color, try to match the dye to the original color as much as possible, or choose a darker color, such as black.
Patches
Patches used to look tacky, but there are a variety of patches available to use on clothing that incurs small holes. Skip trying to patch up softer fabrics, but patchwork on jeans or corduroys looks custom-made. Girls love choosing characters like Tinkerbell and Hello Kitty, which is fashionable. Boys may like choosing plaid or a favorite action hero. This same technique can be used for backpacks as well. Keep older clothing that can be made into patches to use at a later point.
Good Quality
Good quality clothing items last longer, and they look better in the long-run. Also, it’s important to choose items with functionality that can be relied on. Some clothing and accessories look flashy or well put-together, but they seldom hold up over time. For instance, it’s difficult to find a good quality belt because they do not fit snuggly or help to keep pants up. This is a valid concern for parents. Children’s waist sizes are different. Even though manufacturers try their best to make clothing to fit the average body type, pants can sag on a child if they don’t have the proper-fitting belt. Belts from Grip6.com fit snuggly, will not break, and don’t have flaps or holes. Choose good quality shoes, pants, shirts and jackets as well.
Washing and Drying Clothes
Try not to wash clothes incessantly. If a child wears something for a few hours and it’s not dirty, simply hang it up again. Use little detergent pens that are useful in removing stains. Spot clean something and avoid washing to help preserve clothing. When washing clothes, choose a temperature that’s as cool as possible. This helps to prevent color fading, and it prevents clothing fibers from breaking down. Also, it’s better to air-dry clothing instead of drying clothes in the dryer. Dryers tend to make clothing fibers separate from clothing, which makes them wear out quicker. Make sure to separate clothes according to colors to ensure that colors won’t bleed onto other clothing. This helps to keep them looking newer longer. For white clothes, add additives, like peroxide, baking soda or special laundry bar soaps. These help to get clothes cleaner so that whites will remain looking bright.
Keep Buttons
Some clothing comes equipped with extra buttons. It’s not until a clothing item needs a button that it’s sorely missed. Save a collection of these in the event a clothing item suddenly loses a button. Using multiple buttons is a fun way to add decoration to a shirt, which helps to reinvent clothing at a later point.
Following these tips and others, like turning hoodies inside out to avoid zipper damage in the dryer will help to save money on your children’s clothing. Remember, though, that they are children and some disasters cannot be avoided. These tips are just a few ways to make sure clothing can last longer.
