As a happy coincidence, Second Hand September was also a month we were gifted a lot of hand-me-downs. I was also shopping for fall and winter clothes. This post will serve as a review of Second Hand September at our house this year.
Kids have this habit of either outgrowing or destroying their clothes before they can be worn a second season. Our daughter is a slow grower but manages to ruin clothes at an alarming rate. Her little brother is growing quickly and taking notes on playing hard, so he goes through clothes faster as well.
Second-hand shopping is friendlier on both the pocketbook and the environment, so I am a big fan. If you need any convincing check out Four Reasons Why Shopping Second Hand is a Great First Choice. I’ve been posting on this topic since I started the blog in 2019.
In August we had used the dependent stimulus money to buy back-to-school clothing. It’s been pretty hit and miss finding clothes, shoes, and winter gear for the kids retail lately. Regardless of supply buying retail is typically more expensive than second-hand.
OUR SECOND-HAND SEPTEMBER HAUL
We did quite well in September both at the resale shop and with quite the hand-me-down haul from cousins. September is a great month to try second-hand shopping (alliteration aside) because most families are shopping for fall and winter clothes anyway. This also means most families are donating and/or reselling outgrown fall and winter clothing from the previous year.
RESALE SHOPPING
I made a trip to my favorite resale shop in search of long sleeve shirts, winter gear, and jeans. I no longer buy leggings since they get ripped in the knees by the third wear. Unfortunately, I’m not exaggerating.
While I don’t consider myself to be a brand snob, I do try to avoid discount store brands at the resale shops; the logic behind that being it isn’t actually saving enough money to pay $2.50 for something I can buy for $3.50 at the store new. Paying $5.50 for a pair of new $30 jeans with the original store tags attached? That I can definitely appreciate!
A total of nineteen items were purchased including snowsuits for both kids and snow boots for one. The rest were jeans, long sleeve shirts, and pajamas. The grand total for this haul was $103.95 and it went a very long way filling in all the holes in the kids’ winter wardrobe.
The only downside to second-hand shopping is that it can take quite a bit more time than retail shopping to find what you need. If you don’t know exactly what you need and go in to purchase random items you like just because they’re the right size you can create more wardrobe holes than you fill. Check out My Top Tips for Thrifting for more advice on how to get the most out of your second-hand shopping trips.
HAND-ME-DOWN HAUL
Thank goodness for older cousins, because this was quite the haul. Several large trash bags were brought over full of clothes and shoes for me to choose from. Combined with using the child tax credit money to purchase coats and mittens we haven’t had to spend any more money from the household budget to cover their wardrobe.
ALL of what you see below was from the one hand-me-down haul. Both kids got new shoes to grow into as well as a lot of school clothes and a few pairs of pajamas.
SHOP SECOND-HAND YEAR ROUND
I would say we did rather well with second-hand shopping in the month of September even with it being mostly just for the kids. I’ve also heard great stories about clothing swaps.
Don’t forget about online finds too! There are companies that cater more to brand-name and high fashion clothing.
And don’t forget Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. You never know what you might find there if you’re diligent enough to look! In the past, we’ve been able to find some great deals with online marketplaces. Then there are good, old-fashioned yard sales as well.
Of course, if this post has your interest peaked in thrift or resale shopping don’t wait for September to roll around to save some major cash on clothing! Just make sure it’s in the budget first.