We do back-to-school clothes shopping a little different than most people. Instead of hitting up Target or our favorite department store, we go to the thrift store. And we don’t even pay full price at the thrift store!
I want to show you what we get (and don’t get) at the thrift store to maximize our back-to-school budget.
This year we spent $25 on each of our kids who are in school. That money stretched big time at the thrift store and I’m going to tell you how we did it!
Here are my top 5 tips for saving money on back-to-school shopping at the thrift store!
I also have a new YouTube video where I’m sharing these tips and showing you the clothing hauls for each of our kids (minus the baby who wasn’t in need of anything). It’s a fun one! So grab a basket of laundry and fold while you watch or just listen. Or keep reading to just get the thrift store shopping tips.
Tip #1: Know Before You Go
Before you head out to do any school shopping, taking inventory of what you already have. Make sure the laundry is clean, then get the clothes out of your kids drawers. Grab any storage bins where you keep clothes for the next season or the next size up.
Have your kids try everything on and keep track of how many pairs of jeans they have, how many pairs of school shorts they have, how many short sleeve shirts, how many long sleeve shirts, and any other clothing item that you might be tempted to buy.
You might be surprised with what they actually already have that still fits and is in great condition for school. If your kids are like mine, they’ve spent half the summer in their swim suit, so it’s easy for them, and you, to forget what real clothes they actually have.
Once you have an inventory, decide what your kids actually need.
It sounds simple, but how many times do we just guess and end up buying the wrong things and forgetting the things we actually need!
Tip #2: Know Where to Go
Thrift stores vary greatly in what they carry. Our local thrift stores are all run by the local hospice. They are great thrift stores and we love them, but they have a serious lack of quality and quantity when it comes to kids clothes.
We found a really amazing thrift store chain about an hour away that has an excellent selection of kids clothes though. We only go a couple of times a year, so I don’t mind making the drive.
Be adventurous and try out new thrift stores if the ones around you or the ones you’re familiar with aren’t cutting the mustard.
Learn about the sale/discount days so you can get the most for your money!
Tip #3: Know What NOT to Buy
I typically don’t buy underwear, socks, or swimsuits at the thrift store. Those are items I prefer to buy new.
Even so, these are items I don’t usually buy at back-to-school time. I’m sure sock and underwear companies love the tradition of socks and underwear being at the top of the back-to-school lists, but do your kids need new socks and underwear right now just because it’s August? Or are you buying it out of tradition?
Right now our kids are doing just fine in the socks and underwear department, so those aren’t on our list. I keep a bin specifically for new socks and underwear that I buy throughout the year when I find good deals. When the kids are in need of new socks or underwear, I go straight to the bin, not the store.
Shoes are another item that I buy on an as-needed basis. We don’t just buy shoes because it’s a new school year.
Being selective about the things that you buy new (or the things that you buy at all), will really save you money on your school shopping
Tip #4: Know the Pricing Scheme
Some thrift stores use “blanket pricing” where all items in the same category are the same price. For example, all kids jeans are the same price no matter what the brand or condition. The benefit of this pricing system is that you can find good quality or name brand clothes for the same price you’d pay for something less nice. Just look carefully to find the best deals
Other thrift stores, like the one we go to, have items priced individually. Items that are hot name brands are priced more. They make up for this with their sale system. Usually items that are ridiculously priced don’t sell until the price is heavily discounted.
At our favorite thrift store, this is how it works. Each week they put out a new color tag and the color tags from the weeks that are older are discounted. There is a color that is 25% off, a color that is 50% off, and a color that is 75% off. The items that are 75% off are the ones that have been on the rack the longest. They didn’t sell at full price, at 25% off or at 50% off. Because this store has tons of inventory, lots of great things make it to 50% or 75% off. And those are the things I like to focus on.
Tip #5: Have a Target Price
I aim for $2 per item at my thrift store, but this will vary depending on where you live, what store you’re at, and what your budget is. I first look for the clothes my kids need based on size and style. When I find something that fits, I look at the price tag. If it’s at or below my target price, then I usually get it. If it’s a little more, then I base my decision on how high the item is on our need list and what other options are available.
Since I buy lots of items at or below my target price, it usually averages out to my target price.
General Thrift Store Tip
Look everything over really well. Always check everything for stains, holes, and excessive wear. Make sure zippers and buttons work. Try things on if at all possible.
All sales are final at most thrift stores, so you want to be sure you’re sure before you buy it!
Pro Thrifting Tip
Whenever I’m not sure if I should buy something or not, like when it’s something for someone who isn’t with me to try on or furniture that I’m not sure will work in our house, I ask myself if I could easily resell the item and make my money back (or make a profit). If the answer is “yes” and I’m willing to do the work to resell it if I need to, then I go ahead and get it.
Thrift Store Back-to-School Clothes Haul
If you want to see the complete kids’ hauls (and what I got) at the thrift store, check out my latest video! I go through all of the items and prices.
Otherwise here are a few pictures so you can get a general idea of what we got:
For our 4-year-old daughter, I spent $15.50.
For our 7-year-old son, I spent $25.25.
For our 10-year-old son, I spent $25.50
For our 11-year-old daughter, I spent $25.50.
I bought a few other things for my husband and myself, which I talk about in the video.
Back-to-school shopping can be an expensive tradition, but it doesn’t have to be. If you’re smart about it, you can get the things you need without breaking the bank.
- What are your best thrift shopping tips?
- Have you ever done your back-to-school shopping at the thrift store?
- Would you go thrifting for back-to-school or do you think it’s weird?
See, when I think about socks and underwear, I think more about Christmas than back to school. This might be because we don’t have kids yet, though. That said, I think the whole buy them when they are on sale and keep a bin at home thing is brilliant! Definitely something I’ll want to do when we have children.
Great tips! I don’t really do a lot of thrifting — mostly because I am so bad at it — so maybe these will help me, too!
My advice would be to go often. I shop at our local thrift stores and second hand stores several times a month. This way I catch really good deals and I am not breaking the bank. I have found some awesome stuff! My girls love the adventure and we get compliments all the time. People are often surprised that I pay such low prices. Thrift shopping is fun and addictive!
I love school uniforms, especially for my Primary School aged kid! His uniform is so simple – blue or black pants or shorts, navy blue or white polo, navy blue sweatshirt. Even brand new the shirts are always $2 at the back to school sales, pants about $5 and sweatshirts the same. (All prices given in AUD, 68 cents AUD = $1 USD.) High school uniforms are much more expensive. Most if not all high schools insist on shirts, sweaters, hats, jackets, PE uniforms and bags that have the school logo on them, which of course can only be purchased from a handful of shops. For girls there’s also an option of a summer dress and winter skirt, all with very distinctive patterns (tartan for the winter skirt, gingham for the summer dress, but not common patterns of either.) Even second hand the uniforms are expensive, as most parents are trying to recoup their costs so sell items for maybe $5 less than new prices. With that small a difference I prefer to buy new. I managed to find my daughter a winter skirt at an op shop, and paid only $7 instead of the $90 it is new. It’s good quality wool, though, with an adjustable waist, so it should last her for the duration of her six years of high school. Thankfully by high school kids are better at taking care of clothes. In Primary School I make sure my kids have five full uniforms. In high school my daughter has 1 winter skirt, 3 polos ($20 each), 1 sweater ($60), 1 jacket (also found at an op shop, for $5 instead of the $75 it is new) and 1 summer dress ($70.) She also has some shorts and pants purchased at op shops – these are easier as they just have to be charcoal grey – but she doesn’t wear them. The girls all wear the winter skirt or summer dress; none of them wear pants or shorts. But even with the added cost I still love the equalizing affect of uniforms. It means she can focus on academics instead of fashion or labels. (She’s in a highly selective academic program; spaces there are so highly sought after some kids travel two hours a day just to go to this school.)
We have a tradition of visiting Grandma on her states no sales tax back t to school weekend. It’s about an hour drive. We play in grandmas pond and slip n slide., have a cook out then most of the kids stay and watch a movie while I go shop for the kids who still need school supplies, shoes, and diapers which all have no sales tax that weekend. . This year we didn’t need much a few kids got shoes, most got socks and one with a birthday picked out a few shirts. The next day at home I went to the local thrift store and. Bought a couple shirts for $1.00 each. The kids were impressed at the quality of the the thrift store shirts compared to the one they got new. God teaching moment as to why there mom likes to shop thrift stores first. We live in a small town so I make a point to go regularly and stop at the thrift stores in neighboring towns when I have to go that way and we don’t usually need much at back to school. But what we do need I try to plan to buy on the no sales tax weekend.