1. Shop sales at discount outlets before hitting the sales at major department stores and clothing boutiques. Of course clothing at discount stores are cheaper to begin with so sale wise, you’ll do way better.
2. Shop at Good Will, second-hand stores, school or church thrift sales, garage sales, and other secondhand clothing outlets. Little kids clothes are especially good deals used because usually they’re worn very little. I’ve seen entire wardrobes of never worn baby outfits at garage sales. Another good buy used are items you’ll only wear once - wedding attire, Halloween costumes, holiday kids clothing, and so on.
3. Pay more for major items. For example, winter boots or coats or a workplace suit. Choose quality over price for items like these that you’ll use over and over - sometimes many seasons over, because it’s worth it to not have to buy another. Keep in mind though, you can find these items on sale too, especially if you shop well ahead of time, for example buy a new winter coat at the end of the season in spring.
4. Always shop for clothing out of season. Swimsuits in fall, spring dresses in summer, and so on. If you need something that’s in season during the season wait for a holiday. All seasons have major holidays and all stores hold holiday sales, for example Christmas, Labor Day, and back-to-school (not so much a holiday but you get it).
5. Wash your clothing right. Always read the tags to see how you should wash an item before you just toss it in. Hang as much clothing as you can, because that alone makes items last so much longer.
6. Don’t buy clothing that requires special care unless it’s absolutely necessary. Dry cleaning bills pump your clothing costs up considerably.
7. Learn to sew. I’m not saying you need to sew your whole wardrobe, although that can save you money too, but if you’re tossing stuff because you can’t fix a simple button, zipper, or hem, it’s a huge waste of cash.
8. Avoid wearing heels when driving because it puts more pressure on your shoes and can cause a break. Simply carry a pair of flat shoes in the car.
9. Travel - IF you happen to live in a smaller town, it can be worth the cost of gar to drive to your closet bigger city to shop the deals and sales.
10. Always wash lingerie in one, a smooth basin to avoid snags, or in a safe lingerie bag on gentle, and always air dry. If you do wash your bras in the washer always hook them to avoid snagging other clothing items.
11. Grab some dye to perk up clothing that’s stained, dull, or otherwise boring to you. You’d be surprised how one simple dye job can make a shirt look brand new.
12. Most importantly, only buy what you need. 20 pairs of anything is excessive. If you must buy new items that are purely want based, not a clothing necessity, consider selling a few current items you don’t wear to a consignment shop to balance the cost.

Share your clothes saving tips in the comments.

[image via stock.xchng]

I confess that when Lands’ End asked me to review one of their swimsuits, I was a bit apprehensive.  Swimsuit shopping is not a favorite activity of mine.  I struggle with knowing what kind of suit to get and it seems I always pick a black one. 

I was relieved and excited to find out that Lands’ End has a video explaining the different body types.  In addition to this, they sell swimsuits specific to your body type!  With this information, I suddenly felt more at ease about my swimsuit shopping. 

I clicked on the Lands’ End website, clicked on swimwear, and then clicked on the shape for my body.  Immediately, a selection swimsuits appeared which were designed to be more flattering for my shape.  What was even more surprisingly is that they weren’t all black or solid colors.  There were some nice prints.  I pondered upon this and decided to go for it.  I chose the polka dot floral enhancing v-neck swimshape tank swimsuit. 

I am extremely pleased with this swimsuit.  It is the nicest swimsuit I have ever owned.  The suit has a built-in seamless bra and figure smoothing panels.  I also like that the fabric provides UPF 50 sun protection.  This suit feels great and is definitely well made.

By the way, I have a special surprise for you all this week. (hint, hint!) 

Have you tried any Lands’ End swimsuits?  What is your favorite feature?

image from lands’ end

Each year we have the same two problems: 

1) My daughter outgrows almost all of her pants in the length. 

2)  It’s hard to find shorts that are long enough.

What is the deal with short shorts anyway????

This year, I decided to take some of her old jeans and try to make shorts out of them.

I cut the jeans right above the spot where she had wore out the knees.  I was just going to roll them up,but decided they might unravel so I had my mom put a stitch in the bottom.

Ta-da. Now we have cute shorts that are long enough and they didn’t cost us any money.   Reusing old pants is a great way to save money on your summer wardrobe. 

You might also like this video on making maternity pants from old jeans.

images (c) Karen Weideman

Stride Rite has a good sale in stores from March 5 to April 5th.  This gives you a buy 1 get the second pair 50% off.  They are fantastic shoes!  Hope this helps.

At my mall, this weekend, the Disney Store was having a great sale on its pajamas.  I am so cheap, I left brand new Disney PJ’s for $5 and $6 only because I knew I could get PJ’s for less than $4 at my consignment sale or at the great yard sales coming up.

So was I cheap or frugal?  I want to hear from you.

I saw this tutorial this week and of course I thought of Kelly. Poor thing is small and petite and is having a hard time finding maternity jeans that fit. Kelly, maybe you and the other pregnant ladies can give this a try. This is a much more frugal choice for maternity clothes!

How to Make Maternity Jeans Using Regular Jeans and a T-shirt - More DIY How To Projects

In a recent survey of 1,400 moms across the country, 87% believe that sun protective clothing for the family is important.  To help with moms’ growing concerns, Lands’ End has made the new Sun.Life collection.  The Sun.Life collection is a full line of adjustable, breathable, and comfortable clothes for the entire family with an Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) rating of 30-50, which protects 96.7-97.5% of the sun’s harmful rays.

Lands’ End is also offering Thrifty Mommy readers a free shipping code for Sun.Life products.  Simply enter the pin 6365 at the check out.  This code is valid through February 21, 2009.

The Sun.Life collection provides the same quality and style that you’ve come to expect from Lands’ End.  I received a pair of the khaki Sun.Life pants for my son.  They are lightweight, stylish, and they also have the adjustable waist that moms like so much. 

And now, for the giveaway.  The winner of this contest may choose one of the following Sun.Life collection products:

Boys Sun.Life Pants
Boys Solid Sun.Life Shorts
Boys Short Sleeve Sun.Life Tee
Girls Sun.Life Pants
Girls Solid Sun.Life Shorts
Girls Sun.Life Tee

How to Enter:

You can earn an entry for each one, but you must leave a comment for each item completed.

1) Leave a comment. You can say simply “enter me”, but I’d prefer something about the product. You can tell me which product you’d choose, what color you’d like to have, why you like Lands’ End products, or why you think sun protection is important. Anything along those lines.

2) Give this post a thumbs up at Stumble Upon and leave your Stumble name.

3) Tweet this post and leave your Twitter name or status url. To retrieve your Twitter status url, simply click on the timestamp of your tweet. It will say something like, “5 minutes ago from the web”. You can earn 3 twitter entries each day for each time you tweet this giveaway. You must leave a comment for each tweet.

4) Follow @thriftymommy on Twitter. Leave a comment with your Twitter name.

5) Blog about this giveaway and leave a direct link to your post.

6) Mention this giveaway on any forums or message boards and leave me a link.

7) Add Thrifty Mommy to your blogroll.

Other info:

This contest ends February 26 and is available to U.S. residents only. The winner will be contacted by email and will have 72 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. You will not be put on a mailing list, but you must include your email address in the second box under your name (not in the comment box).

Good luck everyone and thanks to Lands’ End for donating another great prize.

Thursday I told you all about how blessed we are.  My best friend from high school passes down all her daughter’s clothing for my daughter.  Sometimes though, we end up with way more than we can use.

Sometimes I pass down the extras to others, but then there are times when I just hang on to the items until they don’t fit her any longer.  You just never know when you’ll get a shirt passed down that matches the pants.

Anyway, a few weeks ago I decided to count the pairs of pants.  I knew it was an unrealistic amount.  I figured it was around 40.  Nope. 

And the total number of pants she has is . . .

:drumroll:

Read more

I am very blessed.  My best friend from high school has a daughter that ten months older than my daughter.  What’s so great is that she passes down all her daughter’s clothes to me for my little girl.  Sometimes I end up with way more than I can use though.  

She just gave me two more big bags of clothes and now that my daughter has a big closet, I decided to hang up everything she has.  I knew she had a lot of pants, but I didn’t realize she had this many. 

Guess how many pants she has.  I’ll let you know on Friday. 

image by me

I’ve been needing a new coat for a few years, but I never took the time or the money to purchase one.  Finally, this year I received a Lands’ End windfall squall jacket. 

This jacket has a lot of great features, but here are a few of my favorites:

• The jacket isn’t bulky and uncomfortable.  The Polarthin insulation provides warm protection without bulk.  It’s almost hard to believe that it has a temperature rating of -5 degrees. 
• Its available in the trendy colors.  I chose the fern green which has a splash of fuschia.  Just girly enough so that my husband won’t swipe it.  lol
• The wrist area is adjustable.  I don’t know about you, but in the past, I’ve had issues with jackets being too tight or too loose on the wrists.  The Lands’ End jacket has a velcro adjustable strap so that you can tighten or loosen it as needed.  No more stretched out elastic.
• It has lots of great pockets for your cell phone, money, and other essentials.

And some other features:

• It’s waterproof, breathable, and has sealed seams.
• The interior and exterior storm shields for double protection.

Right now, the Lands’ End jacket is on sale for $89.50.