Once upon a Child is great for used kids clothes. Take your old ones in and get some cash or trade for some gently used. I can get so much more for my money there too. I've gotten brand new with the tags on jeans for $5. They also have all the toys you could ever need and everything for a baby too. High Chairs, Walkers, you name it they probably have it.

Today

Kids grow so quickly when they are young that most of what you find at a thrift store or yard sale has only been worn a few times before you buy it. Many times, the previous owner never got it on the child before they "outgrew" it, and it ends up at the thrift store still "new" with tags on it. After a machine washing, anything cloth is just as clean as it would have been after your own family had worn it and washed it, so there is no need to worry about who owned it prior. I never buy secondhand shoes, however, because they cannot be sanitized in the same way. Once your children get older, they may wear the clothes much longer before they outgrow them, but they also are much less hard on them, so they still have a lot of life in them. Girls' clothes tend to survive much better than boys' clothes. Never buy only the sizes that your children are wearing right now, especially if your children are young enough to guarantee several more sizes of future growth. When the prices, clothing styles, and quality all match up to make for excellent bargains, buy them up for the next several years. You'll have a ready stock of whatever you need when the growth spurts hit, and you'll end up spending roughly 10% of a normal parent's clothing budget. Plus, when they outgrow those same clothes, you can either sell them at a yard sale or donate them to the thrift stores you bought them from and take the donation off of your taxes. If you are a smart enough shopper, you can pretty much get the clothes for FREE in this perpetual exchange!!!

Join Freecycle! One person's trash is another person's treasure.

we give all our baby clothes to a thrift store that supports the veterans.