海角大神

It鈥檚 the middle of spring. We鈥檝e seen our first 90 degree day in central Iowa. That means, of course, that it鈥檚 time to take stock of our clothing. The winter stuff largely heads to storage, as we don鈥檛 need thick long-sleeved shirts at this point and our pants are mostly skirts and shorts without many pairs of jeans or other pants necessary.

With growing children, though, that means new summer clothes are needed. Here鈥檚 exactly how I shop for them, since it鈥檚 what I did on Tuesday afternoon, after visiting some yard sales the previous weekend and finding very little.

First Stop: Goodwill
My first stop was at a pair of local Goodwill stores, in Ames and Ankeny, IA.

I used Goodwill as my first stop as they often have the lowest prices around. However, the selection there is often atrocious, with a lot of items in poor shape with some gems mixed in. You have to really browse through the clothes there to find items that you鈥檙e looking for and the clothes are often disorganized.

This time around, I didn鈥檛 find anything like what I was looking for. The summer clothes had been picked over fairly well and I wasn鈥檛 satisfied with what was left. In the past, however, I have found some great items hidden away in the racks, but it wasn鈥檛 to be this time.

Second Stop: Consignment
My next stop was at a children鈥檚 clothing consignment shop, the place where most of our children鈥檚 clothes come from. I went to in Ames, Iowa.

A good clothing consignment shop will feature high-quality used clothing items that aren鈥檛 threadbare. The items are things that you鈥檇 generally have no problem wearing and the items are well-organized. It鈥檚 not all that different than shopping in a normal clothing store.

Well, there is one difference 鈥� the prices are very nice.

I picked up the clothes you see above in my stop there. This amounted to multiple outfits for each child, a couple of wonderful dresses for my daughter, and all of the items in very good shape and well-made.

Total cost? Around $45, plus a $5 off coupon for any purchase the next time I鈥檓 in the store.

I have used other consignment shops in the area, but in terms of quality children鈥檚 clothing, provides the best clothes for the price.

This isn鈥檛 the end of our summer clothes buying, of course, but it鈥檚 a good start. We鈥檒l keep looking at yard sales as they wear these items on nice days and we鈥檙e likely to return to that consignment shop in the future.

--------------------------

海角大神 has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on the link above.