Take Advantage of Thrift Shops for Kids Clothing & Save Money

As an avid thrift store shopper, I guarantee that you can save a bundle of money by shopping at second-hand stores. It always amazes me that I can leave with hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise for less than twenty dollars or less.

Some of my favorite pieces of clothing have been purchased at thrift stores. You can often find clothing that has never been worn, with tags still attached. If you pay attention to some of the most eclectic NY apartments featured in magazines, some of their most unusual finds have been from thrift shops or discarded for trash.

If you live in a fairly large city, your options are increased since you will find a greater number of thrifts to choose from. The best items usually can be found in areas that are located in more upscale communities. But don't forget to check out any thrift shop close by. You never know when you might come across that great find. Some great pieces of art have been purchased this way.

If you are shopping for kids clothing, thrift shops and garage sales are the way to go. Next-to-new furniture can also be found. My friend is basically furnishing her entire house this way. If you haven't tried thrift shopping before now, it's a good time to start!

Switch to Cute Kid-Friendly Cloth Napkins for your Kids and Family and Save Money and the Planet

Does your family go through a ton of paper towels and napkins?

Here is an easy way to save money and help out the environment at the same time. Buy 1-3 packs of brightly colored, cotton cloth napkins, bar towels or wash clothes and a few dish towels. Use the small cloth napkins or towels for your family at breakfast, lunch and dinner instead of using paper towels or paper napkins and use a dish towel to dry hands after washing them. Just remember to switch out the hand towel daily for a clean one and let air dry between uses. The cloth napkins are great because you can let kids pick their own color or assign a favorite color to everyone in the family. Just make sure to have enough to get through several meals before you have to wash them. At my house some of the cloth napkins need to be washed after 1 use and others can be used again before being washed.

The cost breakdown- the average family goes through several rolls of paper towels a month. My family was using at least 1 roll of paper towels every week and some weeks we were going through them even faster. In an average year, we spend $60.00-80.00 on paper towels and create several trash cans full of trash from those paper towels. By using cloth napkins and dish towels, in place of paper towels most of the time, you can cut down on your trash, your monthly cost for paper products and help to reduce our use of paper goods that come from forests.

The cost for dish towels varies but you can get a 7 piece kitchen towel set from Target for $14.99 or a 3 pack of kitchen towels (trendy designs) for $6-15.00 and there are less expensive options available if you buy a set of white no-nonsense bar towels for a few dollars. I would recommend having at least 7 on hand so you can easily replace a dirty one with a clean towel or wipe up a spill with an extra towel. So, for between $15.00-$30.00 (if you buy 2 packs) you can cut down on the amount of paper products you are buying and using. The cute cloth bar towels in the picture were from Target and ran about $4-5 for a pack of 4 towels/napkins.
If you are already a smart shopper and wait until the dish towels or napkins are on sale and use a coupon, you can probably get enough napkins to last the week for next to nothing. Or for those of you that are very crafty and handson, you could take an older towel or sheet and cut it up into enough napkins for the week- but you will have to finish off the edges.

Just How Frugal Are You?

Its officially a new year and talk is everywhere of people saving money, spending less or reusing what they have. For some it is a necessity- either a job loss or other financial problem, for others they are concerned about their future, and for others it is to make every penny go further so they can save more or live on 1 income. W

What ever the reason, there are plenty of good reasons to save, spend less, reuse what you have, find products that help you spend less, and more. We want to hear from you- how to you save money, spend less, make your money go further, or what creative things do you do to have fun without breaking the bank?

Tell us-

Do you reuse your plastic baggies, or keep aluminum foil after using it to cover something,
Do you only buy food items when you have coupons and buy it in droves?
Do you have family movie or game night when the movie is showing on TV?
Do you wear your jeans a few times before washing them?
What things do you to save money?

What about running the quick cycles on your dishwasher or washing machine? Do you hang dry your clothes or use a low energy setting?