School Clothes

I don't think it's how much you spend , it's what you buy with it. I shop Salvation Army, other thrift, second hand / consignment & vintage stores all year around. ! have a list on my computer of what sizes & what I have in bins that go under the beds. My only daughter is set & she loves to help me do it. I usually go for 15 short sleeve t-shirts, 8 long sleeve t-shirts, 8 sweat shirts, 8 pairs of jeans , 8 pairs of shorts, 21 or more pairs of underwear & socks because she always manages to loose them. I used to buy skirts, skorts & dresses, no more she doesn't wear them enough she now has maybe 1 dress & 1 skort. Thus far this works for her because she kills clothes. Thank goodness she is growing fast because the clothes don't last. I have had to learn to mend what I can & turn a blind eye to the rest because otherwise I am too stressed about it. figure out what your kids wear & then buy it in bulk. Each thing just a little different though, like color, so they have fun dressing themselves.

Depends on where you shop. If you shop consignment stores or garage sales, craigslist your budget will go a lot farther than spending full price or sale price. Check your area for a Once Upon a Child store. Then go through your kids clothes to see if you have clothes to sell/trade in.

My 12y/o step daughter is somewhat difficult when it comes to clothes shopping! She has more expensive tastes such as Aeropostale (sp?). So, when they have their massive sales, I stock up! I can get her tshirts for $4 each, jeans for $10-15, jacket for $15 and then we go to Hanes outlet or walmart for underclothing. We spend approximately $200 on school clothes for her, shoes are the most expensive! I have a 7 year old daughter that I buy for year round...and I never spend more than $5 on a shirt, $8 on jeans or $15 on shoes. Be sure to shop the sales..I know it's harder as the child gets older and their taste in clothing becomes much more vocal...good luck!

Depends if you have boys or girls :-) My boys could care less about clothes and they have several pairs of windpants that they wear their different t-shirts with and that is their "uniform". Thier big expense is getting hockey or football jerseys. Do I like it? No, but it isn't a battle I fight. I get their nike pants on sale at Macys or Kohls and hardly really have to spend anything. My friends who have girls are always shopping for them and they spend much more than I do.

I shop mainly at consignment sales for my girls. Pass It On is starting Thursday and running through Sunday this weekend. 4/14-4/17 It is in Hillsboro off of Amberglenn and Walker. You can find more details @ http://www.passitonsales.com/
In the Portland area there is also Super Kids and My Kids to Your Kids as well as a few others that I haven't been to.
They inspect clothes for stains and holes and consigners set their own prices so you can find good quality clothes for really good prices. I consign with them as well and by selling my girls clothes have always made more $ than what I spend on the new clothes.

Sort of depends on your school dress code

I would start by thinking about what your kids would need.

sneakers $20
dress shoes $20
at least 5 short sleeve T's and 5 long sleeve T's $25-$50
5 pairs of jeans or if you are allowed mix with wind pants/sweats $100
a Winter coat $40
Undies/socks $15

Just estimates $200-$300 if you are frugal and get good deals, i'm sure it would be 10 x that if you were buying name brand in season clothes.