Back to School Clothes Shopping Printable and Tips

Getting ready for the kids to go back to school is an exciting and crazy time! As mothers, we are inwardly looking forward to at the very least a couple hours a day that are kid free, or short a few kids to lessen the chaos. On the other hand it’s quite the chore to round up all the supplies the kids need, make sign-up deadlines, get back into a fixed schedule and do everything else that comes along with school starting. However, today Sara and I are teaming up with 14 other bloggers to bring you some great Back to School projects to help you get ready for the new school year and make your life a little easier!

1. Elizabeth Joan Designs 2. Making It In The Mountains 3. Stripes and Polka Dots
4. For My Love Of 5. Home. Made. Interest. 6. Restless Arrow
7. Little Red Brick House 8. Little House Of Four 9. Cuddles and Chaos
10. Our House Now A Home 11. Kent Heartstrings 12. The DIY Mommy
13. Curly Crafty Mom 14. Houseologie 15. Canary Street Crafts

Today I’m sharing a FREE printable and tips for back to school clothes shopping that will hopefully make it more fun and meaningful, by getting the kids involved, as well as making that “to-do” list to get ready for school less stressful!

Back to School Clothes Shopping check list

This idea originated from my own childhood memories. Growing up in a small town we would have to travel into the city (4 hours away) to do a lot of our shopping. So every summer before school started we would take a “school shopping” trip and make a weekend out of it. Some of my favorite memories are when my mom would take Sara and I in by ourselves and we would have a girl’s weekend shopping for clothes, going to movies and out to dinner. Reading this I’m sure some of you are getting more stressed out thinking about adding more to your plate and subtracting even more out of your bank accounts to do a whole shop and play weekend, but really something similar can be done on just about any budget and with any schedule. I’ll show you how!

TIP 1: When thinking about school clothes, here are the two things I go by: first, make sure each child has at least 5 complete outfits, one for each day of the school week. This is also a good time to get some new shoes, underwear, church clothes and a jacket/coat. Second, save the nice new clothes you buy for just the school week and let the kids wear their old clothes on the weekends when they will probably tend to be a little harder on clothes.

TIP 2: Before you do any shopping go through your kids things and decide what still fits and what will work for the coming school year. If you’re like me and have young kids chances are you won’t find too much as they’ve either grown out of everything or most clothes are worn out from all the summer playing.

TIP 3: Now that you know what you need, make a budget for how much you want to spend on school clothes. You’ll be surprised at how this can fit just about any budget depending on where you shop. If you live in, or near, a city you will be able to shop the sales and use coupons. You can also check out our post on “How to Save Big on Kids Clothes”.

TIP 4: Although it’s not necessary to go all out when school shopping it’s a great time to make it a fun date with you’r child, make it about them and make some memories. One way is to use the free printable checklist I created that you can download below. This will allow kids who can’t read yet to see what they need and then get to color in or mark off items as they get them. This is much better then having you’re kids laying bored on the ground or wondering around the store as you search through clothes that will work.

DOWNLOAD BACK TO SCHOOL CLOTHES SHOPPING CHECKLIST HERE

school clothes shopping date2

Over the weekend I took my daughter on a mommy-daughter date clothes shopping. She’s had a growing spurt this summer so pretty much everything is too short. I gave her her checklist and let her help me pick out clothes for her. After we were done at a store she colored in each item we got. Once we were done shopping we got some ice cream for a job well done! I’m looking forward to making more memories with my girls and this being an every year tradition!

school clothes shopping date

What are some tips or traditions you have when shopping for school clothes?

 

24 thoughts on “Back to School Clothes Shopping Printable and Tips

  • Hanna
    Commented 10 years ago

    Thanks Corinna!

  • Hanna
    Commented 10 years ago

    Me too! My daughter loved being able to count out how many of each thing she needed and then to mark it off. Thanks for stopping by!

  • Hanna
    Commented 10 years ago

    Thanks Christina! It’s definitely something I always enjoyed and hope my girls do to.

  • Hanna
    Commented 10 years ago

    Thanks Carrie! Uniforms would make life much easier I’m bet!

  • Commented 10 years ago

    I LOVE these tips! Such great advice! I also adore the printable! I can’t wait until my little guy is old enough for school!

  • Commented 10 years ago

    That printable is TOO cute! I love it! My kids wear uniforms, but I could still use it. I agree, I let my kids wear their ‘play’ clothes on the weekends, especially since it is really the only time they get to wear their regular clothes. I love the idea of making it a special treat, going out for clothes and maybe ice cream afterwards. Great post!

  • Commented 10 years ago

    Thanks so much for these tips! I love the idea of making back-to-school clothes shopping a special event. The free printable is adorable too!

  • Commented 10 years ago

    This is such a cute idea! I love that the littles can help by using the checklist 🙂

  • Hanna
    Commented 10 years ago

    Thanks Jen! I totally do that too. I get swept up in shopping and end up getting and spending way more then necessary!

  • Hanna
    Commented 10 years ago

    Thanks Erin and thanks for putting together this blog hop! I’ve loved seeing all the ideas

  • Commented 10 years ago

    This is such a great idea! I always end up going overboard because I’m not organized. This little printable will come in handy—and my girls will think it’s fun!

  • Commented 10 years ago

    This is such a cool idea! I can see how it will make back to school shopping so much easier, while still involving the child!

  • Hanna
    Commented 10 years ago

    Thanks for commenting Emily! Haha yeah my lists have lately been made on envelopes from old mail!

  • Hanna
    Commented 10 years ago

    Literally! Thanks Kat!

  • Hanna
    Commented 10 years ago

    Thanks Leigh!

  • Commented 10 years ago

    Great idea!! And awesome tips!!

  • Commented 10 years ago

    Great idea! Anything that makes shopping a little easier, right? 🙂

  • Commented 10 years ago

    I like this idea. Usually if I attempt at making a list of what we need for school clothes it ends up on the back of some random receipt that I almost always forget or loose. This is a great idea to get the kids involved in keeping track of what we still need.

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