I have a distant memory of the time when I would get my paycheck as a young, single girl and hit the mall for a few new outfits. I didn’t have a coupon, I didn’t always shop the sales, I just bought what I liked because I only had myself to worry about. I have always had a deal loving side, but I’ve certainly come a long ways from those carefree days. I’ve had to get creative in my shopping for clothes, but it’s okay because there are super awesome sites like www.thredup.com. I still love to shop for clothes, but my husband and I both work for our church and Christian school. That means, we don’t have extra money to be spending on big shopping sprees. I don’t in any way feel like having a pity party though. We know we are right where God wants us. Thanks to ThredUp I was able to add lots of name brand clothes to our closets and I paid a fraction of what they would be if I had stepped in the mall to buy them. That’s right, I shopped in my pajamas instead of taking 3 kids to the mall for a blood pressure rising experience. Then my items were delivered to my door. That’s what I call a mom win!

I gave ThredUp a try about 3 years ago. If you did the same, please keep reading. While I had success in getting some deals, it was a little bit of work. It’s been totally revamped since then. There are two aspects to the site. You can BUY and SELL. Let’s start with selling because then you can have more money for buying.

Selling

Order a bag first. A large polka dot bag will arrive in your mail and it’s your personal bag. I had a ton of stuff to get rid of and wasn’t sure how big the bag would be. It was VERY large. I’d say about the size of a kitchen trash bag.  Fill it up with clean, like-new items. It’s easy to check which brands they take and they give you an estimated payout for the item as well. (see Clothing CALCULATOR) I liked that they took Old Navy, Target, and a few other brands that aren’t considered “high end” but we all know you can get nice, cute items at those stores. It’s not a huge payout, but it’s better then getting nothing for clothes you might end up donating in a few years. I average about $20 per bag of clothes I’ve sold. I’m happy with that! Especially since I’ve got $60 in credit to spend now!

Quick selling tip:

If you are trying to decide what baby and kid clothes to save for the future, ask yourself if you LOVE it, will it be in style in a few years, and how much did your child wear it? If it wasn’t a main piece of clothing (like GAP lined baby jeans- my favorite on all my boys) then it’s time to send it in your clean out bag. Get cash for it while it’s newer and then you can buy something in the future. Don’t let your kids clothes depreciate in value in a bin in the garage. Fellow writer Shanda taught me a tip too: turn all your hangers in YOUR closet around and whatever items are still turned around at the end of the year need to go.

BUYING

Now for the fun part. The search engine on this site is great. It helps you filter through all the oodles of fabulous clothing they have on their site. Here’s a small sample of all the items I got for myself and the kids. I’m excited they not only have women and kid’s clothing, but MATERNITY clothes and designer handbags are available too. Nobody wants to pay full price for maternity clothes that you wear a few months. If you wait a few years to have another baby and it’s a different season, you start all over. Check out the wide selection of women’s clothing, accessories, shoes, and handbags. The kids section is just as grand! I love to dress my family in name brand clothes, but the price has to be right.

Quick buying tip:

If you don’t like the idea of wearing someone else’s clothing, fear not…the items I got looked brand new! If you still have a phobia of used clothes, you are in luck. Shop the NWT option: new with tags. I got both NWT items and like new items and they were all in perfect condition.

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