Off season shopping

Shopping off season is an acquired skill. You not only need to know when to shop, but how to keep track of it and how much of a discount is worth storing or using off season. The biggest trick is to store items in a specific location. It doesn't do you any good if you can't find what you bought. The general rule of thumb is nothing less than 50% off is worth storing. Try to catch items when they hit the 70% off mark.

Clothing shopping tricks -

• If buying clothing for children, keep in mind that waist size and leg length can change significantly in a short period of time, so only buy pants type items such as sweat pants with fitted cuffs that can be purchased longer and still used.
• T-shirts tend to have a greater variability making them easier to cross over sizes and seasons.
• Long sleeve T's and sweatshirts should have cuffs.
• Avoid clothing with characters on them such as Toy Story 3. You simply do not know what will be "cool" next year, so stay basic.
• Elastic degrades over time, so avoid buying more than 12 months ahead if they have any "give" or elastic.
• Leave the tags on. If for some reason your child grows faster than expected, you can try to take them back to the store, or even take them to a consignment sale and get a primo return (be sure to pull of the markdown tag).
• Different brands are sized differently. Find brands that fit and stick with them.
• Circo runs small
• Gymboree runs big
• Levi's run short
• Old Navy, Arizona & Gap run fairly true to size

When to buy -

• Buy summer items in October (they do deep mark downs getting ready for the Holiday merchandise) and store items such as swim goggles & beach balls for Easter baskets. I also purchase dresses and tops for Easter at this time.
• Buy candy the day after Halloween in non-seasonal wrappers. Use this candy to fill Christmas stockings. Buy candy post Christmas for Easter. Buy Easter candy to fill pinatas for summer birthdays or treat bags for VBS, end of school year parties etc.
• Buy seasonal print saran wrap, paper towels, dish soap & crackers the day after Christmas at 50% off retail. Do you really care if what shape your crackers come in? Get there early, this stuff goes fast!
• Buy tissue paper at 50% off, but walk on past the rolls of holiday wrap & bows till they are at least 70%.
• Buy non-food stocking suffers such as puzzles, games etc the day after Christmas. If they are in non-seasonal packaging you can use them for Easter baskets. If it is seasonal, save it for next year stockings. (I love to grab the travel sized games because they are a little more "timeless")
• Buy sweatshirts, turtle necks and other basic tops for school when the post-holiday sales go 70% off which is usually February.