3 Simple Steps for Effortless Back to School Shopping

“The uniforms are a good idea. They are very professional looking, they are cheaper than buying clothes every week and they show school spirit.”

luis rodarte

I didn’t have to wear uniforms when I was in school. I had the fortunate experience of wearing regular or street clothes.

Fast forward to a new day and age, three children later and…

I’m shopping for school uniforms. Yay! What fun.

Yep!! It’s that time of year…again! Time to refresh my children’s closet and update those school uniforms.

As a mom of three, I don’t look forward to this day because of the inevitable exhaustion of spending half the day choosing how many shirts, pant, shorts, and skirts, trying on pieces to see how they fit – are they too tight, too long, to short, too snug, too anything, and possibly going from store to store because that one store does not have everything I need.

Not only that, I have to spend hundreds of dollars on school uniforms. But this year, I was determined to save time and money.

I decided to create a plan.

Something I should have always done but never thought about until now. This was me being intentional about how to spend my time to stay consistent with having a balanced lifestyle.

First, I had to figure out what each of my children had in their closet they could recycle for another school year. I’m tired of buying all new uniforms year after year when the previous years uniforms are still wearable.

the plan

(1) I took inventory of their uniforms from the previous school year. I know their current size so I counted how many pieces they had in their size.

(2) I had them try on one shirt, one pair of pants, and one pair of shorts – in their current size – to see how it fits. Anything too small, too short, too tight, or faded was placed in the Goodwill pile.

(3) I created a list of who had what and how many.

• Kid A – shirts (#), pants (#), shorts (#);
• Kid B – shirts (#), pants (#), shorts (#);
• Kid C – shirts (#), pants (#), shorts (#), skirts (#)

This way I knew exactly how many shirts, pants, and shorts to buy. This not only saved me time in the store but money in my wallet.

Where I Shop

The only place I shop for school uniforms is Academy Sports. I need uniforms that are durable and can be re-worn for a second school year. Doing this is also another way I managed to save money on uniforms. Since my two youngest have recess, I don’t worry about the uniform pants. Academy’s pants have a patch in the knee so getting a hole is not that easy. The material in the pants, shorts, and skirt is strong enough to handle rough play.

The organization of the uniforms by size, color, and gender helped with efficiency.

having a list

Having a list was a time saver! It took 20 minutes to locate all the pieces and make sure they fit. Once he chose what he needed and grabbed the right amount, it was time for the fitting. We didn’t need to do a fitting since I already knew what size he needed. But, since the items were newer, I wanted to see him in one of everything (pants, shorts, shirt) to make sure the fit was appropriate.

Gone are the days when I spend all day trying to figure out who needs what, how many, and what size. From now on, I’m using a list. Fortunately, purchasing uniforms from Academy Sports, I don’t have to worry about the constant cycle of purchasing too many uniforms.

Now, my children are ready to take over the school world with new and old uniforms. If you are unable to find what you need at Academy Sports or if there is not one near you, try Old Navy.

I hope these tips help you save time and money. I mean seriously, who has all day to shop for uniforms? Not this momma.

Just a recap of the plan…

• (1) do an inventory of your child/children’s closet,
• (2) determine how many clothes they can still fit,
• (3) create a list of how many items are needed.

There you have it parents. These tips saved me time AND money. Twenty minutes to shop for school uniforms is good for a parent’s sanity. Wouldn’t you agree?