On Friday morning, I hit the first of the spring consignment sales and found a bunch of really great items that we needed. It was definitely a successful trip!
I got to the sale about thirty minutes before the door opened, and managed to snag the second spot in line.With so many little people the same size to shop for, I needed the advantage. I spent a couple of hours combing the racks and shelves for the best deals and then found myself a little corner to sort through my items. I always take a few minutes to double check what's in my bag before checking out since there are no returns.
I had at least three ladies stop me during the few minutes that I was sitting in the corner and comment on my method of shoe shopping for kids. I guess I thought more people used this method? But maybe not. So in an effort to ease the shopping stress of other moms with little kids, this is how I shoe shop for toddlers.
First of all, you have to understand how I shop. I hate shopping, so my mission is to get in, get what I need, and get out as fast as I possibly can. Consignment shopping is the only type of shopping that I sort of enjoy since it's more like a treasure hunt. But I'm still not willing to drag my quadruplet toddlers through a sale with me. That sounds impossible and so far from enjoyable that it makes me squirm even thinking about it.
So instead, I just bring their feet with me.
Every time I go to a sale, I pop a piece of card stock on the kitchen table, and Sean holds the kids' feet in place while I trace them. I make sure that I trace them in their color and write their names at the top so that I can keep track of who I'm trying shoes on.
(It looks like a couple of kids don't have toes because they wiggled so much while I was tracing them. Just make sure the length is accurate!)
On the back of each paper, I write their current size for reference. I also include what shoes and sizes we already own for that particular kid, and what I need to pick up at the sale to get us through the next six months. My goal is to always keep a current size and two sizes larger on hand for each kid to avoid being stuck buying shoes at retail. I didn't quite calculate correctly last fall and had to buy Ellie a pair of shoes at Walmart a couple of months ago. The cheapest pair on the shelf was easily three times more than what I typically spend!
Once I've finished my treasure hunt at a sale, I find myself a little corner and start "trying the shoes on them." I've found that shoes differ about as much as clothing does within sizes. All you have to do is hold the shoe up to the template to "try them on." It lets you check length and width without having the kiddos right there with you.
I will caution that this isn't 100% accurate, but it's close enough to streamline the whole shopping experience. I've definitely saved money (and sanity) this way!
And as a bonus, I'd like to pass on two additional tips for shoe shopping for kids:
1. Their feet can grown insanely fast! The consignment sales I go to are about a month apart. I retrace (or at least check) their feet right before each sale to make sure that there are no major growth spurts that I have to account for.
2. Look for velcro instead of shoe strings! Oh yes, I did learn this one the hard way. Velcro is infinitely easier to deal with when it comes to getting shoes on little wiggly people!
I'd love to know if you have any shoe shopping tips or other shopping tips when it comes to your kids. Please leave a comment if you do! I'm always on a quest to make life a little more streamlined!
Did you like this post? Don't forget to pin it! 
On Friday morning, I hit the first of the spring consignment sales and found a bunch of really great items that we needed. It was definitely a successful trip!
I got to the sale about thirty minutes before the door opened, and managed to snag the second spot in line.With so many little people the same size to shop for, I needed the advantage. I spent a couple of hours combing the racks and shelves for the best deals and then found myself a little corner to sort through my items. I always take a few minutes to double check what's in my bag before checking out since there are no returns.
I had at least three ladies stop me during the few minutes that I was sitting in the corner and comment on my method of shoe shopping for kids. I guess I thought more people used this method? But maybe not. So in an effort to ease the shopping stress of other moms with little kids, this is how I shoe shop for toddlers.
First of all, you have to understand how I shop. I hate shopping, so my mission is to get in, get what I need, and get out as fast as I possibly can. Consignment shopping is the only type of shopping that I sort of enjoy since it's more like a treasure hunt. But I'm still not willing to drag my quadruplet toddlers through a sale with me. That sounds impossible and so far from enjoyable that it makes me squirm even thinking about it.
So instead, I just bring their feet with me.
Every time I go to a sale, I pop a piece of card stock on the kitchen table, and Sean holds the kids' feet in place while I trace them. I make sure that I trace them in their color and write their names at the top so that I can keep track of who I'm trying shoes on.
(It looks like a couple of kids don't have toes because they wiggled so much while I was tracing them. Just make sure the length is accurate!)
On the back of each paper, I write their current size for reference. I also include what shoes and sizes we already own for that particular kid, and what I need to pick up at the sale to get us through the next six months. My goal is to always keep a current size and two sizes larger on hand for each kid to avoid being stuck buying shoes at retail. I didn't quite calculate correctly last fall and had to buy Ellie a pair of shoes at Walmart a couple of months ago. The cheapest pair on the shelf was easily three times more than what I typically spend!
Once I've finished my treasure hunt at a sale, I find myself a little corner and start "trying the shoes on them." I've found that shoes differ about as much as clothing does within sizes. All you have to do is hold the shoe up to the template to "try them on." It lets you check length and width without having the kiddos right there with you.
I will caution that this isn't 100% accurate, but it's close enough to streamline the whole shopping experience. I've definitely saved money (and sanity) this way!
And as a bonus, I'd like to pass on two additional tips for shoe shopping for kids:
1. Their feet can grown insanely fast! The consignment sales I go to are about a month apart. I retrace (or at least check) their feet right before each sale to make sure that there are no major growth spurts that I have to account for.
2. Look for velcro instead of shoe strings! Oh yes, I did learn this one the hard way. Velcro is infinitely easier to deal with when it comes to getting shoes on little wiggly people!
I'd love to know if you have any shoe shopping tips or other shopping tips when it comes to your kids. Please leave a comment if you do! I'm always on a quest to make life a little more streamlined!
Did you like this post? Don't forget to pin it!
