How to Find or Get Free Clothes/Clothing for Women, Children, and Men for Work or School

As you wear out your old clothes or move into a new lifestyle that requires an updated wardrobe then you look for ways to save money. Many individuals do not have the extra cash to go out and buy large quantities of clothes especially when school time rolls around. There are ways to reduce your clothing costs expenses or get the clothing you need for FREE.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. 

   The first step is to check out local sites on the Internet to see what you can find. Craigslist at craigslist.org and Free Cycle Network at freecycle.org have great opportunities to snag up some free clothing. There are listings in all areas of the United States where you can find free clothing on the site. Sometimes you can find completely new clothing people are giving away that has never been worn. You can also find people in your local area who may be willing to barter, swap, or trade with you for what you need. I have had friends swap cars for homes and outdated computers for hundreds of dollars worth of brand name clothing.

2. 

   The next area to look at is consignment shops (www.consignmentshops.com) in your area and see what they have to offer. Consignment shops usually have name brand clothes that are slightly used at a discount. These stores also offer the option of trading in your old clothes for money and/or trading those in on the purchase of your new ones. Many people sell their old clothes to these shops and the clothing will still have the tags on them. We all buy clothes that we think we will wear, fit into, or save for a special occasion but never end up wearing. These shops offer great deals. I once replenished my whole wardrobe for under $200 with new shoes, jeans, shirts, jackets, shorts, purses, and hats from a consignment shop. I got like $3,000 worth of clothes for nearly nothing and most all of the clothing was brand new.

3. 

   Lastly, in order to find free clothes is to check out thrift stores and yard sales. The Salvation Army (www.salvationarmyusa.org) and other places that take in people's free, used items as donations and resell them. You can usually find cheap clothing here and also if you are really in need then the salvation army will give you vouchers for shopping for free shoes and clothing. This is what they do with the money that they get from selling the used items that are donated. They will buy clothing for individuals, help with utilities and food, and almost any other need you can think of. So if you are sending a child back to school and just suffered job loss then contact a local organization in your area. Usually you can contact organizations such as this and they will give you the names of other organizations who may be able to help you if they can't. Also, all those yard sales you run across all year long are good places to find cheap clothing sometimes for only $0.05 or so per piece.

[mommylux]

on 8/22/2009 Great ideas, thank you!