Back to School on a Budget ~ Clothing Edition

I get a bit obsessive when it comes to starting off a new school year. I am a planner, so I like to be prepared for whatever might be thrown our way on the first day of school. This is exactly why I despise the fact that our elementary school doesn't tell us who our kids' teacher are until at the Open House the night before the first day. But when it comes to Back-to-School shopping I can be ready when I want to be ready and spend what I want to spend, so here is my top 6 Back-to-School clothing items to buy on a budget for my kids.

1. BOYS ~ Children's Place pull-on cargo pants $15.00

 I often buy Jonah enough of these pants to get him through the year. I love that I can buy them in "slim sizes" since he is skinny and that they are the pull-on style, so he won't have any buttons or snaps to fumble with come bathroom time. The price is right, coming in at about $10 a pair when on sale and with a coupon.

2. GIRLS ~ Children's Place leggings $8.00

These come in a variety of colors and go perfectly under dresses and tunics. Lily is NOT a tights kind of girl, so these do the job and she can get them on/off by herself so potty breaks at preschool aren't an issue.

3. BOYS AND GIRLS ~ Osh Kosh B'Gosh tee's $7.00

The whole 5/6 vs 7/8 and small vs medium thing kills me when it comes to kids clothes. Osh Kosh saves the day with their easy peasy sizing of 4, 5, 6, 7 and so on. Not to mention the tee's are $7 a piece right now, and that's a deal for a good quality shirt that will last you through fall and winter (and longer if you happen to have a kid that doesn't have a growth spurt over the summer).

4. GIRLS ~ Carter's dresses & tunics $13.20

These too come in even sizes, but I just love Carter's, I have always have since my kids were infants. They have a lot of fall play style cotton dresses to choose from and the prints are cute to boot.

5. GIRLS ~ Cherokee Dawna mary jane shoes $12.99

Lily is attending preschool at the dance studio she has been a student at for the last year, so in addition to her academic class, she also has 30 mins of dance each day. She's going to be changing out of dance shoes and into regular shoes on her own each day and needs shoes that are easy to put on by herself. The Cherokee Dawna shoes are just that! Simple but cute styles, with velcro straps make for a confident little girl.

6. BOYS ~ Jumping Beans Side-Stripe Microfiber pants $7.99

What boy doesn't like to be sporty? Some days Jonah wants to wear his "comfy" pants and these are them. He can pair them with just about any t-shirt in his closet and he is good to go, whether its in the classroom or on the soccer field at recess.