Twice a year, we hold an event called "Clothes Sorting Day" (sometimes it lasts more than just one day). That's when we go through every article of clothing the children own (and sometimes mine and Dad's). With 7 people in this house, you can imagine how long that might take. We carefully discard those pieces that are too worn to pass down and carefully bag and label the others that can be re-used. We also bag up items that are in excess and give them away. In the case of our daughter, we usually find someone we know to give her old clothes to, but I do keep a few items for her keepsakes. I just can't bear to part with everything.
This whole events reminds me of reaping and sowing. It never fails that when we give clothing to other people, we get twice as much given back to us from friends whose boys have outgrown clothing. OR, we find that great deal for the boys while shopping. The Lord has many ways to "give" to us. We try to be diligent in this area of maintaining clothing so that we don't have much to spend each year. Believe it or not, we still have a lot of clothing from our oldest that can still be used by our youngest. Remember the account of the children of Israel when they wandered around the desert for forty years? The Word tells us that the Lord preserved their clothing so that it didn't wear out. I feel like that is the case many times in our family!
As I go through the clothes with the children, we make a comprehensive list of what items each one will need. This year we are already ahead because we already went shopping for shoes (which is an event in itself with 5 kids!) As you can imagine, keeping everyone neatly dressed can not only be a job, but also costly. The new shoes are our biggest expense and this year all 5 needed new ones... and we normally buy brand new shoes. I believe the Lord blesses us when it comes time to shop. We do a lot of Thrift Store shopping, too (and a relative of mine thought that was too bad that we HAD to do that). We don't HAVE to do anything! We choose to do that in order to save money. Plus, you wouldn't believe what people get rid of. Many times we find items that are brand new, never worn, with the tags still on. I even buy most of my clothing from Thrift Stores... in fact, I can't think of the last time I bought something anywhere else!!!!! God wants us to be wise with our money and not frivolous. When you think about getting an entire bag of clothing for the price of one pair of jeans at most stores... well, it's a no-brainer.
So, I'll be going now, as I have many more hours of work. Today I will be singing joyfully as I go through the clothes. "PUT ON THE GARMENT OF PRAISE..." Thank you, Lord for Your provision!
