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As families tighten the belt on their ever shrinking income, clothing an entire family with designer jeans and impeccable shoes for the upcoming year can be a daunting thought. For families that have several children, the back to school shopping bill can be more than several car payments and put a serious dent into those living on a balanced budget.

With just a little love and care, some of those clothes can be refurbished and provide hand me downs that have a fresh new twist to them.

Of course everyone needs several pair of shoes to get through a school year. When you have multiple siblings, passing down a pair of shoes can save money but leave the kids feeling like yesterday’s news. Try putting a new set of inserted soles into the shoes so they at least feel brand new. If you’re talking dress shoes, often a new sheen of shoe polish does the trick. Even those old tennis shoes can be livened up with some new and colorful laces, especially for the girls.

Shirts, not such a big deal, but pants can make or break the ‘outfit’ of the back to school generation. A great way to spruce up an old pair of jeans is to try putting some iron on jewels on them. Suddenly the pants don’t look like hand me downs but instead resemble something new, plus it’s a great project for the kids to get hands on and act like they’re the designers of the final project.