Best Bargains for Buying Clothespins for Classroom Use

I love that teachers are continuously finding ways to re-purpose items to make creative learning activities that are practical for students to use!  One of the best tools that have been adapted for classroom use are clothespins.  They were originally intended for hanging clothes on a clothesline and many people continue to utilize them for in this way.  

I have the "411" for you on where to get the best value for your money.  I'll also tell you how you can save time in finding them.  Before I get to that, if you're an early childhood or elementary teacher and haven't heard of clip cards, check out the free set HERE.  It will give you an idea of how I'm using clothespins to create learning centers. 

I'll mention that this blog has no affiliates with any of the stores or manufacturers included.  

I've probed around my own community to find out where clothespins can be purchased and my discovery has led me to several national retailers and a few regional grocery store chains.  I bought four sets of clothespins at four stores which are independent of each other.  In case you're curious, all four sets of clothespins were made in China.

I've also price compared with some mall based online stores that sell clothespins and I have learned that buying locally is MUCH cheaper! It eliminates the shipping costs which usually will be more than the cost of the clothespins themselves.

CALL BEFORE YOU STALL:  Before you drive to a store to buy your clothespins, call the store first to make sure they carry them.  There's no point in searching at places that don't supply clothespins.

LOCATION IN THE STORE:  Save yourself time and locate the clothespins quickly.  There are two places in almost any store that you will find clothespins.  Those two places are the BLEACH/LAUNDRY DETERGENT aisle or the HOUSEHOLD section.  If there is a subsection for household items, look where there are ironing board covers, hangers, and laundry bags.  

COST COMPARED TO QUANTITY:  Before you grab those clothespins that look like a great deal for one dollar you will want to consider the quantity that you're getting.  If there's a package of 44 clothespins for one dollar and another package of 100 clothespins  for two dollars, spending the extra cash might be worthwhile if your planning to create a lot of centers or will be sending several sets home for students to use.  

DESIGN:  Another thing to consider is the design of the clothespins.  Does the size make a difference to you?  What about the material used?  Do you want plastic or wooden clothespins?

QUALITY:  Inspect the condition of the wood on the clothespins.  Two brands that I purchased came in transparent packaging material which allowed me to clearly view the product.  The other two sets of clothespins were packaged with transparent material as well but paper inserts covered a portion of the product.  Look for clothespins that have a smooth finish on the wood.  Poorly finished wood could cause splinters.  Inferior crafted springs could break easily resulting in fewer clothespins than what you began with when you made the purchase.  I also noticed that some of the products added additional information about the products' features such as "no rust wire springs" or "rust resistant wire springs".  

STORES AND PRICES:  Here's a listing of a few stores that sell clothespins along with their prices and quantities per package.  This information was obtained in September 2016.  If you are reading this in September 2020 - the prices will probably be more than what I've quoted.  

1.  Walmart Supercenter:  Mainstays™  Wooden Clothespins (50 count package)
PRICE - $0.97.

2.  Dollar Tree Stores, Inc.:  Essentials ™ Wood Clothespins (36 count package)
PRICE - $1.00.

3.  Family Dollar:  Wood Clothespins (50 count package)
PRICE - $1.25

4.  A Local Grocery Store:  Whitmor Inc., Natural Wood Clothespins  (100 count package)
PRICE - $5.99

 Here are a few more places to find clothespins:

1.  Kmart

2.  Craft Stores

3.  Thrift Stores 

In my opinion, the Walmart Mainstays™ brand was the best value for getting a quality set of clothespins at a very low price.  I hope this post will help you become a savvy consumer when it comes to buying clothespins!   If you're looking for clip card centers that use clothespins, check out my Pinterest board: Clip Card Centers.

That's all for now!

Molly, Lessons by Molly

Illustration of the laundress by:  
Caldecott, Randolph, and Edmund Evans.  The Complete Collection of Pictures & Songs.  G.  Routledge and Sons, London, monographic, 1887.  Image.  Retrieved from the Library of Congress <https://www.loc.gov./item42048476/>