I have saved a lot of money on my kids clothes by accepting hand me downs, shopping sales, clearance, and second hand. Definitely let friends and family members, with kids a few years older than your kids, know you are happy to accept any clothes they don't want anymore. I always let my kids veto anything they don't like, except when they were really little and we were really hurting for money. Remember you don't have to buy true pajamas to be comfy while sleeping either. My kids have often slept in hand me down sports, church, and camp shirts from friends and family. They may not have had any attachment to those activities but the t-shirts were great for sleeping, painting, or even eat messy foods in! For pants they can sleep in any leggings or shorts that aren't good enough for regular wear (stained, small holes, or too short).
You can look at thrift stores or yard sales for second hand, but that takes a lot of time to fully clothe four kids. Kids specific second hand stores are much easier even if they are a little more pricey. My favorite place to shop for kids clothes in our old town was
Kid to Kid. We were able to bring the few things my kids didn't wear out to sell to help offset part of the clothing budget. The kids were able to walk around and shop with very little limits which was fun for them. It was really helpful to try on all different brands and styles to see what fit them best. And they got to really pick out what fit their tastes better just shopping the clearance racks or just wearing hand me downs.
