Sister Missionary Shopping

Shopping for mission clothes seems so easy for the elders! They just buy two suits, a bunch of white shirts, a handful of ties and two pairs of shoes. Done. Sisters, on the other hand, have to worry about matching their clothes in the most ways possible so that they can get the most uses out of different blouses and skirts, and blah blah blah. It’s so exhausting! Well, I have a few tips for mission shopping that will hopefully help speed up your shopping process. I’ve thought about a few different ways that I could write this post, and I finally concluded on writing it down in a step by step process. I did a lot of trial and error when it came to shopping, but I think it could’ve been a lot quicker if I had done things in this order.

1) Make a packing list on Google Sheets.

When you look at your missionary portal, they give you a big list of things to pack. It was a lot for me to follow, and I didn’t want to worry about pulling up that list on missionary.org every time I needed to check what I already purchased. I made a spreadsheet on Google Sheets so I could track it better, make it more detailed, and add extra things that I wanted to make sure I didn’t forget. I have a template made based off of items specific to my mission. You can download this spreadsheet and add edit it as you need through this link.

2) Look through your closet to see what you have that you can bring with you on your mission.

I found a few tops and dresses that I was able to bring with me on my mission. That saved some money because man, the cost of all the mission supplies you need really starts to add up! I was also able to save some money by buying items that were on clearance.

3) Print off Sister Missionary Malls’ (SMM) wardrobe builder.

This spreadsheet seriously saved my life! I had purchased about half of my clothing and I was feeling really overwhelmed with how I was going to buy items that matched well enough with what I already had. I found this wardrobe builder on their website and I felt so much better after that!

I would start that builder by filling in what you already have that you can bring on your mission.

4) Check out (SMM) for some great mission basics.

Sister missionaries just have to have that basic missionary black skirt and good quality shoes that are going to last your whole mission. I decided to start at SMM because I figured that’s where I would find those things. SMM is great for these basic things as long as you aren’t super tiny. I was able to find shoes and skirts (in the smallest sizes) but their smallest pair of dress pants were way too big and I felt like even their smallest tops were too big to look right on me. I think as long as you aren’t a super tiny person like me, then you will be able to find quite a few things there at SMM.

They have a great selection in basic mission skirts and dress pants in black, navy, and grey as well as underclothing like slips and undershirts. I also bought all my mission shoes at SMM. They sold me on the quality and durability of their pricey shoes, and I’m excited to see how they last on my mission. I’ll have to update this post when I get home and let you all know if it was worth buying expensive shoes.

One thing that I really liked about SMM was their mission surveys. They have a binder of returned missionary surveys about the mission you are going to. I was able to read through the surveys for my mission and find a few helpful tips from those missionaries that I didn’t know or wouldn’t have thought of on me own.

5) Buy your tops, skirts, dresses, and jackets.

This is probably the most overwhelming part of missionary shopping. Some people will check out different places and buy the things that they like and return them later. I was shopping on a budget, so I took pictures of the things that I liked and then went back and purchased those items later after I made sure those clearance items were really what I wanted. The SMM wardrobe builder will come in handy as you are shopping for tops and skirts. The way the wardrobe builder works, is you write down all your skirts (and dress pants) in the first column, then you write down what tops you have in the second column. In the little boxes on the left in the “tops” column, you write down the corresponding number for each skirt/pair of dress pants that will match with that top.

Notice that the corresponding “skirts/dress pants” numbers are in red.

This process will help you to make the most matched of your mission clothes since you will only have those 16 items to match with for the next year and a half! I also went out and bought some cardigans and jackets that would match with each top and started a second column of numbers on the right side of the “tops” column so I could see how well those matched with my tops and dresses.

Notice that the corresponding “layers” number are in green.

Aside from the things that I had in my closet before I started my shopping, I bought most of my missionary clothes from Mikarose and Downeast Basics in the Orem mall. I was able to find quite a few things on clearance at Mikarose and Downeast had the best prices on undershirts and cardigans. Other places I would check out are Bella Ella Boutique (try on the clothing in the store and then buy the items online to save you some money), Seagull Book (their Sweet Salt line is cute), and Deseret Book.

6) Finish the clothing portion of your shopping.

The rest of your clothing shouldn’t be nearly as hard to figure out. The wardrobe builder will help you with your remaining shoes and basic needs. Don’t forget to check the packing list spreadsheet you made earlier for things like pajamas, workout clothes, and casual clothes. I also added sunglasses, sunhat, bras, and socks to my packing list under clothing because I want to triple check and make sure I have all the clothing I need. Once I finished with my clothing, I felt less stressed and closer to being prepared for my mission. I feel like clothing is the most overwhelming part of your packing, so the good news is, you are basically ⅔ of the way done!

My completed wardrobe builder.

7) Buying the rest of your items.

Like the clothing portion earlier, I recommend looking to see what you already have as you gather your toiletries, documents, study materials, medical items, and other miscellaneous items. There are a few things that you probably already have, and for the rest, make a list and head to Walmart! I will go over a couple of items from each section that was more difficult to find but won’t go into too much detail for the remaining categories on your packing list.

The toiletries that you bring only need to be enough to last you through the mtc. Once you are out in the mission field, you’ll have an opportunity to restock for the rest of your mission. I will only be in the mtc for about two weeks, so I’m thinking I won’t need much more than what I normally take on vacations. Those that are staying for a longer period of time in the MTC will want to pack soap, tooth paste, etc. in larger quantities.

The thing I had a hard time finding from the miscellaneous section was moleskin. Moleskin is actually a tape that you put on the inside of your shoes to prevent blisters. I found some on Amazon for pretty cheap. Here is the link.

For the documents, I am putting them in an envelope that I can just tuck away in the bottom of my suitcase.

One thing from the study materials that can be complicated is the shoulder bag. I wasn’t sure what to get, and I didn’t want to pay $70 for one at SMM, so I just bought a bag from Walmart that I’ll waterproof. If it doesn’t last my whole mission then I’ll just buy another one. It’ll be nice to have a different one anyways. This is another thing I’ll have to talk about more after my mission.

The medical supplies are probably the most complicated section next to clothing. Every missionary is required to put together a first aid kit for their mission. It has a lot of things needed for it and took me a good chunk of time browsing the aisles of Walmart to find. The hardest thing for me was heat rash ointment. I ended up finding some on Amazon that will hopefully do the trick if I ever have heat rash. Here is the link.

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I hope that this has been helpful for you as you are packing for your mission. It can be an overwhelming task, but when you have a plan as to how you’ll do it, it really isn’t as bad. I will be sure to come back and update this post after my mission, but until then, send any questions you have to me and I’ll try to answer them soon!