Why One Mom Washes Her Kids' Shoes Instead of Buying New for Back-to-School (Exclusive)

Kelly Corral tells PEOPLE she is already instilling her thrifty and sustainable spirit in her two kids

• Kelly Corral posted a 15-second TikTok video of herself cleaning her kids' shoes, sharing the message that it's okay for parents not to buy their children all new back-to-school items

• The mom of two's sustainable and economical message reached over 4.9 million TikTok viewers and garnered over 450,000 likes on the app

• She tells PEOPLE that her 5-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son appreciate their mom's thrifty spirit and are already following her example

With the back-to-school season in full swing, parents are once again feeling the pressure to splurge on fresh items for their children. However, one mom in California has taught her two kids that a great academic year can start without brand new clothes and unused backpacks.

Kelly Corral shared her sustainable and economical philosophy in a 15-second TikTok video that reached over 4.9 million viewers on the app. The clip shows Corral washing off some of her son and daughter's sneakers. In overlaying text, the thrifty parent explained how she gets her 5-year-old and 9-year-old classroom ready.

"The new school year starts Monday, so I’m washing backpacks and scrubbing shoes for the first day of school. My kids think this is normal … because it is," Corral's captions began. "The pressure and urge to buy all new stuff for back to school is crazy. Mama, it is totally fine to use what you already have."

In addition to freshening up footwear and book bags, Corral tells PEOPLE she also cleans up her kids' lunch boxes and athletic equipment in preparation for the new year.

Related: Dog Owner Put Pit Bull in Protective Shoes, Was Shocked by Critical Comments: 'Broke My Heart' (Exclusive)

"I would say probably 90% of their clothing is just clothing that they already had," says the Santa Clarita mom. "We just didn't need to buy anything brand new because they're happy with how much they have."

As her kids grow up, Corral says she expects them to eventually ask for new clothes to match the latest styles. But for now, while they're still relatively young, she appreciates that her kids are happy to rewear items from previous years or shop smart at resale stores or yard sales.

"My son has always worn Vans because we wear Vans, my husband and I. But I did notice, maybe last year, his friends started wearing Jordans and Dunks, and he never said, 'Can we go to the mall to get new shoes?' " says Corral.

She adds that her son recently found a pair of almost-new Nike Air Jordans for $5 during a family thrifting excursion.

Related: Stranger Travels Across States to Return 9-Year-Old's Stuffed Animal and Documents Toy's Journey Home (Exclusive)

"He was so excited, and he wore those shoes into the ground, but it was never like, 'Can we go to the Nike store or Foot Locker?' or anything," the proud parent recalls. "It was natural for him to want to find it somewhere else."

In addition to demonstrating her saving spirit so her kids can follow, Corral says she communicates the message to her kids when she has the opportunity. As she explained in her TikTok video's captions, her kids do understand that reusing old items is normal.

"There have definitely been times where we can't afford to get something new, so we'll say, 'I understand you want to get that or your friend has this or that. Right now is not the best time ... There's some things in your room that you haven't played with in a really long time, are you ready to try to let those go?' " Corral tells PEOPLE, noting that they'll then post their old belongings — like Legos or dolls — on Facebook marketplace or host a yard sale.

While they're out secondhand shopping, Corral often takes the time to instill her sustainable values in her kids, too.

"Why create more waste when it's there? We have it and my kids pick up on that and they know that we thrift. I'll say, 'Oh, we're saving the planet because we're using what's already here instead of making new stuff,' " she says.

Related: Woman's Dog Eats Her Engagement Ring's Uninsured Diamond Before Wedding (Exclusive)

Corral regularly posts parenting and thrifting content on her social media pages, but she decided to record herself scrubbing sneakers after momentarily questioning her decision to do so.

"When I pulled out the shoes to clean, it was like, 'Should I just go buy them new shoes?' And then I'm looking at them like, 'No, in a few minutes, these will be clean,' " she explains of her reason for posting the footage, which currently has over 456,000 likes. "It was just like, let me pull the phone out and record this."

She continues, "The message was, if this is what you are doing too in light of the new school year, this is normal. And it was such a short video, I didn't convey anything else ... but also if you are back to school shopping, that's normal too."

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.