One of the top three items on my to-do list today is this:
I mean, really. Don’t you wonder what we are wearing on our feet?? How can there possibly any socks left in this house that are an actual match?
Typically, my little sock bin that sits on top of my dryer has three, maybe four socks in it. I bet there are easily 40 socks currently waiting on me to find their other half.
After staring at this growing basket for over 2 weeks, I think I have identified the problem. My kids leave random socks strewn all over the house. They come in from playing in the sandbox, and their sandy socks are at the back door. My daughter leaves socks littered around every room of our house. The baby kicks off her socks while she is in the swing or hanging out on the play mat. The point is: they are everywhere. And they never make it to the laundry basket upstairs to be washed.
So my solution:
Every evening, before we go upstairs for the night, my two big kids are to search each room downstairs for random socks and other clothes. If they find any, they are to put them in their dirty clothes basket upstairs. As of today, it is their official job to locate and remove all random socks.
I’m going to continue with my sock bin since it has proven its worth in the past. If both socks can actually be washed, unmatched socks aren’t usually a problem and my sock bin goes mostly unused. And this is the way I like it!
Are stray socks a huge problem in your family? What is your method for getting them under control?
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Yes! haha We have a basket on our dryer as well. I think we’ve had some in there for months though, so I need to clean it out totally. Thanks for all of your tips!
I have a basket for stray socks too. I usually get around to sorting through it once a month or so. It’s a great thing to do after the kids go to bed and I want to sit and watch tv. I spread them out on the sofa and match them. I still have socks that I never find matches for though. I swear the dryer occasionally eats socks!
I agree! I really have no idea where some of those matches go…
I loved reading this post.
Odd socks are a mystery to me. I mean a pair goes into the laundry, how can they get separated? But, they do. In our house they tend to hang about in the clean laundry “to be folded” basket for a while in the hopes that their partner shows up.
After sorting our bedroom/dresser/wardrobes and generally doing spring cleaning I’ve discovered we have more than enough socks so the odd ones are about to get evicted.
‘Evicted’. I love that 😉
28 years ago when I married, my husband and I discovered “Sock Mates”. They are plastic circles with grips on the insides. You run both pairs of socks through the ring, wash, dry, and store with ring still on. It keeps the socks together until you are ready to use. They are no longer called “Sock Mates” Now they are called “Sock Rings”. You can purchase them at Amazon…….about $11 for 10 of them. We still have the originals from 28 years ago so they will last a lifetime! Honestly, this is the easiest way to keep track of all those socks. I have 3 children and it has been the greatest invention in my house!
Now THAT is a well-made product to last that long! Impressive, to say the least.
Thanks for sharing the idea! I haven’t heard of them before.
-Lauren
Such a simple idea but works great. You have to train your family to put their socks into them. I place my sock rings in a small basket above the washer/dryer. When anyone takes off their socks, they pull their color sock ring (we have 5 different colors…..one color for each person), place ring on their socks, and throw into the laundry basket. No more trying to match socks or trying to locate lost socks! Not many people have heard of them. As far back as I can remember, my family was the only one to use them. We still have the old ones from 28 years ago plus the new ones. Both are doing great!
@Dawn: I love you so much right now I want to cry. THANK YOU for that tip. With my family of 9, socks are my biggest domestic frustration. Purchasing now.
You will love them!! I am sure it will cut a lot of work from your busy schedule. Have fun!!! Dawn
Growing up in a large household my Dad always made us pair up our socks in our dirty basket. That way when putting the dirty laundry in the wash it has it’s mate with it. 🙂
i guess im lucky i have a liottle boy that doesnt care what his socks look like and my niece likes mismatch socks