I’m assuming that you also have a black hole in your laundry room where stray socks disappear. It does seem to be a never ending battle. I have no idea how or why socks decide to part from their mates, but it is inevitable it seems.
This is my solution:
It sits on top of my dryer in plain site – so I am forced to deal with them!
I used to have stray socks everywhere. If I folded a load of clothes on my bed, there were 2 or 3 that sat on my dresser for 2 weeks. If I folded a load in the bonus room, there were a couple that sat on the side table for a couple of days. It drove me crazy, to say the least.
I don’t consider a load of clothes to be completed until they are put away in the drawers. And that includes putting all stray socks in the sock bin.
Use a small container – mine is a hospital bath basin (from my previous life as an RN). If you use anything too large, too many socks will accumulate and you will not want to deal with them.
Go through the container once a month. Pick a date to match all of the socks and stick to it. For example, on the 1st of every month I sanitize my machine and go through my sock bin. The first of the month is an easy date for me to remember, so it ensures my socks get matched.
If you have socks that stay in the bin more than a month, find them a new home. Make them into dust rags or throw them away.
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This is a great idea–I am one of those people who puts the socks on the dresser. I need a bin like this one! Great idea–thanks for sharing!! Happy WFMW!
.-= Ally´s last blog ..Cheapest Meal…Ever! =-.
Yes – get a bin! You’ll be so happy with no more stray socks on your dresser. 🙂
Thanks for visiting!
-Lauren
GREAT idea! I stick all of ours in the proper drawers hoping they will find their mate at some point. However, that rarely happens until I clean out said drawers. I’m going to have to hunt down a small bin. Hmmmmm…
Hope this idea helps you!
LOVE the name of your blog title…We are a ‘House of Hills’ also. 🙂 (Our last name is Hill.)
Thanks for commenting!
-Lauren
Great idea! I usually just leave them in a pile on my counter in the laundry room — very messy.
Oh Lauren…I end up putting the strays on my piano! Isn’t that horrible? Drives me crazy so I end up not playing the piano. I love the idea of a bin. Simple and easy to have the boys go through and match up the socks.
In case I haven’t said enough…I love your blog (almost as much as I love you)!
.-= Jenny86753oh9´s last blog ..Puke mess preventer =-.
Oh you Sweet Thang, Jenny – Love you too!
I use a shoe box 🙂 Free and just about the right size!
Fabulous idea! Gotta love free 🙂
Thank you for all you great tips.. how do you sanitize your washing machine on the first of the month?
Hi Jaime 🙂
I’ve had a couple of email questions about that…I’ll write a post about to have up next week on either Mon or Tues. 🙂
Our washing machine literally eats socks! Not often, but once it actually “broke” because it had “eaten” a sock and it got stuck in the rotator! LOL
Thanks for stopping by my blog, I hope you’ll be back again often! 😀
.-= Ashley´s last blog ..I love Oxi-Clean! =-.
Wow – now that’s serious! I’m convinced mine disappear because the washer eats them…but yours really does! 🙂
Yes, I’ll def stop by! Enjoyed your Oxi-Clean post! (I’m a dork – I know)
-Lauren
That is a great idea! Thanks!
At one point I had 4 teenage sons and no way to distinguish between …who’s are who’s. So I got lot of bags of exactly the same all white sports socks, pretty much all they wore, and designated a sock drawer. All socks got washed and put into the sock drawer and all the socks matched. It was a great solution at our house.
.-= Kelly´s last blog ..Additional Field Trip Tips =-.
Absolutely FABULOUS idea! Esp with so many boys in the same size socks! Thanks for sharing it!
Great idea!
Can I just be totally honest though? As soon as I saw the picture, I thought, “Hey — I’ve vomited into containers like that!” So, when I saw that you say it was a hospital basin, I burst out laughing. I was right! I have done that before! 😉 LOL
.-= Angie @ Many Little Blessings´s last blog ..7 Quick Takes: March 5, 2010 (Vol. 32) =-.
I found this idea at http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/lost-socks-line-672265/ and it gave me the idea to do my own. I’ll email you a picture.
Wow – got your email. You did such a fabulous job!