Why Sock Organising Matters for Your Busy Family
I was talking with a client recently who had accumulated so many odd socks in a bag it was becoming unmanageable. They never seemed to find the other sock and felt bad about throwing out perfectly good odd socks.
So many of my clients struggle with this.
Not only is it expensive, but it feels wasteful and adds to the household clutter. It’s so frustrating!
If you have so many odd socks they never find their pair, it causes so much clutter. They never get worn and you end up having to buy more socks to wear instead, they waste space in drawers or the utility room and make the house feel chaotic.
Ofcourse, if that’s your style to wear odd socks, go for it! There’s no judgement here. I remember I once worked with a colleague who made a point of wearing odd socks. He would choose the brightest coloured and patterned, odd socks each day. It always brought a smile to our faces!
5 Strategies to Avoid Odd Sock Chaos
But in all seriousness, if odd socks are making it hard to manage the family laundry and causing you stress, there are things you can do about it.
- Ensure sock pairs always travel together – sort washing out on the floor before loading the machine to ensure that you put pairs of socks into the machine. You could also try putting socks into a net laundry bag
- Then peg them out in pairs so that once dry you can fold them together. I love to use this peg hanger to hang pairs of socks to dry
- Have an area to collect the odd socks – this must be visible and visited regularly. A basket or clear bag give you visibility of the errant socks so you can pair them when the 2nd sock comes around
- Have a section in each family member’s sock draw for odd socks waiting to be reunited. If you store socks by owner, even if they are a pile in the corner of the drawer, it can make it easier to spot pairs
- Regularly review your sock collection, removing pairs that are outgrown, well worn or faded. Keeping sock collections down to those that you actually wear will help to keep them in rotation and avoid cluttering up your drawers
Tips to Prevent Odd Socks in the Future
You can make sock management easier in a busy household by choosing difference styles or designs for each family member. It’ll be really obvious whose socks are whose so they won’t get mixed up and separated forever.
Or you could buy odd socks so you never notice odd socks again.
Quick Sock Organising Hack for Busy Mornings
Pairing your socks once they are dry will help you quickly find matching pairs when it comes to getting ready in the mornings. Balling them, rolling them or just turning over the collar can all help.
Odd Sock Amnesty
If you despair of odd sock waste there are ways you can get use our of your odd socks. For example, they make great dusters. Pop them over your hand and sweep around your shelves and ornaments.
And once you’ve finished, they can be recycled along with other textiles. Drop them at your local household recycling centre or local charity shop that receives payment for rags.
A Calmer, More Organised Home Starts Small
It may seem like a small act, but minimising your odd sock chaos can make a real difference to your household laundry tasks and make getting ready in the mornings that little bit easier.
