I'm a busy woman...I don't have time to pair socks.
sure, I have time to update my facebook status a dozen times a day and organize my bookshelf by colour, but pair socks? Nope.
Mostly because I hate pairing socks. And it's hard to find time for the things we like least...there is always something less detestable to be done instead, isn't there?
A while back I shared how I avoid pairing socks at all for my oldest three children. But having one colour of socks for my twins just doesn't make sense yet: they've been given some adorable little socks that they will soon grow out of, replacing them seems silly. So I tried something that many of my readers suggested in the comments of my last post about the subject!
I stick a safety pin through the pair when I take them off the babies, and wash them like that.
When they come out of the dryer I can throw the pair, still pinned together, into the kids sock basket!
The basket sits on a half-wall in my laundry room. The laundry room is also the entry we use most, and we are a barefoot-unless-we're-going-somewhere sort of family, so socks in the laundry room just makes sense for us.
Thanks to all my clever readers who shared this tip with me. You gals are the best!
Great idea!!! I swear my washer eats our socks, so pinning the little ones together is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteThose cute little baby socks melt my heart!
ReplyDeleteWhat if you are too lazy to pin the socks?? I need to post about my system soon. Basically I have bought enough socks to last all winter and I only pair them once a year. You think I'm kidding............Will post my sock mountain soon. I'm a mom too!
ReplyDeleteI bet my sock mountain is taller!!!!LOL!!! Only thing is about 1/2 of it is odd socks!
DeleteLove your turquoise walls!
ReplyDeleteI am one of 6 kids and we did this growing up! Much easier to get your own socks back!!!
ReplyDeletemakingitfeellikehome.blogspot.com
Don't the pins leave rusty spots or snag the socks?
ReplyDeleteYour sock basket is 'A BEAUTIFUL THING' <3
ReplyDeleteIt just the simple suggestions that make my heart soar with utter JOY !
I have always heard about losing socks, but I have lost very few. Between my 3 kids and my husband and myself, I could probably count on one hand all the socks we've lost.
ReplyDeleteI put mine in different wash bags, often they only have a couple of the same, do then they don't get mixed up. And - the machine doesn't eat them. To all those, who think it eats them but are not sure. Yes, they go through tiny little cracks where the machine turns and dissolve over time.
ReplyDeleteMarianne, I was just about to post that I put my baby socks in a hosiery/lingerie bag. The socks aren't pinned together, but they don't disappear into washing machine wonderland! (I do still have to pair them.)
ReplyDeleteSock pinning is genius...nine years of kids and I never thought of it. also, I love your Welcome wall. It is so inviting and beautifully set up. Blue is my favorite color so it is an all-round win!
ReplyDeleteI use a lingerie bag. No pins. Just the bag, and teaching my kiddo that the dirty socks go right in! makes pairing easier too:)
ReplyDeleteHave a look at this link:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.sockclip.com/
I haven't tried it but will order it.
I let my 4-year-old pair the socks for me ;) It teaches him colours and matching skills, and helps me a bit with the laundry! I DO love your idea about the pins though, will make use of it soon as his interest in pairing socks will probably wane very soon...
ReplyDeleteMy youngest taught me that the socks don't have to match. He actually prefers that they not.
ReplyDeleteI read a great tip about having the kids put dirty socks in a lingerie bag in their room and when you pick up the laundry, each kids socks are already together in the bag. Much easier to find the errant socks!
ReplyDeleteI also despise pairing socks. My kids have always been my go-to for the job. When they were little it was a game. Now that they are older, I have made it a regular on their chore list. All of the socks and underwear go into a big laundry basket...and everyone finds and folds their own. We can knock it out in 5 minutes. So much better than me guessing with pair of panties or socks goes to which daughter.
ReplyDeleteThe sockclips that you buy work well for us, it's a similar, but non-DIY version of this idea. You can get them at The Container Store. One thing to know is that you have to squeeze reallllllly hard to open them, which is great because they hold the socks nice and tight, but not so great if you're wanting your kids to be able to clip their own socks with them. I don't think any kid could squeeze hard enough to open them--I have to really focus and I'm an adult! :)
ReplyDeleteI have worked in live theatre for years. This is exactly what we did when we had 20 men wearing exactly the same socks! (These guys weren't family and didn't like to wear some other guys socks...even if they were clean!...we pinned name tags to the socks so that they would get back the right pair). I started doing this when I got married because my husband was terrible at putting his socks in the laundry hamper so there were always missing socks!
ReplyDeleteGood idea - I have a small mesh was bag hanging from his changing table and when we undress at night just throw the socks in there. They were two for $1 at the dollar store and no pins now that he can reach where his socks are stored.
ReplyDeleteWe used to do this when I was younger, and I remember if I pinned them at the ankle, sometimes they would unravel and get all tangled in the pin, but if you pin them at the TOE, that never happens! To me it was always better that way! Great idea!
ReplyDeleteI've been pinning my socks at the toe for over 20 years! I hated sorting through socks for me, my Mom, Dad, & sister, so I pinned mine and everybody else had to fend for themselves! LOL That also stopped others from "stealing" my socks! Now, I passed it down to my 13-year-old son, and simply roll the socks up to keep them mated in the dirty clothes hamper, but when I'm ready to wash them, I pin them, wash them, and dry them! No unraveling for the socks or rusting from the pin! Voila'!
DeleteI love that idea. Does the pins come apart and tear up clothes??
ReplyDeleteI use diaper pins. Each family member is color coded (can be done with spray paint, or nail polish). Keep a bowl full of pins next to the sock drawer (drop pin in bowl as they take a pair of socks out of drawer), and a bowl next to hamper (to pin socks before going in hamper).
ReplyDeleteGreat idea.. i have always battled with the sock monster in my house that eats all the socks! I had been wanting to invent an "automatic sock matcher" to put in everyones drawers. But have no clue how to do it! Something that has makes sock magnatize towards their pair! I guess the answer is more simple, and is safty pins!
ReplyDeleteI've been doing this for years and people think I'm nuts!! It's the best idea ever :-)
ReplyDelete(I even taught Hubby to do it)
Never looking for pairs again... priceless!!
This is a really nice idea! What I do to kkep my socks in pairs (after washing & drying of course) is placing one over the other, roll them up and use the top end of one to "pocket" them together. This way I can just throw them in a basket without worrying if I grab one and all the other pairs will get mxed up. I found this photo on google, that;s exactly how I fold them =)
ReplyDeletehttp://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/photoman/photoman0906/photoman090600062/4982160-folded-socks-with-white-background.jpg
I think my next step is this. We are gonna eliminate socks altogether. Each kid's ankles and feet will be painted from the calf down. Once a week or so we'll refresh the paint.
ReplyDeleteSix kids, a bazillion non-matching socks.
Oh, those cute baby socks are so adorable. Anyway, I have never done this my entire life. I have six siblings and I think we never really had trouble finding our own socks. However, I think this idea is also great. I just hope no one gets hurt with those pins. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeletelots of brilliant replies! if you don't like the suggestion, just say it stinks!
ReplyDeleteby the way, I think pinnning is brilliant!
ReplyDeleteI don't have to teach kids any more, but I do it this way: I figure the tops of the socks aren't very dirty. So I just fold the tops of the socks together when I take them off and throw them in the hamper and washer like that. Hold the two socks together at the top and fold a cuff down on one of them, incorporating the top of the other sock into the fold at the same time. Not quite as far down as in the photo link posted above -- just a couple of inches. No pins or other thingies needed.
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