From the hamper, to the washer, to the sock drawer, there are several places that socks can lose their match. The mystery of missing socks will likely never be solved, but there are ways to increase the probability of being able to find two socks that go together, even in a large household. This is a guide about organizing socks.
You can still buy socks of different kinds. I have white socks for tennis shoes and dress socks, but the whites are all alike and the dress socks are all black and alike. I think this saves money in the long run.
By thriftyvicki from Dallas, TX
By Elaine from OK
By Janet T. from Carmel, IN
By Denise from Whitby, ON
By motiva8 from Canton, NC
Source: Mother
By Virginia from Columbus, OH
By MaryME
By Herman from Midland, MI
By rose from Black Hills of SD
No more problems with having 7 different types of white socks or black socks that mix with blue... and if one gets lost, there is always another to replace it!
By Danielle
By Lori from Ephrata, WA
By katesnanna from Brisbane, Australia
By S Duffy from Canada
Instead of using those plastic over-the-door shoe organizers for shoes, I use mine to organize our socks! After taking the socks out of the dryer, I just roll them up and place a pair in each pocket of the shoe organizer (I do this with pantyhose and knee-highs too).
No scrambling to match socks on a busy morning! When my son gets older and starts to dress himself, I'll probably do the same for his room so that he has easy access to matching socks.
By Lisa from WI
By Kimberly from Lakeland, FL
I have a pretty glass mug full of safety pins on my bedroom bookshelf and usually pin my socks together when I take them off, before I toss them in the hamper. There are also safety pins in the laundry room, so if I find unmatched socks when I am sorting the laundry, I can pin them then and prevent losing them to the dryer!
By SuzyQ82 from Willoughby, OH
I close the top back up and seal with tape. The bottom is of course already sealed. Then with my scissors I make new flaps for the middle piece and crease then tape them down like the top and bottom. Voila! - three perfectly sized drawer organizers for those teeny little adorable socks!
It works well for toddler and bigger kid socks too. Just cut the box pieces to the size you need. Recycling, thriftiness and one less headache when it is time to dress the kids!
By BoobertAndWeenie from Belmont, MA
Here is a tip which my husband provided for me. Before my son moved on his own, I was having difficulty matching socks to the correct person. Since they both like crew and ankle socks, my husband made a suggestion. He started buying one brand for himself and another brand for my son. We extended the practice to tee shirts and underwear. No more confusion
By Georgetta from Waterloo, IA
* The only problem I have with this method is that if you like to wear black socks like I do... after a while some will be faded and some will be as bright as new. When this happens you'll have to sort them according to darkness or you'll end up with a black sock & a nearly gray sock.
Another thing that helps is, if you try to always buy your socks at the same store. This way they will continue to match. For example, I always bought my oldest sons socks at Fred Meyers and my youngest son's at Walmart. When I needed to buy them more socks I'd try to go back to the same store so I could get them the same brand. This way, they would always have socks that matched. Another thing that helps to sort socks is that one of my daughters liked the low "tennis shoe" type of sock & the other one like knee socks. If you are fortunate to have 2 kids that like different styles of socks this also helps to sort them (like tube socks Vs, toe socks etc). (08/21/2008)
By Cyinda
By DEBRADJ.
I have also purchased several packages of the same color and brand of sock, and I agree that that is a good tip. My sons solved the matching sock problem by deliberately wearing socks that did not match. I think a little creativity and independence go a long way to make mom's job easier. (08/22/2008)
By louel53
By melmarr
Always buy mens and boys' socks in quantities of a dozen or more of matching pairs. This reduces the need to pair-up the socks before washing and greatly reduces the length of time playing the sock matching game.
By Cathi/Cait
Cotton socks may not be fashionable, and this may have concerned me forty years ago. Now I'm much more into comfort, and you can't beat cotton socks for comfort. White for boots, black for shoes... only two kinds of socks in the house. Handy. (10/14/2004)
By Alph
I have two small boys and while sorting socks, I find that although they wear different sizes when rolled they all look like the same size. I roll one boy's toes tucked in and my other boy's socks toes out of the "ball". I can put them in the correct drawer without much thought and each knows at a glance if they have the right socks.
By Leigh Ann Stephens
By Edgar
By kibby
I often buy several pairs of the same color of socks so that if one sock of the pair wears out, there will still be several mates.
By Judy
By mulberry204
Socks! The washing machine must eat them. Buy several pair of the same make, model, and color and not only do you save time sorting laundry, but if one goes bad or missing, you still have back-ups and an extra.
When they get a hole, cut off the top part and sew on as knitted cuffs on long-sleeve shirts or sweats when the sleeves are too short.
By kemperjl from Gilbertsville, NY
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Do you have a tip, recipe or craft to share?
Organizing Socks