The answer to lost socks! Finally, I am no longer hunting for, sorting through, and matching up socks for my family of five! I just bought inexpensive, mesh lingerie bags that can be found at places like Target or Walmart. I placed one on a hook in the closet for each of my 3 daughters. My kids tend to tear off their shoes and socks when they walk in the door, so I put theirs in a closet there, but you could also hang them in the bedroom or laundry room.
They simply throw their socks in the mesh bags when they come home. On laundry day, I ask everyone to get their sock bags and throw them into the washing machine, making sure they are all zipped up. I then wash them and throw them into the dryer as is. When they're dry, the kids take their own bag and sort their socks themselves. Little ones especially enjoy doing this, but sometimes I admit, if we're pressed for time we don't sort them at all. We know they're all there.
They then put the sorted (or unsorted) socks back into their bags and take upstairs to dump out into their sock drawer. No missing socks! No sorting! One less things for me to do! The bags are then hung up in their usual places, waiting for the next day's socks. So easy!
By Anita from San Diego, CA
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Lucky you! I had the same idea, but I never could get my 3 boys to put them in the bags!They'd rather spend 1/2 an hour sorting them from a basket than to take a minute to throw them in the bag I guess! LOL!
Great idea! I am so impressed with the fact that this method puts the responsibility for those socks onto your kids and not onto you! Good parenting! My sons did their own laundry, starting when they were about 9 or 10, and had been sorting and folding from much younger (although I have to admit when they got to be teens, they just had a clean basket and a dirty basket for clothes, not much got folded and into the drawer).
Great idea! I had 4 boys that were close in age, therefore wore the same size socks. The answer I found was "Sock Rings". Each boy had their own color. My husband even used them. In case anyone doesn't know what I'm talking about, I'll describe them. They are plastic rings about the size of a quarter and have "teeth"in the center to hold the socks in place. They were a life saver. Judy
Another idea I've been doing for years and never thought to post! Hmm! LOL Good for you for posting it!
I will add two things though. Don't pay Wal Mart or Target prices for the bags. I get mine at the Dollar Store for much less and they are the same bags.
Also since you use them for your kids, I would take craft paint and paint their initials or names if they have the same initials on the zipper part of the bag. That would make it much easier to tell at a glance which bag goes to which kid.
I also wash my bras in these bags. This way the hooks don't get caught on my other clothes anymore. I close the hooks but invariably they will come undone in the washer or dryer. So I put them in the bags and don't have to worry about it anymore.
Somebody mentioned using those "sock rings". I hated those when I tried them because where the ring is, does not come clean. The ring holds the two socks together so tightly that the soap and water can't get in there, so you end up with a stripe of dirty along both socks. I found this out after my husband came in wearing white socks after doing some really dirty yard work.
You can't tell this is happening unless you have white or light colored socks that have gotten extremely dirty.
Wish I had thought of this when my kids were small. We had a "communal" sock bag, all strays went in it, usually we would sit on the sofa, sort socks and just "visit", catch up on small talk and enjoy the great finds of socks matching :-) I miss that.
Wish I had thought of this when my kids were small. We had a "communal" sock bag, all strays went in it, usually we would sit on the sofa, sort socks and just"visit", catch up on small talk and enjoy the great finds of socks matching :-) I miss that.
Isn't this the greatest idea? I use mine for my husband's socks and another for my underwear so they don't get misdirected into pant legs or sleeves. I know, I know, I am a haphazard washer person.
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