Tackling the sock challenge

20 January 2015

Socks are such a huge challenge for so many of my clients. It seems like most have more than they can store comfortably. (And when you have items than you can store comfortably, you have clutter.)

I think part of the problem is the inevitable singleton sock. (Here’s a solution to that problem created by one of my clients.) You’re loathe to let go of the orphan sock for fear of regret if the match shows up. And those single socks take up valuable space in your sock drawer.

Other clients seem to have trouble staying on top of laundry and so they purchase more socks, which only adds to the challenge of staying on top of the laundry, because there are so many socks to wash and put away.

Sometimes I suggest to clients they declare sock bankruptcy and start over. I suggest they let go of the current sock population and replace it with two types of socks, light and dark, for example. Having fewer distinctive pairs of socks, and fewer socks in general, makes matching and storing them much easier. Suddenly a part of the laundry challenge is eliminated.

My own sock drawer had gotten out of hand, though not to the point where I needed sock bankruptcy. The drawer was messy and not particularly organized, so I finally decided to focus a little energy on it. I emptied it and let go of all the socks that didn’t have mates or that I didn’t enjoy wearing. I found that I had an overabundance of white athletic ankle socks and I decided to keep just one type. (I’d bought a bundle of them at Costco, so there were plenty.)

At the Container Store, I purchased three adjustable drawer organizers for the project. Two are skinny (3.75 inches wide) and intended for socks and one is wider (about 5.25 inches wide), intended for underwear. The three fit beautifully side by side in my drawer. (My husband and I store our socks in a three-drawer nightstand; he gets two drawers, I get one.)

My light socks fit in one skinny section and my dark socks in the other. In the wider section, I now store tights, which I had been keeping in a basket on top of my dresser. I hated how the basket cluttered my dresser, so this is a big improvement.

Here are the before and after pictures. The whole project took less than a half hour. It did require me to let go of some socks, but, as you can see, I still have an ample supply. And no singletons!

The adjustable slider in the drawer dividers makes it easy for me to keep the socks upright and in the front of the drawer. It’s only been a week, but I’m happy!

Tagged with: laundry, organizing solutions, socks