The Mystery of the Other Sock

Whatever happened to the other sock?
Did you flee from the dryer and race down the block?
Or maybe you're still crumpled in my old yellow croc?
All my worry for you, you'll gleefully mock
As you flyaway south with the missing sock flock

​So it might seem odd to start a big family blog with the story of the missing sock. But of all the "how did you do it" questions that I get, this is the hand wringer that crosses age and gender. You know, your Sora's cute pink sock with white satin ribbon that cost a year's worth of groceries. And the gray striped sock that your mother-in-law gifted your hubby - she'll be looking for them as he crosses his legs at the next Sunday dinner. Or Jason's black silk bar mitzvah socks that match his suit and he's waited to don with his tefillin for 13 years......  Oh where, oh where is the other sock?

My answer: The pin
Yes the lowly safety pin has been my friend for 40 years. 

​SOLUTION 1: With many mulitples of 13 kid pairs to match, plus the one of a kind man socks that my better half needed for the 6 am morning commute , I had to come up with a solution. 
I know some people use the little round sock disks, but those are inconvenient and they only come in small packages. We needed an easily accessible, industrial sized solution.
And it was.... the SAFETY PIN!

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​​I bought them in the giant size (think... your corner dry cleaners) and if they get lost, no sweat; there are lots more where that one came from.
I kept them by the hampers and before I put in a load, I matched the socks with a quick twist of the pin. Voila! (and always pin at the top of the socks. You don't want to put a hole in the toes.)

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​​SOLUTION 2: Buy everyone 10 pairs of the same sock! If one is gone, there's always 9 more to go! Of course black works for everyone. It works for all the men and boys in your life. And we women know that black goes with everything. For the little girls in your life, get them 10 matching pairs of white knee socks too.

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​SOLUTION 3: When all else fails, have a "save the sock bag" in the laundry room. Wait for a rainy day (or a snow day here in Chicago) and dump that bag in the middle of the playroom floor. Clean up the toys first or you're going to find socks at the bottom of the lego box, under the doll bed and in every purse and puzzle box!
Give them the job to sort them by color on the floor and let them go to work. Pay them a quarter a pair (I don't know, did kids minimum wage go up these days? If so, raise them to a dollar, but then you may as well buy new ones!).  It's fun and your little entrepeneurs will find that its better than taking out the trash!

​ So you did your best. You pinned, you bought black ones by the dozen, bribed your tribe on snow days and you still have those orphan socks. Well........ you can always make sock puppets, use them as drain covers for your washing machine or check Dr. Google for single sock hacks that some bored wonder child put on youtube.
And if all else fails, there is always the circular file. Maybe you'll find that gold toe you lost under yesterday's pizza box!!:)

If you have more tips, questions or comments, write them below or PM me.  

More to come.............