How to get rid of sorting and losing socks after laundry?

Question

Is there a way to get rid of sorting socks after laundry? I hate having to sort them and/or not finding the matching sock. I know that a way is to have only the same socks, but this only is possible if you live alone.

Answer 1

There are several options, but none of them come without a significant drawback.

1. Buy socks with snap fasteners. Yes they sell things like that. They are expensive but usually of higher quality. After wearing put the pair together.

2. Use a lot of those laundry bags which are normally used to protect bras and other sensitive textiles during laundry to presort your socks after putting them off. Those bags aren't very expensive, but you need as many as you have different socks.

3. Dry them on a clothesline. This eases sorting a little, because you have a view on all of them at the same time.

Answer 2

I found another solution which is quite smart. In germany it is called "sockstar". With this little plastic item you can clip your socks together. It even comes with a hook to hang them directly on your clothesline.

I don't post a link to this product, because I don't know if it is allowed. You can search it on your own. Maybe it is called different in other countries. A keyword is also "sock collector".

Answer 3

You can buy socks with the soles of different colors.

Answer 4

You already mentioned what I consider the best solution, which is buying a large number of the same pair of socks.

This still works when laundry for several people is combined, as long as everyone picks a different model / colour sock.
So Alice likes white socks, Bob like his black socks with Acme logo, Carol has black socks without a logo, and Dave has white socks with a red stripe. When it comes to sorting the laundry, the only sorting needed is socks per person, which needs to be done for all other laundry as well (Carol doesn't want to wear Bob's shirts).

Answer 5

I have several pairs of two different colour socks for no particular reason.

I never sort my socks because I have a system. I play the odds.

When I want a matching pair of socks, I grab three of them and can be sure that at least two of them match.

Answer 6

With five people in the house, we used to go crazy fishing for and finding the matching sock just before we needed it. I saw this trick used by a woman in a movie and have been using it since very successfully.

Just put one of the the matching sock inside the other from its pair before storing them. Whenever you need a pair, you will always have them both right at your fingertips. No need for rummaging through a pile of socks and almost not finding it at times when you have to leave in a hurry.

• After laundry, first fold/remove all large clothes and just ignore all socks.
• When all that are left are socks, start pairing them off.
• Stuff one sock inside its matching pair and then just put it away for storage in its right place.
• When you need it, you will have pairs ready instead of the earlier scary ordeal where you have to search for the lone sock in a mess.

Answer 7

Use small rust-proof safety pins. Pin the inside hem of the socks together. Before you go to put them on, open the pin, release one sock, close the pin. When you take them off, pin them back together and throw them into the laundry. Washing and drying them pinned together will not harm them or cause tangles. I've been doing this with my knee his for years, washing half a dozen pairs at a time. If a toe wears out, switch the socks around so that the hole is now over the little toe. You can neatly fold them, or do like I do. Grab the whole bundle of socks and plop them in a drawer! Then just grab a color you want and its mate will follow. And if someone asks if you've got a safety pin, you do! Bonus for thinner tube trouser socks: Put a pin on the front of each to distinguish front from back. Connect the pins before washing.