Under-wear?

If you’re like most people, you have pondered now and again where that one sock, that matched only one other sock in your entire wardrobe, went, when both went into the washer but only one came out. My “sock drawer” has been building for years. It had gotten to the point that rather than venture into the drawer to spend 20 minutes to find two same-color/ design socks to wear, I’d begun purchasing new ones. The madness had to stop.

Last weekend I spent three hours matching up sock mates and throwing the singles away. As you can imagine, it was a daunting task. Here are the steps, should you wish to undertake this arduous task yourself.

First, you need to put away all of your laundry from any baskets and piles and ensure that all socks are within reach and not stranded in, say, your underwear or bra drawer.

Second, you need to determine your categories. I had black, blue, green, brown and white socks. I had design socks (which were the easiest to match up). I also had short socks, knee-high socks and everything in-between. Size and length do matter in this effort.

Third, once you’ve matched up all the correct socks, you need to force yourself to throw away the ones that do not have mates or have holes from your dog, Hershey, chewing on them. I had these cute ankle socks with an embroidered Tweety Bird on them but only one emerged unscathed from the dog attach so they had to go. My Scooby Doo socks will just have to do!

It’s a pleasure when getting dressed in the morning to only make one decision – what color of socks do I want to wear today? There’s no swearing or 4-letter words involved. I simple match the color of my socks to my outfit for the day. It’s the way dressing should be in the morning.

How hard could it have been, you ask?

My pre-sock sorting mornings consisted of throwing various socks onto the bed to see if I could find two that matched. Hershey would then rustle through the socks and take off with one or more into the living room. A chase ensued and usually included both my husband, Joe, and me, cornering the dog and getting said socks out of his mouth, only to begin the process all over again.

Not to mention that it’s been dark in the mornings and so it is extremely hard to discern whether a sock is black or navy blue. I admit there have been mornings when I have discovered at work that I had a black and a blue sock on at the same time. This of course ruins two more days’ worth of worthy socks because there will now be a black and blue single sock that will not match up to anything else.

I’ve actually thought about offering my services to others but thought better of it. It could be a little weird offering to sort other people’s underwear drawers, right?

I’ll admit it’s the little things in life, like having your sock drawer organized, that can make or break your day. I estimate that it will take at least one hour of maintenance per two months to keep everything in order. Next I’m going to tackle the tangled jewelry mess that exists in my bathroom vanity drawer …