When it comes to keeping tabs on socks, are you constantly at a loss? It may seem like the washer and dryer are consuming random socks, even if that isn't the case. The good news is that there are steps you can take to put your best foot forward in reducing the mystery of the missing socks. One maneuver is to teach your charges to keep their socks together at all times. As soon as the socks come off of their feet, they should be rolled together before being placed in the hamper. Garment bags are also a great investment - get one for each member of your household. Hang the bags on a closet door or somewhere in plain sight. Have your loved ones place their socks in these bags. When it's time to do the laundry, be sure the bag is zipped up and simply toss it into the machine. Once the socks are dry, have your kids match their own socks back up and put them away. Try and buy as many of the same socks as possible. With this strategy, you'll never be short on duplicates.
For each person in the house, assign a specific color thread and stitch into the seam of the sock near the toe. This will make it easier to match up socks when you're doing laundry. One common sense tip is to make sure that you always do a thorough sweep of the washing machine when moving the socks from the washer to the dryer. This way you'll know that every article that went in is definitely coming back out. Even with these surefire methods, you may stumble upon that one stray. Here's how to handle that odd sock out. Create a lost sock container. Any one-offs should be tossed into this container. Once a month, rummage through the box and match up the sox. For those socks that end up in limbo, use them for cleaning, arts and crafts or other activities.