Re-Purpose That Old Sock

Through the years my husband and I have learned to reuse items around the house. I’m naturally a “tosser” and my husband is more of a “saver.” Respectfully, my husband grew up with the mindset of saving items that could possibly be reused for other things. My upbringing was one of a clutter-free home. Together we have learned to re-use, re-purpose and up-cycle items around the house.

I wanted to share with you ideas for that lonely single sock. You know the one; you find it when you are folding laundry. Somewhere through the process, it lost its mate. You save the sock, thinking that eventually the mate will return and they will be reunited. However, the day comes when you clean out your sock drawer and there are all these lonely socks. Instead of tossing them in the trash, I’ve come up with some ideas to give them new life.

When my kids were toddlers I would encourage them to help me clean the house. I figured if I had them cleaning, they wouldn’t have the opportunity to destroy another part of the house. So I went to my handy Tupperware tote of single socks and place socks on each of the hands. Then I encouraged them to wipe all the wood surfaces they could find. As they got older and I was sure they would only wipe wood and not the windows, I would put lemon oil on the socks to wipe on the wood. After they completed their task, I would drop the socks in the laundry and store in the lonely socks tote.

My daughter took dance class when she was young; we would turn old knee high socks (that had holes in the toe) into leg warmers. We cut off the foot portion of the sock and tucked the cut off end under to create the leg warmers. She was thrilled with her new dancewear and looked very stylish with her flashy leg warmers.

Toddler socks do not usually become stained or ruined.  Using them for mittens in cool weather is easier than trying to place a thumb in a store bought mitten. Give toddler-lonely single socks new life as a mitten.

During the winter months, I wear long sleeve shirts, but I usually stretch them out pushing the sleeves up while doing household chores. As the day wears on the sleeves get loose and will not stay pushed up. It became frustrating when I was doing dishes or cooking, I discovered a simple solution. Cut the ribbed portion of an old sock off, slip it over the end of your shirt sleeve. The sock will help hold your sleeves up and save frustration. To keep them handy, you can put a set of ribbed sleeve holders in your kitchen drawer for quick access.

If you can sew (doesn’t need to be perfect) you can make your own heat/cold pack. Take a stray sock and cut the foot portion of the sock off. Sew one end closed and fill with crushed dry corn or beans. Sew the other end closed and you have a hot/cold pack. You can warm the pack in the microwave or place it in the freezer. The heat is great for sore achy muscle and the cool is relaxing for a headache. If you take and cut the foot off another sock and slide over the hot/cold pack you have a sleeve that is washable.

There are so many uses for those single socks. They are great for holding items, such as, wet umbrellas in cars (remember to remove sock when you get home or your umbrella will get moldy), wet soap in your travel bag, jewelry when traveling, small toys for the car or simply holding other stray socks in a drawer. Saving a sock can be a great way to reuse an old item and give new purpose for that lonely sock.