Darn Them Socks!

I have kids and if they aren't outgrowing their shoes (more on that at a later date) they are wearing out their socks. After watching my wife buy more socks almost every few months, I had to put a stop to that needless spending. Now I can boast that we buy socks maybe once a year now. Impressive, isn't it? Well, I'm happy to pass along the knowledge I've gained. Pay attention and don't be shy to print out this page.

First I'll highlight the basics all of which any thrifty person already knows.

In the summer go barefoot or wear sandals 100% of the time.

Socks made of synthetic material last longer than natural fibers so do away with cotton.

Small holes can be sewn up.

Wrap socks with scrap paper before putting on shoes.

Eventually you will come across a sock that just can't be mended, so before you throw out those old socks:

If the footie is worn out but the elastic is OK:

Trim the elastic for sweatbands. Save any long strings for darning holes.

If the elastic is worn out but the footie is OK:

I call these “Sock Savers”. Cut off the elastic to use the footie as a protective slipper, doubling up your socks with the good sock worn inside, the protective footie outside. This will help prevent the good sock from getting worn. Don't worry about mismatching colors, all you can see is the top part of a sock when your shoes are on.

-OR-

You can use rubber bands to hold up socks, but that doesn't work very well.

Two good footies and two good elastics:

Sew them together to create a matching pair of socks.

What to do with all those unusable footies and elastics:

Tie them to a stick – now they are a mop! If you are like me, I have no carpet in my home – all linoleum! When your kids aren't running and slipping around the house (doing your dusting for you) you have a mop, no electricity required to clean the floors (no need to own a vacuum cleaner.)

There's no limit to what you can do to save your money on socks, here are more lessons I've learned through the years:

Carpeted floors wear out socks faster so if your floors are carpeted, allow your kids to either be barefoot or wear shoes or slippers in the house, no exceptions.

If your white socks are still in good repair but you can't get them white anymore you can dye them a color (wash with dark colors, don't actually go out and buy dye). Now you have colored socks for business or church attire.

Wash socks only if they look dirty. If they smell bad you can skip subjecting them to the harmful beatings of the washing machine by airing them out on the clothesline. You can speed up the process by killing the germs with the microwave oven first – it's the germs that make them smell bad, not dirt.

Go now and stop wasting money on socks.

Happy to be at your service.

- Bob