How long do you keep the sock whose mate has been socknapped ???

[Gamom3]

.

[tess in the burbs]

then the kids can use them to dust. I just found a sock that has been gone for months. It was stuck to one of dh's skiing base layers(always full of static) that had been packed away for the year ;-)

so a long time here...they have other uses!

[JFS in IL]

I have a little hidey-hole near where I fold laundry and toss stray socks into it. Every so often the fit takes me to empty the hole and see it I have any complete pairs yet. I always do find several matches.

Now - big 'ol guy tube socks I do toss if a mate does not show up. Fun kid or MY socks, I hang onto forever.:rolleyes:

[lynn]

I keep it in the laundry basket that gets sorted once a month and if there is no mate it goes in the garbage or replaces old worn out rags.

[CindyH in NC]

find the mate is to throw out/destroy the sock you have been hanging onto for however long. :D:D I almost always find the lost mate as soon as I let the girls turn the sock I have been holding onto into a sock puppet or paint rag.
:D
Cindy H. in NC

[Mx5]

.

I have a pillowcase full of 'em. I do have 5 kids, though, and if they were the same gender & remotely close to the same size, I'd buy a 100pk of socks and junk every current sock they own. :p

[momofkhm]

4 weeks.

When I'm paying attention, I check unmatched socks on Saturdays. If it's the first week, it just goes into the box. If it's the second week, it gets a safety pin in the toe. Third week, another safety pin. Forth week, a third safety pin. Once I check the box and a sock has 3 safety pins in the toe, it goes in the trash.

[Sandra in NC]

I have an "orphan sock" drawer where I put unmatched socks. Every now and then, I go through it to re-match pairs.

[Kathy in MD]

[nt

[Jennifer in MI]

For quite a while. Each of my children wears a different type of sock. So, each one has about 5 pair of white socks. I keep the strays so that when another sock gets a hole, I take the stray and throw away the one with a hole. Clear as mud?? LOL

[Elisabeth in IL]

For quite a while. Each of my children wears a different type of sock. So, each one has about 5 pair of white socks. I keep the strays so that when another sock gets a hole, I take the stray and throw away the one with a hole. Clear as mud?? LOL
I do the same thing as Jennifer. I keep the lone sock and match it with another whose mate has developed a hole. I think that it helps that I have only boys so they have either white or black socks and they are all the same type.

[Karin]

My kids call these one sock metilities (made up word, obviously). They keep them a very long time, and sometimes will wear unmatching socks if my eldest has been negligent in her laundry duties (but only on at home days.) They think it's funny. As for me, I buy a number of identical socks so they all match.

[Liz CA]

.

shoved a *single* sock into the bottom of the drawer. When we moved years later if was still there and still single or bereft of its mate.
On a happier note, I have occasionally found mates behind the laundry basket, behind the washer/dryer or under the dresser. The possible locations of a socknapped mate are endless...unfortunately.

:D

[Kris]

We keep lonely socks forever. Tried throwing them out, but their buddy always showed up after that.

When it gets to the point where there are more lonely socks than happy ones, we put them in with the dusters.

[Karen sn]

FOREVER. There are those days where 2 unmated socks work well as a pair. Like when every other sock in the house is dirty.
I keep a bag on a door knob in the utility room - we put all mis-matched socks in there. Once in a while we mate them and the left overs go back and hope for next time..

[Daisy]

No lost mates here. I buy all white socks of the same name brand. They can always find a mate.

[LizzyBee]

You should keep it for 2 reasons:

1. As soon as you throw it away, the mate will show up.
2. When another sock is socknapped or gets a hole in it, you can put your lonely sock with that sock's mate, and voila, you have a pair.

[DIY-DY]

Dh is always happy to have more rags, and I figure if I haven't unearthed the mate after three loads of socks, then it isn't a favored item and it's just collecting dust.

[Novafan]

Until we move. We're military and we've been moving frequently and will continue to do so for a few years. I have a missing mates drawer in my bedroom and I just keep the solo socks there until a) I find the mate or b) we move. When it's time to move, I pitch the lonely socks and start fresh.

[GLOWAcademy]

Usually not long lol I tie them in a knot and let my dog play with them :)

[Eliana]

When our 4th was born I gave up on sorting socks and haven't looked back...

Each sock-size grouping gets a color (now that the sizes & styles are more distinct they are all black - my eldest girls wear knee-highs or tights, the middle ones and the twins different styles of black socks) and I buy socks and tights once a year during the back-to-school sales.


When we did have socks which needed to be sorted I'd keep a single sock until I got sick of looking at it each time I sorted socks...

Eliana

[rockermom]

I'm really bad about throwing the lone sock back in the hamper. I seem to believe that the other one may be hiding in there. (Maybe I'm living under the delusion that there is more than one "Lone Sock" and they just keep playing "laundry tag" and missing each other.:p

[RoughCollie]

I kept them in a special basket for years. About 2 weeks ago, I ruthlessly threw away them away because I got tired of looking at them and I don't think their mates are ever coming back.

[Mom2GirlsTX]

are allowed to throw them out? :eek: I keep mine in a bag and throw them out every few months, but being an optimist, I have kept some around a few years thinking their mate will show up :rolleyes:

[Jean in Wisc]

:D

[Audrey]

I, too, use them for dusting. If they are little socks, then that's just another excuse to get the little hands working. http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/chores027.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org)

[fishnoises]

I really need to deal with those little suckers. I have ignored the problem for so long. i even do't bother to ask my kids to put socks on IN WINTER!! because I knwo I won't have as many to deal with come laundry day!

[Lizzie in Ma]

I just had to go to a trash bag to keep them all in! I am absolutely certain I will find the mate to some of them!

[Ellie]

that missing socks are larvae for those metal coat hangers that multiply in your coat closet...

And while we're at it, check out the Bureau of Missing Socks (http://www.funbureau.com/).

At any rate, I might let a sock sit by itself for a couple of weeks, to make sure all the socks have been throught the cycle a couple of times, then I toss the onlies.