Monday, July 14, 2008

Orphan Sock Week!

Welcome to the Unofficial National Orphan Sock Blog Week!

We've all had the experience: you do all the laundry and when you've folded, hung and matched everything up, there's always a sock left over. Where do they go?

In my house, I'm certain some of them never make it to the washer. They hide in corners, in toyboxes, under beds and chairs... I keep a basket with Socks Without Mates in hope that someday--perhaps when we move--we'll find the other and they can share a tearful lint-free reunion.

Every three years on average we move. That means every three years, our house is totally cleared, things are sorted and packed, shipped, unpacked and re-sorted. Yet I still have unmatched socks that have traveled through three moves. Someone explain!

Maybe we lose them on trips. I've seen single socks, like single shoes, left abandoned on the roadside or in parking lots. I never stop to investigate--perhaps they're just a clever decoy for some roadside bandit looking for to improve their footwear. A girl can't be too careful.

Last time I was visiting my best friend, I did her laundry and happened upon her own sock pile--and recognized some of the orphan socks there. Extended sock vacation in the country, eh?

Then, of course, there are sock thieves. Don't believe me? Check out this article. Here's a guy who won't be doing a turn in the prison laundry room.

Well, we've come to terms with the status of missing socks in our lives. I tend to use them as rags, and of course, the kids love them as craft projects. We've made the standard sock puppets, filed them with spices and beans to make cool/hot packs, and Liam likes to cut the tops and wear them on his wrist. This week, he needed a way to carry his light saber on his belt, do we cut a wide strip off the top, made a second cut about 3/4 of the way through, then tied it in a knot (to make it shorter.) one loop goes on the belt, the other holds the light saber.

Share your sock stories and let me know!

4 comments:

Susan at Stony River said...

No mystery about orphans in our house...their twins are carried off by the DBLF (Dust Bunny Liberation Front)

They're unstoppable.
:-(

Karina Fabian said...

LOL. Love it!

Unknown said...

I grew up being regaled with stories of how washers were notorious sockivores.

I posted my tale of woe on my blog.

Anonymous said...

Oh, yes, washing machines do eat socks. I remember the first time I had to call the repair man for the washing machine (now many years ago), he found a small sock caught in the mechanism (?pump?). He told me that it happens quite often.

In my house, now, of course, it's most likely one of the dogs who has made off with the missing socks. We find the poor things all over -- living room, yard, etc.