How to Keep Your Socks Matched Up

You can stop the tragic mishap of the missing sock at laundry time. Collect those soft plastic caps from gallon-sized jugs of spring water or from juice or milk containers (the kind with a little plastic tab). Cut an “X” in the middle of each cap (a box cutter blade works best, but a sharp knife should do the trick). Place these cut caps wherever sock wearers tend to take off their socks—in the bathroom, bedroom, den, etc. Then, each time a pair of socks is taken off, the wearer should push a small part of each sock in the pair through the cut in the cap, which can then be tossed in the hamper. When you do your laundry, you can throw the plastic cap and all into the washer and the dryer (the plastic will be fine in a cold or warm-water wash and regular-heat dry). Each pair of socks will stay together through the whole process—no sorting necessary, and no more missing socks.