The Lost Sock

Socks.sOcks.soCks.socKs.sockS.

They sorta drive me nuts. They seem to be everywhere - in the hall, by the swing set wet with dew, in the car, in the driveway crusted with mud, under the couch collecting dust, by the trampoline, oh, always by the trampoline. Inside-out. Dirty. And never (hardly ever) are they with their mate.

I usually gather them in a "lost sock" basket after washing them, and every now and then I'll try to sort them. But I thought I'd try a new way - hanging them on the laundry room wall using ribbon/yarn, tacks, and clothespins. Doing it this way 1) I could free up the space that the "lost sock" basket was taking on top of my washer; 2) the socks would be more visible and easier to find; and 3) I could throw away the ones that have been hanging for more than, say, 3 weeks.

Here's my new method - pretty or not... And hopefully not that many socks will be hanging for very long. Hopefully they will either be matched, or if no match is found, then tossed real soon.

And please, oh please, oh please, try not to get too disgusted by those socks that look like they haven't been washed, for all of those socks that are hanging in the picture have been washed; some are just waaaay nastier than others. I should probably just throw those nasty ones away, but the same thing would happen all over again with new socks. Did I mention that we live on a ranch and we are entirely surrounded by mud, dirt, and, well, other not-so-clean natural products? Well we do. And did I mention that some of us end up wearing socks through that mud, dirt, and other not-so-clean natural products? It's true. And then the socks are shed somewhere along the way, to be found later, all crusted and matted, washed, and hung, awaiting it's mate .

Summer is coming and flip-flops are nice, for socks are not needed with flip-flops. Flip-flops are great for town, the pool, or even just around the yard, but flip-flops are not very practical for ranches. There are too many goat heads and snakes. So socks will always be an issue. But that's okay, cuz I gots me a system.