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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To throw away every bloody sock in my house and just buy a load of communal black ones?

29 replies

chickensaladagain · 23/07/2013 12:25

I am drowning in odd socks
Matching them up is a nightmare

Dds and I all wear the same size

Does it sound like a plan?

OP posts:
Feminine · 23/07/2013 12:27

No, its a good idea. I have done the same for DH and DS (14)

When DS (9) gets the same size-ish , he will pick from the family pot also.

I won't impose this on DD (4) Wink

Bogeyface · 23/07/2013 12:28

Its what I have done!

The girls have a bag of white socks, me and teen DD have a bag of black socks and DS has his own black socks but as they are so much smaller than mine they dont get mixed up. Once every six months or so I go to Asda and buy loads of pairs!

Pubicfoothair · 23/07/2013 12:29

We did this. Very liberating.

3birthdaybunnies · 23/07/2013 12:30

Good plan, or if you want patterned then get 3/4 sets the same so easier to pair up. Also an odd sock drawer really helps for when they straddle two wash batches.

Khaleasy · 23/07/2013 12:32

Make sure you buy all the black ones from the same place - they will turn different shades of grey and sizes once you wash them! Lesson learnt the hard way!

Ixia · 23/07/2013 12:32

I did this, except some of them faded faster than others and we ended up with a houseful of not quite matching black socks :/ which were harder to pair up than having all different colours.

Oldraver · 23/07/2013 12:32

I had a hissy fit over sock gate a few years ago as I had various styles and shades of school sock. I binned them all and now make sure I buy enough for a week and make sure they all get washed at the same time so difference in colour.

Would you wear odd socks ? OH has a set of stripey ones from M+S but never wears a matching pair...just what comes out of the drawer so no matching

Khaleasy · 23/07/2013 12:33

Make sure you buy all the black ones from the same place - they will turn different shades of grey and sizes once you wash them! Lesson learnt the hard way!

Atomiksnowflake · 23/07/2013 12:33

i only buy black socks for everybody now,and i have a sock drawer,in which i just empty the clean socks into.free for all and no more pairing up..

Khaleasy · 23/07/2013 12:33

Double posted. Sorry!

But it really is that important Wink

Alohomora · 23/07/2013 12:36

Can't blame you, even though I love my colourful and weird socks. But if the dog doesn't get one of a pair, then they disappear on their to and fro from the washing machine/dryer and it is driving me absolutely insane. I'd say it happens about 40% of the time!

Having said that, OH is one for the all black way of doing socks and black doesn't equal black, so it's not an ideal solution.

valiumredhead · 23/07/2013 12:40

The men in this house roll the tops of the socks together so they stay together in the washing basket.

Hang them on the line in pairs, when they are dry match them as you take them off the line-or the drier if you tumble.

EasyGrin

MrsKeithRichards · 23/07/2013 12:42

Ds and I wear the same socks, black. DH wears black sports socks, DS is starting to encroach on them as well.

If I could just sort the baby out with black socks in a size 5 we'd be sorted but oh no. They insist on making baby socks suitable only for baby's and in a variaty of patterns.

Grr.

cakeandcustard · 23/07/2013 12:42

Long ago my DCs got used to wearing odd socks - stick with the colourful ones!

Rootatoot · 23/07/2013 12:43

I did this with dh. Bulk buy one colour of same brand. I did Pringle from matalan. They've stocked same ones for years. Saves loads of faff!

coralanne · 23/07/2013 12:46

Just discussing this a few days on facebook. DD put up a picture of the basket of socks sorted by her DS. It was about a metre high.

I pointed out to her that with 7 people in the house, they only had to wear one pair of socks each a day to equate to 98 socks a week. Most of the time they wear more than one pair a day.

Her 3 year old DD is absolutely marvellous at counting and pairing as it is her job to do this most of the time. I watched her one day and was amazed how quickly she could sort and fold socks.

She kind of just dives into this great pile and comes up with a pair of matching socks.

Cravey · 23/07/2013 12:48

I have a husband and two grown up sons. As soon as said sons hit teenage years I did this. Black socks tht will fit all solved the issue for me. Life's too short to stand there faffing about with sock pairing. Do it.

Snorbs · 23/07/2013 12:49

I thought I was the only lazy bastard time-saving genius to come up with the idea of just buying identical socks for everyone. My people!

Pigsmummy · 23/07/2013 13:22

If you do it be warned, the blighters find their way home! Here is my sorry tale. (music please) Years ago a TK Max opened in my town, lovely soft black Pringle socks were on an amazing offer, I bought several packs (probs about 15 pairs) I threw away all my socks before opening new packs, even checked under the bed and laundry basket etc etc. I lived a happy sock fulfilled life, my socks had a nice logo on them, I was enjoyed the easy freedom of opening sock drawer without odd sock angst, then several months later I was in a meeting, wearing a nice trouser suit and ankle boots, crossed my legs and revealed odd socks! I have no idea what happened and gradually more appeared.

When I last looked I have one pringle sock left. You have been warned.

Fairylea · 23/07/2013 13:26

We do this. I bung them all in a basket when they're dry and everyone helps themselves!

nokidshere · 23/07/2013 13:40

for the 3 men in my house I buy black ones with different heels and toes! Dh has stripy toes, DS1 has solid colour toes and DS2 has patchwork colour toes. I don't wear socks - my life is stress free haha

secretscwirrels · 23/07/2013 14:05

I did this years ago for DS1, DS2 and DH. The snag is that there are different black socks.
You must be ruthless and throw all the household's socks away and buy 1 million new pairs the same. Then do the same again every year.
I have also tried having black for DS1, grey for DS2 and brown for DH. But the same principle applies.
I have a sock basket on the boiler. Wet socks go in there then I pass it to an idle child to pair them up.
valiumredhead you have wonderfully trained men. I never roll them inside out / outside in. They go back in the drawer however they were thrown in the wash.

Beastofburden · 23/07/2013 14:10

Once all the men in the house could wear the same socks it was wonderful, of course they are all the same. I allocate them by weight now. I dont care if they do go grey at different speeds, is their life so empty/fetishistic that other people will spend time comparing their ankles?

Anybody who wants special individual socks is welcome to send his time pairing them up.

DD is an exception but we have solved this. The tradition now is that she wears matching socks- for good luck on exam days only. It is Bad Luck to wear matching socks at any other time.

Knickers are much worse. It is hard to make them share underpants.

FriskyHenderson · 23/07/2013 14:41

After a year of struggling to pair up the slightly different grey school socks of 2 DS, I bought 3 packets of the same size same brand socks and it's made life much easier.

So I chucked my collection of odd socks away and started using DH's.

Their non-school socks and pants are more of an issue - I tend to throw 3 pairs in each drawer and leave them to sort out whose are whose that week. I am trying to get them (and DS3) to consider the idea of communual home socks/pants/vests. First Up, Best Dressed and all that Grin

teaforthree · 23/07/2013 14:54

Wear odd socks? Much easier, quicker and cheaper!