Organizing the Sock Drawer

 

How do you “organize” the socks in your drawer?  Are you the one who just throws all of the clean socks in a jumbled pile into the drawer? Or, are you the one who rolls their socks into balls by turning them inside of each other?  Maybe you are the organized one and bought those nice little plastic drawer dividers for socks that can be purchased at Target or The Container Store. 

Well, I’m here to share a different way that may change your way of doing things that will not only save space in the drawer but extend the life of your socks elasticity.  I bet you think since I am a professional organizer I have some fancy drawer dividers or containers for my socks.  Not at all!  I don’t even have to sort my socks beyond athletic and dress socks because I buy all of the same kind for each category.  Once the laundry is done I simply divide into athletic or dress sock piles and then place each stack of socks in my drawer.  No more need to find partner socks just place them in a neat stack and grab the two top socks when needed.  This is a great system for when you actually have to throw one sock away and then are left with an odd sock.  No longer is that a problem with this system because you don’t pair your socks anymore. 

This system takes up so much less space in your drawer you will be amazed!  Also, for those who ball their socks up by turning them inside each other, this system will save the elasticity of the socks by not constantly having them stretched out during storage.  This seems to be a big problem with the dress socks. 

Try this new way of storing socks and give your feedback to the group, I would love to hear how it works out for you!

Maria White is a professional organizer with ENUFF WITH THE STUFF in the Ashburn, VA area.  www.enuffwiththestuff.com

Help With Socks

 

Are socks driving you bonkers?  I mean everything related to socks, washing them, then figuring out how to match them up with their mate, if it wasn’t eaten by the washer, and then to their owner. 

My fellow NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers) members and I recently had a discussion about how best to manage socks for our clients.  One member actually had a client who was so overwhelmed with all of the socks from her large family that she left an entire basket of socks on her organizer’s front porch to be sorted.  Everyone wanted to chime in on this topic because it is a problem for so many.  So you are not alone!

First of all, I would buy each family member a zippered mesh bag and their own laundry basket.  Each member would be responsible for putting their own dirty socks, turned right side out if they want them to get clean, into the zippered mesh bag.  Each person should be able to place full laundry basket at the top of stairs, outside of bedroom door in the hall or all the way down to laundry area, when they are low on clothes and need things to be washed.  Whether you wash each family member’s clothes separately or combined, they now have their own socks contained in a bag.  No more socks getting gobbled up by the washer or being mismatched with someone else’s socks. 

From this point on you could just throw the bag of clean socks on top of the folded laundry and let the individual owner do the rest or you can take care of the matching since it will be so much easier now.

 Also, another good way to keep socks easily identifiable is to buy each family member a different brand so that they all look different.  Another strategy is to buy all of the kids the same kind and mark the oldest child with a tally using a fabric pen then mark the second child with two tally marks and so on.  As the oldest outgrows the socks pass it on to the next child and add a tally mark. 

How do you manage all of the socks in your family?  I would love to hear about other creative ways you handle the sock madness in your family.

Maria White is a professional organizer with ENUFF WITH THE STUFF in the Ashburn, Virginia area.  To contact Maria you can email her at maria@enuffwiththestuff.com

Are You Overwhelmed By The Big Picture?

Is everyone pumped up for a new year?  We have a new president in place now and hope for a better year to come for everyone.  Are you ready to make the changes in your home or office to make it a better, more productive and organized year? 

Don’t be overwhelmed by the big picture of what needs to be accomplished.  Try a technique that professional organizer and author of Conquering Chronic Disorganization, Judith Kolberg, sometimes uses with her clients when they are feeling like the task is too daunting to attempt.  She suggests that you look through a paper towel tube like a telescope so the field of vision is narrowed and you only see a small area.  Look around the entire room like this and then pick the area in which you want to begin.  If you continue to view the room in smaller zones you can feel more successful as you complete each area.

Every little bit you tackle is an improvement and you can consider it progress!

 

Maria White is a professional organizer with ENUFF WITH THE STUFF in the Ashburn Virginia area.

Resolution Time in Ashburn!

Hello Ashburn!  Did you start the year out telling yourself that this time, this year I am definitely going to get organized?  Well, join the club of many who made that broad, sweeping statement without measurable benchmarks.

 What exactly does getting organized mean for you?  What will it look like when you are organized?  Do you even know what area of your home, room or corner of a room you want to begin with?  It can be a daunting task unless you set up small steps that can be measured and celebrated for being completed. 

Once you commit to making that change, don’t give yourself too many new routines to add or change in your day in order to maintain the organizing work you have accomplished.  Take baby steps here.  Start by adding one new adjustment at a time until it has become a habit.  This can take 3-4 weeks.  The best way to establish a new habit is to attach it to an already well established routine.  So let’s say that the recycling never gets taken out to the recycling bins because it just is always forgotten.  Find a part in your day that you do in a routine manner such as eat breakfast.  Now, instead of eating breakfast then putting dishes in sink then taking a shower, adjust this routine by eating breakfast, putting dishes in sink, and then taking out the recycling, then take a shower.

Remember to just take baby steps along the path towards a more organized you!

 

Maria White is a professional organizer with ENUFF WITH THE STUFF in the Ashburn, Virginia area.