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On Having Enough Socks (2019)

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Re: On Having Enough Socks (2019)

#4
In order to avoid the effort of pairing socks, I once had the genius idea of buying them all the same colors. Then all hell broke loose as the color may be the same, but they were from different pairs still and so became more difficult to pair: you will lose an individual sock but not a pair.

I stopped losing socks as I began buying them in bright colors so pairs where trivial to spot in all the sock journey during laundry.

Re: On Having Enough Socks (2019)

#5
post #4

In order to avoid the effort of pairing socks, I once had the genius idea of buying them all the same colors. Then all hell broke loose as the color may be the same, but they were from different pairs still and so became more difficult to pair: you will lose an individual sock but not a pair. I stopped losing socks as I began buying them in bright colors so pairs where trivial to spot in all the sock journey during l…

I lay out all of my black socks in a spectrum, and then pair to their neighbouring sock.

Probably not efficient, but can be therapeutic.

Re: On Having Enough Socks (2019)

#6
post #4

In order to avoid the effort of pairing socks, I once had the genius idea of buying them all the same colors. Then all hell broke loose as the color may be the same, but they were from different pairs still and so became more difficult to pair: you will lose an individual sock but not a pair. I stopped losing socks as I began buying them in bright colors so pairs where trivial to spot in all the sock journey during l…

I solved that problem by doing a bulk buy of 20 pairs of socks that were all the same color and same style from one manufacturer.

Re: On Having Enough Socks (2019)

#7
post #4

In order to avoid the effort of pairing socks, I once had the genius idea of buying them all the same colors. Then all hell broke loose as the color may be the same, but they were from different pairs still and so became more difficult to pair: you will lose an individual sock but not a pair. I stopped losing socks as I began buying them in bright colors so pairs where trivial to spot in all the sock journey during l…

Huh, I was considering going the other way.

I was hoping HN knew the holy grail of high quality, ambidextrous, single color socks

Re: On Having Enough Socks (2019)

#8
post #6
post #4

In order to avoid the effort of pairing socks, I once had the genius idea of buying them all the same colors. Then all hell broke loose as the color may be the same, but they were from different pairs still and so became more difficult to pair: you will lose an individual sock but not a pair. I stopped losing socks as I began buying them in bright colors so pairs where trivial to spot in all the sock journey during l…

I solved that problem by doing a bulk buy of 20 pairs of socks that were all the same color and same style from one manufacturer.

This worked for me for awhile. Eventually it becomes necessary to pair them by level of wear, which is tedious, but you can cull the worst from the pile, or start over with an entirely new bunch.

Re: On Having Enough Socks (2019)

#9
So, what's the solution to pairing socks? Buying many pairs from the same. Sure. That makes sense. But what happens when half of them are lost or damaged and you can't buy the same kind?

Do you end up as someone pairing socks again or do you throw away half of your socks?

Re: On Having Enough Socks (2019)

#10
post #5
post #4

In order to avoid the effort of pairing socks, I once had the genius idea of buying them all the same colors. Then all hell broke loose as the color may be the same, but they were from different pairs still and so became more difficult to pair: you will lose an individual sock but not a pair. I stopped losing socks as I began buying them in bright colors so pairs where trivial to spot in all the sock journey during l…

I lay out all of my black socks in a spectrum, and then pair to their neighbouring sock. Probably not efficient, but can be therapeutic.

Excellent comment. Sounds like an introduction to "Zen and the art of socks maintenance". HN is the only place find such gems.
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