If you’ve got kids, you’ve got socks. Of all varieties. Including socks that mysteriously lose their match. And let’s be real, it’s not only socks that are the issue. Hello, shoes! Shoes are an equal struggle. Kids are learning and developing habits and, God bless them, they try their best. But more often than not I’m hearing from clients about their frantic school / weekend mornings… running around the house looking for shoes. I can relate – it’s an issue in my home too. If children’s socks and shoes are an issue for you, I have a simple idea that works well – for me and my clients!
So first things first, my suggestion is a new house rule – no shoes in the house. If you have a spot outside your door to the garage (most of us do) where you can set up a simple shelf, this is a great spot for shoes to rest before kids cross the threshold. If you don’t have a space like this, consider creating one in your entry closet. This means shoes will always be exactly where you look – the first time. No more searching around the house. No more not finding a match.
Once the shoe area is set up, a great system for containing socks is inside open-topped bins on the bottom of that same shoe shelf. I spent some time this morning sorting through our kid sock inventory. It had been a few months and was long overdue…
I have 2 boys and 1 girl. My daughter has her own bin of socks and it’s easy for her to locate / grab what she wants. The boys on the other hand – their socks tend to be a pain in the neck! They are very close in age, which means they are close in size. They share socks and love the Nike Elite’s. They also play baseball, football and basketball which means there are sport socks that need containment. In my home I have 3 bins ; daughter’s socks, boy’s daily socks, boy’s sport socks…
Anything without a match is donated. Anything with holes is now a dusting rag.
Organized kid socks…and shoes!…
No need to label the bins because they can see into the top and grab what they need.
The other beauty of this system in my home is that the shelf is located directly outside my laundry room. When I fold laundry, all I have to do is toss the socks into their appropriate bin right around the corner…
Easy!
When it’s time to go, the kids grab socks and shoes and sit on the carpet to put them on. My life has never been more stress-free when it’s time to leave the house. I hear the same from my clients after I help them set up a system similar to this.
In case you’re wondering about the bins featured in this post, these are incredible…
I love great organization products, so when I find one I like I enjoy sharing it with you. SOFI Home Organization Solutions has an amazing system for containing pretty much anything – from clothing to toys to towels and linens, the ideas are endless. And their product is so pretty!…
It’s a step-up in fashion from your standard open-topped bins. I have also used a couple in my master closet. For example, I was struggling with my (very small) supply of purses / weekend bags…
I used a SOFI Rax Bin with angled sides to organize them and my shelf looks much prettier now!…
SOFI Boxes, Bins and Totes are made from a minimum of 65% recycled content – so you can feel good about purchasing these. You can find their products on Amazon with prices ranging from $10 to $30.
I hope if you’re struggling with your kiddos socks and shoes that this simple solution gives you hope and inspires you to tackle your own problem area very soon!
Have a good day everyone!
Great idea! For us, because of extreme cold (Canadian prairie winters) and an unattached garage, we use an entry closet for shoes/boots. As for socks, we use bins, too, but they're in our boys' drawers. And as a Canadian, I completely agree with no shoes in the house–keeps the floors cleaner, too! 🙂
Um, I'm not sure why there's a link to some shelving entry closet thing from Home Depot in my comment; I did not put it there. By entry closet, I meant just a builder basic type closet with a rod and shelf (I did add extra shelving, but it looks nothing like that link). I am sorry if I accidentally put the link in, though I've never even seen that Home Depot entry closet, so I'm not sure how that would be possible.
I agree, Wilma – The house stays so much cleaner without shoes in the house! Don't worry about the random link in your comment, actually I didn't even seen it!
Thank you so much for the comment!
xo,
Sam
I love this idea! We don't allow shoes in the house, but the sock/shoe disconnect is a problem. There are many times that my children forget to bring a pair of socks down from their bedrooms when we are in a hurry to get out the door. I love the idea of keeping it all together and their sock drawer can be used for something else!! Thank you!
Yay! You're so welcome! I love to help and inspire and hope this idea is working for you and your family!
xo,
Sam
Here is a tip for thrifty moms who pass clothes/socks/underwear down from kid to kid: Assign dots that correspond to birth order (assuming that your oldest kid is your biggest).
Oldest kid gets one dot. Next kid gets two, third kid gets three, etc.
My mom did this with socks and underwear, but you could also do it with tee-shirts or whatever: when your item is new, give it one dot for the oldest kid. When it's time to pass down, add a dot, and voila, it belongs to kid #2. If it makes it down another pass, add a third dot.
Thank you so much for the tip!
xo,
Sam
Just curious as to why you would donate a sock that doesn't have a match?
I don't know – I guess I just don't like throwing things away. Things never really go "away", so if someone can use it for something, I donate it. Just the way I was raised I suppose! 🙂
xo,
Sam