Sock of the Month Subscriptions: The 5 Best Ways to Fold Your Socks

sock of the month Subscriptions: The 5 Best Ways to Fold Your Socks

How many times have you gone to get dressed in the morning, only to pull out your favorite blue sock and realize its mate has gone missing? It’s enough to make anyone want to give up wearing socks all together! If you’re sick of single socks and mismatched pairs, consider a sock of the month subscription service. That way, you’ll always have two matching socks in your drawer. While it may seem like they’re all the same, there are actually some subtle differences between sock subscription services that you should be aware of before making your decision on which one to go with.

Start by sorting your socks
When sorting through your socks, it’s important to start by sorting them into groups of like pairs. You can do that by color, design or even material, but some sort you should definitely stick with is by length and foot size. Once they’re sorted in a way that makes sense to you, it’s time to lay out your socks. You don’t want them overlapping or stacked on top of each other too much as that will make for an uneven finish; instead, lay out two or three pairs at a time. When possible keep identical feet next to each other (e.g., left and right) so their lengths will be more uniform when folded.

Group them by color
Sock-of-the-month clubs are an excellent way to make sure you never have mismatched socks. (You know what happens when you wear different colored socks? You get called out for it by a friend or coworker.) Folding your socks makes them easy to match, and it also saves space in your drawers. Sure, there are sock drawers out there, but that’s really just a glorified version of a sock bun. If you don’t want something so involved, try one of these five methods

Group them by thickness
Some sock-folding experts say that all your socks should be folded in exactly the same way, but I’m a rebel and I like to separate my thinner cotton socks from my thicker wool socks. This keeps them from becoming tangled and makes it easier for me to find just what I’m looking for. Plus, because each pair is grouped by thickness, you can minimize wrinkling or snagging. For best results, try inserting your heel into each new group (either right side up or upside down) as you fold. It may sound a little strange at first, but you’ll thank me later.

Choose a sock folding method
Some prefer a cubic style that creates six individual squares per sock, some use a flat cube method with four squares per sock and then there are those who opt for an accordion fold. But no matter which way you go, there are pros and cons to each method, as well as benefits and drawbacks that may only be discovered once socks have been washed numerous times. To help you find your perfect fit—so to speak—we compiled all three methods in a side-by-side comparison and included thoughts from Lifehacker readers on their favorite ways to fold socks. To see what we came up with, check out our infographic!

Get your kids in on it too
As part of your sock-folding routine, you can use socks as a great way to teach kids some simple economics. By turning each sock into a little business transaction, you can reinforce how much work goes into earning and saving money; how important it is for money to stay in circulation through smart purchases and investments; and other financial lessons that will stick with them for years. (It might take some convincing at first, but getting involved could pay off big-time!) If you do start folding your socks like we do, let us know! We'd love to hear what everyone has learned from our example. - Philosockphy