Storing socks
This isn’t a real blog post. It’s an inevitable follow-up to my post about simplifying. I want to address a question I get from friends and clients alike, about how to store socks. Can you fold them in such a way that they will stay together? Is it okay to roll them one onto the other or to tie them together? As is the case with many such organizing questions, my answer is: It depends.
The first thing to take into consideration is how you wash and dry your socks. Personally, I do not use the dryer on my clothes (linens, yes, but clothes, no). So once I have clean but damp socks, I smooth them out and hang them on a clothing rack to dry. This means that they dry in a nice, smooth shape, and are then very “docile” about being folded and staying that way.
Am I saying that this is how you must wash socks? NO! Many people do not have the time or inclination to hang their clothes to dry and they much prefer using a dryer. That’s fine, but it does mean that your socks will dry with a more crooked or unpredictable shape, so they will be much harder to fold and may not stay neatly folded no matter how hard you try – you’re not doing anything wrong, you just can’t achieve the same results with socks that have been in the dryer. This is the case with many of the homes in which I work, and in those cases, I will “potato” the socks, meaning fold the top of one over the other to keep the pair together in the drawer. (I do not recommend tying them together at all.)
To be clear, the downside of this method is that it causes more strain on the elastic, making the socks break down more quickly. Plus, fabric will take the shape it had when it was drying, so with this method, it is possible that the socks will be less comfortable. Folding is the ideal way to store socks, but I do understand that it is not possible for everyone.
Bottom line: If the way you are currently washing and storing socks works for you, keep doing it. If there is something you would like to improve, let’s figure out how to tweak your system so that it works for you.
Bonus tips: If pairing socks is a pain point for you, try doing it mindlessly as you are watching television. Or have your kids do it! Another tip is to just get sets of matching socks and use a different one for each member of the household. Now the only question will be how to spend the extra time you’ll have!
Bonus bonus tip: Washing smaller loads and not using the dryer seem to be the keys to not ending up with orphaned socks.
Hi there! I’m Amélie, a professional home organizer in San Antonio, Texas. I help people like you declutter their home, organize their belongings, and simplify their life. I love cleaning out a closet and removing a carload of donations from a home! My goal is to help you create a functional space that will make your life easier and more peaceful.
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Spice storage
[This post contains some affiliate links. This means that if you were to purchase a product using my affiliate link, I would get a tiny commission, at no cost to you. As always, I only recommend products that I own myself or that I would buy if I were starting from scratch.]
I decided to write a quick post about my spice storage at home. No matter where you live, whether it’s a single-family house or a studio apartment, whether you own or rent, one constant is that you have a kitchen. There’s a place where you prepare food, which means there are spices. And it’s so common to see spices out of control in a kitchen! They come in different containers: glass jars, metal tins, plastic bags and boxes. Even if you stick to only glass jars, they come in different shapes and sizes! What’s a home cook to do?
The main problem with commercial spice racks is that they don’t seem to be designed by people who cook. If they were, they would hold more than 12 or 20 jars, for one thing! I have about 44 spices in my set, and I would be at a loss to pare it back below 40!
Here’s my recommendation for storage: If there is one single thing you can do to help get things under control, it’s to decant all your spices into uniform-looking jars. Personally, I favor short, wide jars with a 4-ounce capacity, like these affordable and sturdy ones. The wide mouth of the jar allows you to dip measuring spoons into it, which makes your life so much easier than trying to tip out the right amount of spice! They are also big enough for the contents of most spice bottles. Then, instead of a rack, place your jars on expandable risers like these. You can put them in a cupboard to protect the spices from the light, but tinted jars work too.
The set to which I linked above comes with chalkboard labels and a chalk marker, so there’s no need to buy a label maker if you don’t have one already. You can also consider using a white paint marker directly on the glass jar. If you have room for the jars in a drawer, you can label the cap. And with a custom-sized sheet of galvanized metal and some magnets, you can make a magnetic spice rack!
Another tip is to organize your spices alphabetically. I started doing this when I was 20 or so, after accidentally buying a second jar of tarragon when I didn’t realize I already had one – and I don’t even like tarragon all that much in the first place! Some people like grouping their spices by themes, like putting all the holiday baking spices together, but to me this becomes confusing when I’m cooking Indian food and need cinnamon, for example.
You’ll notice that this set creates clear limits for my spices. When I added dried sage last fall, it took the place of grains of paradise, which I wasn’t really using anyway. Having a space budget helps keep things under control!
Not only do these jars look fantastic, but they are also more functional than the original containers. Both aesthetics and functionality will help you be more at peace in your kitchen, and that, to me, is the point of organizing.