How To Stop Losing Your Socks in the Wash

Written by

Brittney Morgan
Brittney Morgan
Brittney is Apartment Therapy's Assistant Lifestyle Editor and an avid tweeter with a passion for carbs and lipstick. She believes in mermaids and owns way too many throw pillows.
updated May 3, 2019
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(Image credit: Ellie Arciaga Lillstrom)

One of the greatest mysteries in life? Figuring out where your other sock always disappears to in the wash. If it seems like you lose yet another sock with every load of laundry you do, you’re not alone. There are plenty of uses for those orphan socks you’ve already got lying around—but if you want to try to keep the rest of your socks together to avoid future laundry losses, these simple tips should help.

Pair them with a binder clip

With this method, you can make use of something you probably have a bunch of lying around your house (or that you can easily get at the dollar store). Use small binder clips to keep your pairs of socks together before you wear them, then, when you do wear them, clip them back together before you toss them in the hamper. That way, they’ll stay together even through the laundry.

Safety pin them together

If binder clips aren’t your style, you can also use safety pins to keep your socks in pairs. Follow the same steps as you would with binder clips—pin them together before you wear them, then re-pin them when you’re done before you put them in the wash so they don’t get separated. A nice bonus to using safety pins—you can clip them inside one of your socks while you wear them, so you don’t lose the pin when you separate them.

Wash them in a mesh bag

An alternative to clipping and pinning your socks together? After you wear a pair of socks, put them in a mesh laundry bag—like the ones you put your delicates in—that is only for socks. When it’s time to wash them, close up the bag and wash them in it, so none of your socks go astray.

Roll them up together

If you’re not clipping them together, you’ll need a way to keep them in pairs post-wash, too. When your laundry is done and dry, roll your pairs of socks up together so they stay together in your dresser. You can also roll them up together after you wear them, before you put them in your hamper—just make sure you unroll them before you wash them, or they might not get clean or dry.