Sorting Socks

I've mentioned laundry before. I'm probably kind of weird in that I sort of like doing laundry.  I plop myself in front of a TV and start watching trashy television, completely guilt free.  Because I figure that as long as I'm working, no one has any business judging me for watching Forensic Factor, or Forensic Files, or Law & Order: SVU or even Dance Moms.  I'm hard at work, people.  Of course the one tricky part is that I can't have any of the kids around, so the funny thing is that this is frequently what I do with my magical two hours of child-free time that happens three times a week.  I sit there and fold clothes while watching child-inappropriate television.  We'll leave the psycho-analysis of what that says about me for another post.  So anyway, back to the laundry, I've already mentioned that I'm an overzealous sorter and I've also mentioned that I'm a very neat fold-er.  Being a little OCD comes in handy when you're doing laundry.

But there is one laundry task that I abhor - sorting socks. I don't think I have always detested sorting socks but now that I'm the mother of four young children, the unpleasant aspects of this task have grown exponentially.  You might think that I'm being a little dramatic, in which case I will venture a guess that you don't have to sort socks for four children...four children whose socks are not so very different from each other.  I've tried buying them different styles - which helps - but unfortunately my children not only foil me by putting holes in their socks, they're also growing.  So the socks get passed down from one to the next (if they make it that long) and that makes it extra confusing.

But this week I've come up with what I'm hoping will be a clever solution.  I bought four lingerie bags which I've labeled with a sharpie. I told the kids to put their dirty socks and underwear in the bags (because sorting underwear for three little girls is not fun either). Today I washed two of their bags and it worked great. I didn't have to tax my brain trying to remember whose socks are whose plus it made finding the mates that much easier. I imagine the trick will be getting the kids to keep putting their socks and underwear into the bags.  But so far, so good.