88 Absolutely Brilliant Uses for a Single Sock

1. Stow your jewelry in a sock when you travel. The sock will provide cushioning and it will also (hopefully) deter thieves.

2. When you move, use your socks to pack breakables like glasses or vases, or use them as padding in boxes.

3. They also work well to store breakable Christmas ornaments.

4. Another holiday-time use: Cut off the cuff part of the sock and put it on your wrapping paper rolls so that the paper doesn’t slide off.

5. Similarly, the cuff part can also be employed to wrangle loose electrical cords

6. Put cuffs over your knees to protect your clothes and provide some padding when you garden.

7. Also in the garden, cut a sock into strips to tie your plants to stakes.  

8. When you’re painting, slide larger socks over your sneakers and shoes to shield your sneakers or shoes.

9. Place a sock in your bed frame to stop squeaks.

10. When moving furniture in your home, put socks on the feet of your chair or table legs so that you don’t scratch your floors.

11. Take multiple socks, fill with a mix of popcorn kernels and quilt/pillow batting, and connect them! Voila: You’ve got a nifty draft stopper to put under your door.

12. Cover your golf clubs.

13. Contain your stray golf, ping pong, and other small balls in a sock.

 

14. Put your wet umbrella in an orphan sock to keep your car interior dry.

15. A car is another great place to keep spare socks. Fill with silica kitty litter (which is extremely absorbent), and keep socks on your rear and or front window ledge to stop windshields from fogging up.

16. On a hot, sunny day, place a sock over the metal parts of seat belts so they don’t burn people’s skin.

17. In the winter, put them over your windshield wipers after you park your car to prevent your wipers from freezing and sticking to the glass.

 

18. Place a tennis ball inside a sock, knot it, and use this to roll out knots in your back or legs. Try these other neat uses for tennis balls.

19. Combat aches and cramps with a DIY heating pad. Just fill a clean, dry sock (use one that’s all or mostly cotton or wool, with no embellishments) with plain white or brown rice (not the instant or quick-cooking kind), dried beans, flaxseed, or barley. Either knot the sock or sew it shut with cotton thread, and microwave it for a minute. If it’s not hot enough, up the time in 15-second increments. These are other genius ways to use your microwave.

20. For pains and itches that require a cold touch, fill a plastic bag with ice and then place it inside of a sock for an ice pack.

21. For an ergonomic wrist rest for your computer, you can take a sock, stuff it with filling, and sew it closed; whether it resembles a ferret, cat, another mammal, or no animal at all is up to you and your preferences and skill.

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22. In a pinch, cut off the cuff to use as a scrunchie. 

23. Follow these steps to create a chic sock bun (don’t worry: only you will know the sock is there).

24. Curl your hair while you sleep by tying up your hair with your singletons. In the morning, you’ll have mermaid waves.

25. Moisturize dry hands and feet: Slather lotion on your extremities, cover with socks, and go to sleep. Wake up to softer skin.

 

26. Stash socks in the kitchen where you’ll find them surprisingly useful. For starters, when you’re cooking on the stove, slip one over the the handle of your saucepan or frying pan; this will not only shield your hand from the heat but also prevent the handle from getting sticky.

27. Use a spare sock as a grip to help you open stubborn jars.

28. Keep your cupboard or refrigerator clean by deploying your orphans to cover the bottoms of the bottles or jars, like syrup, honey, molasses, barbecue sauce – – that frequently get messy.

 

29. Store your eyeglasses.

30. There are infinite ways you can wear socks (besides on your feet). Cut off the cuffs and use as a wristband.

31. Or create an arm band to hold your phone while you work out.

32. Or, you can make fingerless gloves. If you want a matched pair, use an extra long knee sock.

33. By using 10 or more socks with congenial colors and patterns, you can sew together a scarf.

34. Fashion a sleep mask with an old sock, some flat backing fabric, and an elastic band.

35. Put potpourri or dried flowers and herbs inside a sock, knot it, and stash in your drawers to make everything smell nice. These are the best fragrances for every room in your home.

36. Or, fill a sock with mothballs and stow in a drawer, chest, or closet to ward off moths.

37. To soften your laundry without using fabric softener or dryer balls, take a couple of socks, put a tennis ball inside each, knot, and throw into your dryer before you run your next load of laundry.

38. You can make an easy dryer sachet by filling a sock with a mix of lavender and flax seed, and using it in the dryer.

39. A larger sock also makes an improvised wash bag to protect delicates like lingerie or stuffed animals.

40. Decorate your laundry room AND also help reunite your missing socks by starting a “Clean, Single & Looking” clothespin board (Harry Potter fans will want to go for the Free Dobby version).

41. Use as a mitt to polish your shoes. You can also try these other tricks to make your shoes last longer.

42. Place your shoes inside spare socks next time you’re packing your suitcase.

43. Fill two spare socks with baking soda or coffee grounds, and leave in shoes overnight to deodorize them.

44. Stuff a sock into another sock, then put the whole ball inside your shoes when you’re not wearing them. This will help them retain their shape (and looks) longer.

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45. Take two tall socks, fill with newspaper or paper, and place the stuffed socks into your boots to keep them from falling over.

46. Take a tall sock, and make boot cuffs. They can add a pop of color and design and stop chafing.

 

47. Use them to wipe off dry-erase boards or chalkboards.

48. Put a sock on your hand, wet it, and clean hard-to-reach places, including between blinds, along moldings, and in corners.

49. To reach extra-tall (e.g., ceilings) or extra-narrow (under appliances or radiators) spots, fasten a sock to the end of a yardstick or a broom, dampen, and dust.

50. Employ one as an eco-friendly, reusable swiffer cover by stretching it to go over the swiffer bottom (chenille socks are great at picking up dust).

51. Put hand in sock, dampen, and use as a mitt to clean houseplants of dust and other debris.   

 

52. Reserve your more attractive singletons to serve as colorful covers for flower pots or vases.

53. Construct a pincushion by stuffing with toy filling (you can find at craft stores) and sew it into a ball. Bonus points for fashioning into a pleasing shape (like this mushroom!).

54. For those of you who have a number of spare socks and a high level of crafty-ness, you can cut the footwear into strips and braid them together into a bath mat or even a rug.

55. If you can sew, you could construct a change purse or cellphone case.

56. You can create a variety of cute stuffed Christmas decorations – from table top (like these snowpeople) to the hanging-from-a-tree variety.

57. You can combine a variety of hues and patterns to craft a fabric wreath—which you can use for Christmas or year-round.

58. For Easter morning breakfast, dress up hard- or soft-boiled eggs with adorable egg cozies. For this, you decorate baby socks with felt, eyes, and feathers.

 

59. When shedding season arrives and you can’t find a brush, put a sock on your hand, wet it, and use it to remove excess hair from your cat or dog.

60. Fill it with catnip and knot it to create a cat toy.

61. Put a tennis ball or chew bone inside a bigger sock, knot it, and you’ve got a pull toy for a dog.

62. If you can sew and you have a miniature or teacup dog, you can make a fetching sweater and cap ensemble from a single sock.

63. You can also make a pet bed for a dog or cat. Construct a stuffed snake, coil it, and sew it into an oval.

64. Hamster owners: there’s a craft for you, too. You can make a sleeping bag for your wee one.

 

65. Employ the cuff as a soda or beer can coozie to keep your hands dry and your beverage cold.

66. Use a bigger, prettier sock to make a jacket for a flask.

67. When you go on a hike, pack a frozen water bottle and put a sock over it to keep the water cold longer.

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68. The cuff makes an eco-friendly alternative to those cardboard coffee sleeves. You can also use it at home to hold hot mugs.

69. Next time you’re giving someone a bottle of wine, wrap it in a cute sock (not a white athletic sock) to dress it up and cushion it.

 

70. Socks can be turned into a chest full of soft toys for your kids. The most easiest and most basic is the sock puppet.

71. If you take a sock and stuff it, you can turn it into a zoo’s worth of animals, both real (monkeys, rabbits, chickens, owls, sheep, lions, octopi, bears) and imaginary/extinct (dinosaurs, monsters, dragons).

72. Use a stuffed sock as the head for a homespun hobby horse.

73. Craft a school of stuffed fish from socks, insert magnets inside, and make a fishing pole from a wooden dowel from yarn or ribbon and a washer. You’ve got a sock fishing game. (Be careful about playing with magnets around young children who could accidentally swallow them).

74. Or, remove the magnets and attach the fish by strings to a frame, and you’ve made a fun mobile.

75. Put a bell inside a baby sock, add polyfill stuffing, sew shut, embellish, and you’ve got a rattle.

76. Make a hacky sack by filling a single sock with rice or lentils or sand, shaping into a ball, and sewing it closed.

77. Furnish the fixings for an indoor snowball fight by constructing stuffed snowballs from athletic socks.

78. Put together an adorable, 3-D advent calendar for your child. Use babies’ or children’s socks in attractive colors or patterns, attach numbers, enclose gifts, and pin up.

79. With scissors and pins, you can create all kinds of clothes for all kinds of dolls, whether they’re Barbies, American Girls, or others.

 

80. Since soap can be slippery for small hands, put the bar inside a clean sock and knot to make it easier for kids to use.

81. Cut off the toes from a sock and use the cuffs to protect baby’s knees when they’re learning to crawl.

82. If your baby has chicken pox or insect bites, put socks over their hands to stop them from scratching themselves. Don’t miss these other genius parenting hacks.

83. Spare socks can come in handy during bath time. Cut them up to use as baby washcloth.

84. One adult sock can be stitched into a pair of socks for a baby.

85. You can also stitch together two adult knee socks (try to use complementary colors or patterns) to make leggings for a baby or toddler.

86. Kids are always ripping their clothes, and spare socks can provide comfy material for patches. Similarly, you can use a spare sock to add pockets to their clothes.

 

87. Depending upon how many socks you have and your imagination, you can craft a portrait or art installation.

88. Finally, use your socks to find the next big business idea. After entrepreneurs Arielle Eckstut, Jason Dorf, and Jonah Staw noticed that teens and tween girls were wearing mismatched socks because of the universal missing sock problem, the trio founded the company Little MissMatched, which began selling socks in colorful packs of three (each with a different color or design). They’ve since expanded into clothes and bedding.

from Reader's Digest http://ift.tt/1riDcgC