Day 1: Sock Drawer {31 Days of Easy Decluttering}

Welcome to 31 Days of Easy Decluttering! Throughout this series I’m sharing easy decluttering projects that you can complete in 10-15 minutes.  If you do them, then by the end of the month you’ll be enjoying a less cluttered home.

Today’s Easy Decluttering Project

Today we’re decluttering your sock drawer.  Yep… we’re starting there!  I was going to start with your undergarments drawer, but I thought that might be a bit too personal.

But your sock drawer is something you go into on a regular, if not daily, basis.  If it’s cluttered, it can get your whole day off to a grumpy start.  And when you think of decluttering, it’s probably not one of the first places you run off to do!

Do you have to rummage through your sock drawer to find a matching pair of socks?  Do you wear the same few pairs of socks over and over because they’re the ones you see at the top of your drawer all the time?  Is the drawer so full you have to squish the socks down to close it?

Then you will love decluttering your sock drawer!  {Note:  I’m referring to socks in this post, but I’m including hosiery as well.  Or anything you wear on your feet – except shoes – that’s another post!}

Easy Decluttering Steps

Throughout the series, you’ll follow these steps to complete each daily task.  {Don’t forget to take before and after pictures to share too!}

Note: The main purpose of this series is to declutter so don’t get overwhelmed doing too much cleaning.  Once your house is less cluttered it will be easier to clean so you can always come back and do it later!

Also, if you have the time, you can organize the space while you’re doing this step, but don’t get overwhelmed with too much organizing this month.  We’re focused on decluttering!

Purging Tips for the Sock Drawer

The general motto for decluttering is to purge things you don’t use, need, or love.  {I always hear Peter Walsh in my head when I say that!}

I love how Laura from OrgJunkie adds to it in this quote!

With that quote, and our stuffed sock drawers in front of us, let’s get purging!

Follow the steps listed above, and use these tips as you purge (step #5) your sock drawer:

• Match all you socks and throw out any socks without mates, socks with holes, and socks that are worn out, stretched, or stained *Note: these can be dropped off for textile recycling in many places to keep them out of the landfill.
• Relocate socks that belong in another family member’s sock drawer {it happens!}.
• Relocate any other items that have crept into this drawer that aren’t socks.
• Give away or donate socks in good condition that don’t fit you well.
• Give away or donate socks in good condition that you haven’t worn in the last year.
• Group socks by colour and/or style and give away or donate any you have too many of.
• Consider how often you do laundry and how many socks you really need.  Then give away or donate excess socks. 
• Consider what types of socks you wear now (not what you used to wear or what you think you should wear) and give away or donate those you don’t need. {For example, I recently cleaned out my sock drawer and found about a dozen pairs of pantyhose.  Since I rarely wear these anymore, I kept 2 and donated the rest.}
• Think about how much space you have in your sock drawer and if you still have too many socks for your space then purge some more.  You want to be able to easily find what you’re looking for when you’re getting ready in the morning!

Pictures and Links to Inspire You

Throughout the series I’ll share some of my own pictures and some pictures from other people, to give you ideas on how to declutter and organize your spaces.

If you want to organize your sock drawer when you put back the socks you’ve decided to keep, you can use baskets or dividers to help keep everything separated.  This helps you find things easier.  Some people stack their socks, but I’ve found putting them in the drawer vertically (folded or rolled to fit the height of your drawer) helps you to be able to see each pair at once.

There are lots of products you can buy for sock drawers, if you want to do that.  They’re not necessary, but they help keep your sock drawers organized and limit how many socks you keep to what fits in the organizer. Here’s an example.

To save money, you can make your own dividers.  Here’s one way with old boxes (the post shows the boxes used to organize desk drawers, but if you make your boxes a little deeper you can easily use them for socks!).

You can also “shop around your home” to find baskets or shoe boxes or drawer organizers that are not being used, and repurpose them in your sock drawer.

*Please pin from the original source if you choose to pin these pictures.  If you want to pin this post please use the button at the top.  

If You’re On A Roll…

• You can find more decluttering tips on my Decluttering/Purging Tips & Ideas board.
• For cleaning tips you can check out my Cleaning & Cleaning Supplies board.
• For ideas on how to organize your sock drawer, you’ll find a bunch on my Bedrooms board.  
• And for DIY organizer ideas, take a peek at my DIY Organizers board.  

Good luck with today’s decluttering project!  I’d love to hear how you did, so please leave a comment and use the hashtag #31DaysEasyDecluttering when you share your pictures.

How many socks did you purge?  Any purging tips I missed for sock drawers?

If you need help decluttering, contact me for in-person organizing services in the Mississauga area, or virtual organizing services anywhere else.

Happy organizing decluttering