Wayward socks and gloves

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

For some unknown reason washing machines seem to eat individual socks and, at times, it seems, also individual gloves, but they do seem to have a penchant for socks, and then a poor orphaned, wayward, sock or glove is left to fend all for itself. So, what do we do? We mix and don't match, that's what we do. Or that's what we should be doing.

I come across lost and never looked for again gloves, mostly single ones, as well as other clothing such as children's socks, again mostly single ones, but also others, in the municipal park here on a regular basis. Generally I do take them home, wash them and, in the case of gloves and socks, I try to, somehow, match them and make new unmatched pairs.

In fact, a number of years ago I wrote about turning odd gloves into unmatched pairs and that idea of mine was – shall we call it what it was – stolen by an enterprise online that then commercialized it by asking people to send odd gloves that they found to them for them, the “enterprise”, to “match” them up with others for sale.

When it comes to wayward socks at home – or when one sock is damaged beyond repair while the other one is still OK – why sort of not matching two of those up and wearing them should not be the way to go. Mismatched has, to some extent, it would seem, become fashionable even, at least among some. This can also be a way of rescuing found socks, especially for toddlers and children, and create unmatched pairs for them. Waste not want not.

When it comes to holy (not as in sacred but as in having holes) socks, nowadays, darning them is (almost) impossible due to the materials being used in the manufacture, with the exception of high quality expensive ones, maybe, and hand-knitted ones. So, let's pair up the unmatched and use those that are gone (beyond repair although often repair is not even possible) for other purposes before tossing them out. Worn out socks that are not repairable can be used as application cloths for shoe polish and even for polishing shoes, as dusters, and many other uses.

© 2018