Monday, September 27, 2010

The Sock Situation

I was sorting my socks this weekend. As usual, there were several socks without mates. Drat! How to solve this problem?

At first I thought a separate box would be great. I'd toss all the lonely socks in there until I did enough laundry to make a match. Yes, the "lone sock box" was probably my most brilliant organizing idea ever!

After a minute of celebrating my cleverness, I thought about the situation from a minimalist perspective. A minimalist would probably have only one type of sock and probably just a few pairs...enough to get through a week or two. And there would never be an extra sock because they would all get washed at the same time. There would be no need for a "lone sock box" at all.

Like Leo Babauta says, minimalism is the end of organizing.

So, while this post is technically about socks, it's also not about socks. It's an example of how I used to think (which is what got me into this mess) and how I want to think (so I can get out of this mess and live the life I really want). It's nice to know that these behaviors I thought were a part of "me" are really just learned habits. And it's getting easier to unlearn them.

3 comments:

  1. I wear mismatched socks. *ahem*
    Also! It seems like knitting your own socks means you never lose them! (But it doesn't count for gifted socks - C's lost more than one ...)

    (and all this re-thinking of yours is motivating me, too. More on that later ...)

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  2. yeah, before all my socks were the same like they are now, i found that it was much easier to wear mismatched socks than to keep track of them and match them up in the morning. plus then you get so much more respect from society at large, it's great.

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  3. I hardly ever wear matched socks. In fact, my favorite socks come in threes, each one different, so it is impossible to match socks. I love them and who cares if people think I'm quirky. It makes me happy, and it is so not-stressful!

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