Tightwad tip: upcycling socks

As the weather is changing from unbearable hot summer weather to slightly autumn-ish (yes, it's a bit early this year), I've begun to wear socks again. It's not that cold yet but I just get cold feet very quickly. And I just really like wearing socks. Kind of silly maybe, but I don't really like the feeling of bare feet. It's probably a sensory thing. When I was younger, no matter how warm it was, I couldn't even sleep without socks on! While that has improved a bit and I do sleep without socks during the summer, I still wear socks a lot and start wearing them quite early on every year. The thing is, the socks that are being sold here aren't of that great quality. And even if they were - my opinion with good quality socks, too, is that they get worn out quickly and holes appear so fast. At least I'm glad that our socks don't get lost in the washing machine. 

We're a family of four and I have developed kind of a colour coordinated system, so each one of us has his/her own colour. Having socks from just one colour is a really good hack, in my opinion. If just one sock gets a hole beyond repair, I can still wear it - just combine it with another pair (preferably from another pair with of which one single sock that has a hole). There you have a "new" pair of socks, and with the other pair, there's still some options. 

Here's some things I do with old socks. 

First of all, try to repair. Small holes are usually repairable. 

I keep some pairs of socks in my bed side table to use as "gloves" at night when I rub my hands with cream/Vaseline (I get really dry hands during the winter usually). The socks are tight enough not to slide off my hands during sleep. My children need this every so often as well, so I need at least a few pairs of old socks. 

Cleaning: way back when we had blinds, I dusted/cleaned them with a sock on my hand. That was the easiest way to do it (although cleaning blinds can never be considered easy in my opinion...). Cleaning with a sock on your hand works the same for other areas with tiny openings. 

Crafting: if you like crafting, old socks are an inexpensive, environmentally friendly way to use materials you otherwise would buy. My children liked to make sock dolls and they were so cute!

Vacuuming: when looking for tiny lost items, or in case you're afraid those will be laying around somewhere, take off the floor brush and put a sock on the extention tube. Whatever will be vacuumed, won't be suck inside. Pretty clever, isn't it? 😃

Shoe protectors: put your shoes inside a sock while traveling. 

Hot water bottles: I like to wrap a sock over a cold water bottle for protection against the heat.

Or just use socks instead of rags as unpaper towels. 

So that was today's tightwad tip! It won't make you a millionaire, but little things definitely add up. I'm sure there are many many more uses... But these are the ones I can think of now, and that we implement ourselves. I'd love to read more ideas in the comments 🥰