7 Things You Can Do With Old Socks | Low Waste
Have old socks sitting in your drawer? Maybe one of the pairs has a hole or is even estranged? The good news is if your socks are made of 100% cotton, hemp, wool, or bamboo, you can compost them. The bad news is, most socks are not made of 100% natural materials. Also, there can be dyes and chemicals in them that would be harmful to the environment.
It is estimated that the average U.S. person throws out 81 pounds of textiles each year. You don’t have to throw away old clothes, you can always upcycle something, and if it is truly beyond repair, look for a place to properly recycle (yes, recycle) them. Around the US, you can find SMART (Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles) bins in shopping center parking lots. You can drop off your unwearable clothes (even socks) there.
If you find yourself with an odd sock or one that is starting to get holes or is starting to fit uncomfortably, here are a few things you can do with them instead of throwing them away:
Wrap a gift for a friend:
Have an old sock that has a fun pattern on it? Fill up a mason jar with a friend’s favorite candy, coffee beans, loose leaf tea, hot chocolate mix, or whatever they like and wrap it in the sock! Tie a bow with some hemp string.
Use as a koozie:
Having friends over and want to keep track of drinks? Or maybe you want to take some hot oatmeal in a jar on the go? Cut a sock around mid-heel, keeping the toe part intact. It will snuggly fit around a can or jar and keep it insulated.
Decorate a planter:
Have a smaller sized planter that needs some spicing up? Maybe you made some of those can planters we posted a while back. If you have an odd novelty sock you can cut it and slip it over the pot for a unique look.
Okay, maybe you have some socks that wouldn’t really be attractive to use around gifts or food or beverages, that doesn’t mean you have to throw them away! Try these:
Make a toy for your pets:
Trust me, your pet will not care at all how gross looking a sock is. Have a dog? Take a long sock and fill it with other socks or a tennis ball or a crinkly plastic water bottle (if you have one of these, please please please switch to a reusable water bottle, but in this case, at least it is being re-used). Tie off the end and throw it around for your dog. If you have a cat, you can fill it with catnip and tie it off! We also fill holey socks with hay and leave it open at the top - our guinea pig loves to toss it around.
Use to clean/dust:
This isn’t as exciting, but you can also cut up socks to make cleaning rags. We use cut up t-shirts for napkins, but socks are more durable for cleaning and dusting.
Make rubber bands or hair ties - Cut across the sock horizontally to your desired thickness. Instant rubber band or hair tie!
Use as a dry erase board eraser - With a lot of kids doing school from home, you may have a dry erase board or chalkboard set up in your house now. Try using an old sock as an eraser!
We are more about practicality than crafting stuff we don’t necessarily need. However, there are loads of crafts you can find online if you’re looking to do something fun with a kid or even just keep yourself occupied during this time.
Here are a few other places you can check out to recycle your clothes you might not think to donate or recycle:
