Out with the old, in with the new…odd socks!

It is the beginning of a New Year so that means revisiting old resolutions and making new ones. One New Year’s resolution I keep is to start the New Year by cleaning out drawers and removing unwanted clutter. By getting rid of the old, I’m actually making room for the new that I know will eventually takes its place. The sock drawer is a good starting point when teaching young children how to organize their drawers. This “chore” can be made into a fun game of matching and also finding which one is different – especially when there are odd socks among the pile. The following poem, Odd Sock Planet, by Valerie Waite is a fun poem to share just before you begin organizing a sock drawer, whether it be your grandchild’s or yours. And when you are finished, recycle those odd socks with the clever uses and craft suggestions found below. Happy organizing!

Odd Sock Planet

In our house is a drawer
Which is full of odd socks.
They appear from nowhere
And gather in flocks.

I don’t know where they come from,
But this I know for sure,
Each time I look inside the drawer
I see a dozen more.

There must surely be a planet
Where odd socks can go and stay
To recover from the trauma
Of sniffing feet all day.

There they walk in perfumed gardens,
And through fields of new mown hay.
For the natives of this planet are
Odd socks that flew away.

So, if you find some of your socks
Have vanished without trace.
Just think how happy they must be
Up there, in Outer Space.

© 2004 Valerie Waite
(used with permission by the author)

After receiving the suggestion from Valerie Waite to share Odd Sock Planet with you, I did some research on Odd Socks…here’s what I found:

Odd Sock Holidays

November 6 – Mismatched Sock Appreciation Day

April 3 – Odd Sock Day

Recycle Odd Socks

You can find some great ideas on how to recycle your odd socks:

ThriftyFun.com

eHow.com

Sock Dolls

Sock Puppets