When packing clothes for moving, you never really worry about how to pack your socks, do you? You never even think about your socks during the house packing process simply because they have got to be the easiest pieces of clothing to pack for a move.
Socks are not fragile, they cannot get wrinkled or damaged in any way, and they are too small compared to other large clothing pieces to present any sizeable problems during packing.
But the thing is that while you shouldn’t think twice about how to pack socks for a move, you should really consider packing other things with your socks. Socks are soft, especially the thick winter pairs, so they should be used to protect fragile items instead of simply being folded away into a box or left idly inside a drawer.
Check out some interesting and unusual ways to pack with socks when moving house.
What to know before packing things with socks
There are a couple of things you should be aware of before we show you a few fascinating tricks for packing items with socks during a move.
- Make sure the socks are clean. Before anything else, you’ll need to check if the socks you plan to use for packing are clean. Don’t make the rookie mistake of wrapping items inside dirty socks. Why? Not only will the bad smell of unclean socks transfer into the breakables you’re trying to protect, but the delicate surface of the things may get nasty stains from the soiled socks.
- Don’t move socks that are torn or too worn out. Sorting out your clothes before packing them is an important step, and the same is true for your socks. Throw away any socks with large holes in them that are beyond repair or are too worn out to be worth the packing effort. Some of your socks may be excessively stained due to regular use – just chuck them and buy new pairs after the move.
- Never pack wet or sweaty socks. Remember to never pack socks while they are still wet from a recent wash or sweaty from the last time you used them. The reason is easy to guess – socks, as well as any other items of clothing – will tend to form mildew or mold when packed wet.
So, to avoid headaches after the move, let moist socks air dry out before packing them up. Feel free to use a hair dryer to accelerate the drying process when time is against you.
Pack breakable glasses into socks
Interestingly enough, socks can be an alternative method of protecting kitchen glasses, especially stemware.
Here’s how to use socks to pack glasses:
- Wrap the stem of a stemware piece (a wine glass, for example) in a few layers of bubble wrap. Secure the wrap with a small piece of packing tape.
- Stuff some soft packing paper inside the glass bowl for additional protection.
- Insert the fragile glass into a clean thick sock that will serve as extra padding.
- Transfer the glass into a suitable box – preferably a cell box, and use extra packing paper to secure the glasses inside and keep them from shifting.
Of course, you can also use socks to pack regular drinking glasses with no stems.
Important: Be sure to use only soft cotton socks to protect glasses and never wool socks that may be too coarse and could scratch their delicate surface.
Read also: How to pack glasses for moving
Fill shoes with socks to keep their shape
When you’re packing shoes for moving, it’s important to keep in mind that your footwear pairs may get misshapen during the move if something heavy presses hard onto the box they’re packed in.
To avoid finding your favorite pairs of shoes deformed after the move – either crushed or smashed, make sure you stuff the shoes with crumpled wrapping paper as a precautionary measure.
The thing is that instead of stuffing your shoes with packing paper before packing them up, you can also use clean and dry socks for the same purpose – to help your shoes to maintain their shape in case some sort of external force presses down on them during transit.
Another bonus of packing your socks inside your shoes is that you’ll be able to save precious space. While it’s true that socks won’t take too much room inside the packing boxes, you’ll still be able to use that extra space to pack up other pieces of clothing, ultimately reducing the number of boxes you’re moving to the new home.
See also: How to pack shoes for moving
Use socks as space fillers
You’re moving your good pairs of socks anyway, so you might as well use them to your advantage during the packing process.
Another way you can pack with socks is to use them as space fillers inside cardboard boxes. Take as many pairs of socks as you can spare and use them to fill in any gaps in boxes that already contain fragile items. This way, your breakables will not be able to shift inside the container, which should keep them safe on the road.
Thus said, you shouldn’t use your most favorite pair of socks as space fillers – pack up the best socks you own in a moving box and use your non-special ones to keep fragile items immobilized.
Again, you should only use completely dry and clean socks for this purpose. When you run out of socks to fill gaps inside boxes, switch to wrapping paper, pieces of bubble wrap, or even other old but clean pieces of clothing.
Good to know: How to pack boxes for moving
Use socks to make a skivvy roll
Another trick you can use when packing with socks is to create the so-called skivvy roll. It’s an interesting packing technique that may or may not be useful in your case. Nevertheless, it’s good to know it just in case you might decide to go with it for some of your clothes, most likely the ones in your essentials box.
- Position your T-shirt on the table or on the floor, then place your pants or shorts (or skirt) folded in half in the middle of the shirt.
- Line up the tops of the pieces of clothing.
- Fold your underwear in half and lay it slightly below the tops of the pants.
- Fold the shirt sides on top of the pants.
- Place your socks at the top with their open ends facing out of the bundle.
- Roll slowly the clothes into a tight bundle.
- Roll the socks in over the newly-formed bundle to secure it and contain it.
You can watch this short video to see exactly how to pack a skivvy roll with your socks.
Must-read: Packing timeline for moving
