How to give your old socks new life again

Whether they’ve worn out from plenty of love, a mate disappeared in the dryer, or you’re simply over last season’s designs – we all have used socks that we don’t know what to do with. Fear not! The sockbox.ca team has put together our fave tips on repurposing well-loved socks.

Get Crafty

After enjoying your sockbox.ca subscription socks, why not repurpose them with some kid (and adult) friendly crafts? Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Stress Ball

Turn your frown upside down with a homemade stress ball! Perfect for bright, fun, patterned socks, this is a quick and easy craft for all ages. Simply take some play dough, or flour, and fill a freezer bag with it! Seal, slide into your used sock, and tie the ends. Snip off the extra fabric and squeeze!

Hacky Sack

Throw it back to 1994 with a homemade hacky sack! You will need to hand-stitch this project a little, so it’s better suited to tweens or adults. You can find all the instructions right here.

Sock Puppet

An eternal classic, the sock puppet is popular because it’s fun, cute and great for all ages! Parents Magazine has an easy-to-follow tutorial video so you can craft your own sock puppet.

Get Organized

Not feeling the Martha Stewart DIY vibes? Don’t worry, there are plenty of other uses for your gently loved socks. You can use them around your house in a few different ways! Here are some of our top ideas:

Cleaning

Most sockbox.ca socks are manufactured using cotton, which makes them absorbent and able to withstand heat and detergents. These features make your old cotton socks perfect for cleaning! Use them to:

• Clean dry erase boards
• Cleaning or waxing your vehicle
• Dusting house plants or delicate objects
• Clear out cobwebs
• Use them in place of disposable static floor cloths
• Protecting Small Items

Rather than throw away your orphaned socks, use them to protect small items when you’re moving or travelling. Place earrings, rings, bracelets, necklaces, cuff links, tie clips or other small pieces of jewelry into a single sock, tie it into a knot and rest assured you won’t get to your new house, or travel destination, missing any precious pieces.

Organizing Small Pieces

Leave the family game-night drama for arguments over Park Place – not where all the tiny house pieces are! Use orphaned socks to bundle up board game pieces together when not in use.

Rescue Lost Small Pieces

Dropped a few screws while assembling a new piece of furniture? Lost a few Lego pieces in that hard-to-reach corner? Pop one of your used socks over the end of your vacuum hose and use it to pick up small items you dropped – without needing to dig through the vacuum’s gross dust bin.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

If these options don’t appeal to you, you can always donate your gently used subscription socks to places like Goodwill. This non-profit’s outlet locations double as recycling facilities where teams sort, bundle and distribute unsold goods. Textiles can be recycled or sold on the global market to provide funding for Goodwill’s many social programs. Curious? You can learn more from CBC.

If your sockbox.ca subscription socks haven’t reached the end of their lifetime, make sure you check out our post on How to Care for Your Socks.

Have another sock tip or crafty trick? Join our community on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and let us know!