Here are some points of sock management which I am using successfully in Taiwan. As a preface I should say that we only buy inexpensive socks.
THE SOCK BOX
I use a medium size cardboard box for sock management – this is the “sock box”. (I have used glue, paste, and additional cardboard to install a perfectly flat bottom, and to make the sides more sturdy.) All the clean socks go in the box. The person who wants to put on socks then reaches in the box and finds two socks to his/her liking. Thus, I have eliminated the problem of “pairing up the socks” after washing – even though my Taiwanese wife considers this to be a lazy method of sock management.
Actually, I have some sort of toenail disease, so I wash my socks separately, and have my own “sock box,” which I keep in my room.
UNPAIRED SOCKS MANAGEMENT
Here is my wife’s solution to this problem of “lost socks” and “unpaired socks”, and I do think it is worthy of note.
We have another sock box which is used exclusively for unpaired socks. This is the “Miscellaneous Sock Box”. This is placed in the storage room. Whenever anyone finds socks which appear to be without mates, these are put in the Miscellaneous Sock Box. Also, occasionally we pick up miscellaneous socks from relatives.
If mates are found, then these are placed back in the regular Sock Box.
As a family, we go travelling occasionally, or take relaxing vacations. Before travelling, the socks in the Miscellaneous Sock Box are laid out and put together in pairs. Anything goes. If you have two socks of a general green color, these may be matched together. If you have two socks of a general blue color, these may be matched together. Otherwise, it is quite possible that you can match a yellow sock with a red one or whatever. A brown sock may be matched with a checked black-and-white sock . . . . . .
These become our travelling socks. Each pair is worn one day and then discarded. This way, we usually don’t have to wash socks when on the road, and this adds to the enjoyment of our vacation.