I’m with joesax on this. Find something good and stick with it. No choices to make in the morning. Also, I am really good at losing socks in the washing machine, so my husband’s 14 or so pr of black socks means if I get three socks out, I can hide the third till the fourth one reappears a few days or weeks along
(SSHHH!).
He has two pair of red socks and they stress me out. It’s always so obvious when one has gone AWOL.
Divea, I am anti-reserves. Get rid of the old one before you get the new one. That’s why I don’t like Costco. Now and then we do run out of soap, though. And guests need to bring their own toothbrushes.(Right now I have one pair of jeans and one pair of leggings, and two wearable shirts. It’s quite liberating to only have to choose the one that is clean.)
[quote]Divea, I am anti-reserves. Get rid of the old one before you get the new one. That’s why I don’t like Costco. Now and then we do run out of soap, though. And guests need to bring their own toothbrushes.(Right now I have one pair of jeans and one pair of leggings, and two wearable shirts. It’s quite liberating to only have to choose the one that is clean.)
[/quote]
Wonderful!
Well, I did it. My medium-term sockly future is now assured. I am the proud owner of eleven complete pairs of Travel Fox regular socks, in black. Eleven’s all they had, but perhaps that’s enough for now.
Still, Dragonbones, when you have time to post the details I would love to know how to make my own socks out of recycled paper and achiote paste.
[quote=“Buttercup”]Great! Hole in one![/quote] Let’s hope it’s a while before that’s literally the case, though. Hope I don’t end up cursing the darned things.
It’s quite simple, really, although labor intensive. But you soak the paper in a marinade chemically opposite to what you use for achiote chicken or chicken pibil; rather than bitter oranges, vinegar or lemon juice, you want caustic soda in solution (NaOH). And it’s best to start with paper which was chemically rather than mechanically pulped the first time, as this results in longer, more spinnable fibers. Anyway, after a good soak, take your mortar and pestle and pound the paper to a pulp. Next, you need some good carding combs (like what spinners use, but the brushes for dogs or cats will work, the ones with the fine wire teeth). Brush the pulpy mass to comb out the longer paper fibers. The hard part is that you have to keep brushing them as they dry, to make sure they don’t stick together again. You’ll end up with a big sheet of fluffy paper fibers, all aligned the same way, called a batt. When you split this batt by tearing it into long strips, you get what is called roving. Next, adjust the tension on your spinning wheel. You do have a spinning wheel, don’t you? If not, I could explain using a drop spindle for the next step instead. Stay tuned for part II.
It’s quite simple, really, although labor intensive. But you soak the paper in a marinade chemically opposite to what you use for achiote chicken or chicken pibil; rather than bitter oranges, vinegar or lemon juice, you want caustic soda in solution (NaOH). And it’s best to start with paper which was chemically rather than mechanically pulped the first time, as this results in longer, more spinnable fibers. Anyway, after a good soak, take your mortar and pestle and pound the paper to a pulp. Next, you need some good carding combs (like what spinners use, but the brushes for dogs or cats will work, the ones with the fine wire teeth). Brush the pulpy mass to comb out the longer paper fibers. The hard part is that you have to keep brushing them as they dry, to make sure they don’t stick together again. You’ll end up with a big sheet of fluffy paper fibers, all aligned the same way, called a batt. When you split this batt by tearing it into long strips, you get what is called roving. Next, adjust the tension on your spinning wheel. You do have a spinning wheel, don’t you? If not, I could explain using a drop spindle for the next step instead. Stay tuned for part II.[/quote]I’ve used a drop spindle, actually. Rather fun. And I’ve had a go with some carding combs. Can you really do this with paper, though?
White socks from Costco. Agree, discard the old ones when you buy the new supply. For the black ones, I like over the calf and impossible to find at a men’s store that has them so I stopped into a night market sock shop that had a lot of female style socks. I found what I wanted and I simply buy them out of a style I like. Plan black. No frilly shit. Just basic stuff. Some have a logo on the sole. Thin material but over the calf and they only have to be replaced about every 2 years. Buy new ones and toss the lot of the old. Damn cheap too. Last lot was about 100 NT per pair.
[quote=“divea”]Joesox, has new socks. Great!! How are they?? Will they soak up in summer???[/quote]Good so far, thanks! I didn’t notice them all day, which is basically all I require. (The matching colors thing is just a concession to bourgeois sensibilities.)
We shall see come the summer. I’ll put them through their paces.
[quote=“Buttercup”]Hmm, possibly not if you plan to sweat, wear shoes, or go anywhere with rain or atmospheric humidity?
Just put Wellcome bags on your feet, secured with elastic bands.[/quote]You laugh. But Taiwanese supermarket bags are in fact incredibly durable and versatile. My mum swears by them for temporary repairs of cracked windscreens.
Aren’t they biodegradable, though? I suppose it depends how quickly. You need the free ones from cheap Brit supermarkets, although they have wee holes in so the brain donors that put plastic bags on their heads don’t die.
[quote=“Buttercup”]Aren’t they biodegradable, though? I suppose it depends how quickly.[/quote]It’s a good point. How quickly and under what conditions do they degrade? Would you have to stand in a compost heap or a rubbish tip to notice any difference? More research needed.
[quote=“Buttercup”]You need the free ones from cheap Brit supermarkets, although they have wee holes in so the brain donors that put plastic bags on their heads don’t die.[/quote]It could work. People make a lot of money from selling clothes that have holes small enough to keep the rain water out but big enough to let the sweat water through.
[quote=“Buttercup”]Shower caps might be better?[/quote]Keep the suggestions coming. I reckon I’ve got at least a year before the next big campaign in the sock war.
You could put shower caps over the socks to extend their lives?
Any more thought to the ‘mitten string’ method of avoiding sacrificing your socks to goddess Panasonica? Stitch a string to each sock and thread it through your trouser legs. Caveat: you have to make sure the string is long enough, or you’ll walk funny. And you’ll probably need to rule out having sex with ladies. Or anyone. But that’s a small price to pay for peace of mind, I feel.
“Idiot Socks” A whole new concept. Wait! Maybe not. I recall a certain BBC reporter story. Of course, as I was told the story, his idiot string got kinda tangled up.
Really? Damn, there goes my patent … Riches, will you ever be mine?
I didn’t really think it through from a male point of view. I would hate to see any flobber eunuchified*. Could be a case of sock choices affecting underwear choices. I’m not sure joesox is ready for that level of inter-dependent high-level decision-making.
Let’s hope it’s a while before that’s literally the case, though. Hope I don’t end up cursing the darned things.