The Riz Team Blog

Hold onto those old socks for all these handy household uses

By: Allie Cutler, This Old House magazine

Whether they’re past their prime or just stray singles, don’t just kick ’em to the curb. Give them new legs with these household solutions

1. Ease First Aid

Slip an ice pack into a sock to temper the chill while soothing sore muscles or bruises.

2. Secure Mobile Devices

To enjoy tunes while raking fall leaves, create an armband pocket for your MP3 player. Cut off the leg of a tube sock, slide it onto your arm, then double the material up around your biceps. Tuck the player between the elastic layers.

3. Rescue Lost Hardware

Slide a sock over the end of a vacuum’s hose, secure with a rubber band, and use the vac’s suction to pick up dropped screws, nuts, or nails.

4. Stop Drafts

Line doorjambs and windowsills with rice-filled socks to keep the cold from entering your home and the house’s heat from escaping.

5. Polish Surfaces

A sock becomes a reusable or disposable mitt for waxing furniture or shining silver, brass, or pewter.

6. Cushion Your Knees

For DIY jobs that require kneeling, cut off the legs of a pair of tube socks and slide them over your pant legs. Fold the fabric over your knees once or twice for extra padding.

7. Ice-Proof Windshield Wipers

When frost is in the forecast, slide kneesocks over wipers to prevent crystals from clinging. Just pull off the socks and you’re on your way, no scraping necessary.

8. Protect Footwear

Before tackling a dirty or messy job, pull oversize or stretched-out socks over your shoes to keep them clean

9. Entertain Fido

Tie a knot at each end of a tube sock and get ready for a round of tug-of-war.

10. Clean Up

Wear a sock as a glove so that you can easily swab the dust away from every nook and cranny in mantels, venetian blinds, and ceiling-fan blades.