10 Clever Ways to Recycle Old Socks

That You May Never Have Thought Of!

They say that "necessity is the mother of invention." I think that creativity and resourcefulness also leads to invention. If you clean out your sock drawer like I did, and you end up with a dozen or more pairs of old socks that you don't know what to do with, the gears in your mind begin to whirl. Here are 10 clever ways to recycle old socks:

1. Dust Rags

I use old socks as dust rags. The absorbent cotton ones are the best to use to clean and care for fine wood furniture. Just pull a sock up and over your hand, spray with your furniture polish of choice, and dust away! Once the front side is soiled, simply turn the sock over and use the reverse side.

2. Muscle Relaxer 

My massage therapist gives me handy advice from time to time. One of the best tidbits she has shared with me was how to use an old knee sock to soothe sore, tight muscles. Take a clean knee high sock and fill it with cheap white rice. Tie off the open end into a knot. Then, place the rice-filled sock in your microwave and heat it for two to four minutes. Remove the sock and place it around your neck, on your arm or leg- anywhere you have an aching muscle. When the rice cools down, reheat as needed.

3. Handpuppet

Old socks can easily be recycled into hand puppets for the kids to play with. All they need are some socks and materials such as colored permanent markers, fabric glue, pieces of yarn, plastic eyes, felt material, et cetera. Your kids can be as creative as they want to be! Once they slide a sock over their hand, they can have fun making a face and decorating their hand puppet.

4. Dog Pull Toy

Have you ever seen those rope pull toys for dogs? My dogs love to play Tug of War, so I make them dog pull toys out of old knee-high socks. All you need to do is tie a knot or two in an old sock, and your dog will have hours of fun playing with you and the kids.

5. Tie Up Strips for the Garden

Last summer I needed something to tie up my tomato plants to their support posts. Rope doesn't give as the stems of the plants grow, so I recycled old socks for the job. Just cut socks into long strips and use them to tie your plants to posts to keep them straight and strong.

6. Moth Ball Bag