Handling every part of the move yourself can sometimes make you feel like you’re biting off more than you can chew.
Between large items like the couch or the fridge, socks can seem like such a trivial item. As a result, people often put them off till the last minute.
From experience, that would be a mistake.
When done right, the best ways to pack your socks for moving can help you prepare a conclusive first-night bag, protect valuable items, and cut up on storage space!
Table of Contents
The Best Ways to Pack Your Socks for Moving
Before you dig into all the different ways for packing socks, let’s first get the batch clean and ready to go!
Make sure all the socks are already clean and fully dried. Otherwise, it could transfer a stinky odor
to other items, and that would be a pain to deal with!
Then, take 10 minutes or so to go through all your pairs. This is a great chance to sort them and give away all the worn ones to charity.
1. Keep Two or Three Pairs Aside
Preparing a “first-night” bag is something that we swear by, especially if you’re using a moving truck and have a lot of items to pack.
It’s usually a backpack with basic necessities to cover your first night at the new place without having to go through an entire truck’s worth of stuff.
For this reason, it would be smart to set a couple of pairs aside and keep them in the designated backpack.
Other items to consider for your backpack include:
- Pajamas
- A clean outfit for the next day
- Toiletries
- Electronic devices and chargers
- Necessary medication
2. Do the Famous Marine Skivvy Roll
Anyone who travels or camps a lot will tell you all about the skivvy roll. It’s basically a handy trick where you can fold an entire outfit into a sock.
You can do this with your clothes boxes that will go into the back of the moving truck or with the couple of outfits that you’ll keep in your “first-night” backpack.
You’d be surprised how much space you can save this way, and it’s not even that hard to master!
Here’s how:
- Fold the longer pieces, like pants, in half
- Lay the items on top of the shirt
- Start folding the sleeves inside till you have a rectangular shape
- Roll up the rectangle firmly
- Squeeze the roll into a sock and encapsulate it with the full pair
3. Protect Couch Legs With Sock Sleeves
Packing large items like couches usually takes up the most time, and you’re constantly worried about how protected the upholstery is.
You could end up forgetting the minor details like the couch legs. Yes, those can get scratched and even broken in the moving truck!
Keep in mind that the sock might not survive this move. So, use worn-out pairs that you don’t mind losing for this method.
Here’s how:
- Clean the wooden legs first to avoid sand scuffs
- Fit old socks on the couch legs
- Use an elastic band to tighten it
- If it’s too long, cut up the sock to the ankle
- Use multiple layers if your socks are too thin
4. Pack Fragile Valuables Inside Thick Socks
Did you know that all the thick winter socks can be very useful for packing your most prized possessions?
This method is so versatile because you can use it to hide small valuables like jewelry or money. Most commonly, it comes in handy when you’re packing fragile glassware.
However, depending on the sock fabric, your glassware might get scuff marks. To fix this, you can use paper or bubble wrap as a buffer. It also adds an extra layer of protection.
Here’s how to safely pack glassware using socks:
- Line the moving box with packing paper
- Wrap each glass individually with bubble wrap or packing paper
- Stuff the wrapped glass in a sock
- Lay the glassware socks into the box
- Spread a towel between layers
5. Use Sock Balls to Puff Out Shoes
More often than people would care to admit, shoes don’t survive a major move. It’s the little things like this that make moving particularly stressful.
Unless you still have the original boxes and actually have the space in your moving truck, they’ll almost always end up pressed and crumbled.
You can avoid this by using balled-up socks to keep the shoe’s form. This way, you don’t have to deal with weirdly compressed footwear.
Here’s how to safely pack shoes using socks:
- Ball up each sock pair individually
- Stuff the balls into the sneaker and push deep
- If there’s room, add more till you get to the heel
- Use silica packets in between socks to keep the shoe smelling fresh
- Cover up valuable shoes entirely with old, over-stretched shoes
6. Pad Moving Boxes With Socks
You can use all the remaining socks to pad larger moving boxes, especially ones with fragile items like dishes. This way, you’ll minizine wobbling, breakage, and scuffing.
This method is a little more efficient than packing paper but not as good as bubble wrap. So, keep that in mind when you’re moving particularly valuable items.
For this method, you can separate the pairs, and you can even use the worn-out ones. It doesn’t really matter if the sock has a couple of holes since it only needs to act as a buffer.
Here’s how:
- Start stacking your valuables in the box
- Between every two stacks, stuff a flat sock
- When you’re done, find out where the box is still roomy
- Stuff more balled-up socks in those spaces
- Lay more socks, sheets, and towels on top if the box isn’t filled to the brim
The Takeaway
The best ways to pack your socks for moving include lining boxes, puffing shoes, and skivvy rolls.
Just remember to give your socks a thorough clean before using them to store your valuables. Bonus points if you end up using a fragrant laundry detergent!
Find this article helpful? We also have tips to get your entire closet packed and ready for your move!
