I love when the October magazines arrive in early September, all decorated for Fall and Halloween.

I hate when the January ones arrive in early December, talking about weight loss, resolutions, and reminding me that January is the month of all things Organized and Stored.

To take my mind off the weight loss and resolutions, I decided to share my most outstanding and noteworthy Organized and Stored win.

I learned it from my mom.

Behold, the mismatched sock bin.

I know. My mom is a genius. Really. And her bin even tops mine because she lives in a 1940s house that has an elevated water heater closet, and underneath that elevated shelf is the perfect little cupboard for storing the sock bin.

My bin just lives in my bedroom. When our room was upstairs in a two story house, the bin was a laundry basket. But now we have a trendy “main story master”, so I bought a nice basket.

Yes, just for the socks, because let me tell you something that HGTV won’t: your main story master must be clean at all times since guests can see into it from that other on point trend, the “great room”. Go ahead house hunters and dream of great rooms and open concepts. But just know there is no rest for the weary in a great room house. Your dirty dishes will always be showing.

But I digress.

As every person who does laundry knows, washing machines rescue battered socks and release them back into the wild after a thorough rest and rehab. No one is safe from the problem of the unmatched sock.

Two options.

A: Buy new socks. This is a cost prohibitive solution, especially if you have men and young boys in the home. Socks flee stinky feet. Once, I found one hiding in the floor vent, underneath the grate.

That sock was so desperate to get away it squeezed itself between the tiny little rows. I never would have known, except that it was winter, and every time the heater cycled on, I smelled dead squirrel.

Also, and I have personally witnessed this, just because you throw a whole pack and ONLY a whole pack of new socks into the washer, doesn’t mean you’re getting them all back.

B: Patience and a sock bin. Socks are like cats. They have nine lives and they’ll always come back. Socks are for feet and they need to be worn. Like a stressed out mama to a Mom’s Night Out, they turn up. The key is to remain vigilant, especially at times like cleaning out the garage, or on the last day of school. The strangest place I ever found a sock? Unpacking the Christmas decorations.

You better believe the match was sitting in the sock bin.

Once I month I dump that sucker out and match away. This is a usual haul.

Although for the record and in a pinch, I would put the pink and purple sock on someone’s feet and send them to school. They are the same sock, after all. The color part is in the shoe. And my OCD is more obsession than compulsion.

So there it is, our first helpful hint for 2016. We know it’s not 2016 yet, but every basket ever made in the history of the world is currently on sale so if you need one, now’s the time.

Happy matching!