Pegging Away


Over the past couple of weeks I have been watching Meet the Amish with the girls. Five Amish teenagers travel to the UK to experience the lives of four different families of teenagers in Britain. The show contrasts and compares the traditional Amish life with the lives of contemporary British teenagers. There are many worthy philosophical discussions we could be having about ideas explored by this very intriguing show, but today we are going to talk about sock hangers. Yes, that useful plastic doodad up above, the one with all the socks pegged to it.

I find these incredibly useful, they save lots of space on the line outside or in. My girls seem to wear a lot of socks. I used to have two sock hangers, which I bought a couple of years ago from a $2 shop. The first one broke last year, the remaining one is losing its pegs, and last week Rosy broke the hanger part, so I can't use it outside anymore or it blows off the line. Now the easy thing to do would be to go to the $2 shop and buy two more... BUT non-recyclable plastic doodads made from a non-renewable resource by someone who was certainly not being paid a living wage, causing who-knows-what pollution and transported half way around the world so I can hang up my socks? I just can't do it anymore, it makes me feel sick to think that every time I buy a plastic doodad I am literally buying a world that I don't want to live in. But I still want to hang up my socks.

So, imagine my joy when I saw sock hangers on the verandah of an Amish house in Meet the Amish, with two little blonde poppets sporting terrible haircuts bringing in the washing with the aid of their little red wagon (yes, apparently Amish boys do help with the housework. When they aren't ploughing something). These sock hangers were fabric-covered wire coat hangers with pegs suspended underneath. Hard to visualise? Luckily the interwebs have come to the rescue, thus:



Now, being the non-sewer that I am, I have considered doing this but just tying on the pegs. But I think they would slide around. I think that unattractive fabric cover is actually functional. I also found this on pinterest with a wooden hanger and eyelet screws, very vintage. So somehow our socks will get hung, hopefully by repurposing something I already own. Send me your clever suggestions:)

And to end, a little wash day treat that I found while hunting for Amish sock hanging solutions. 237 linear feet of washing twice a week? I would use a shopping trolley too..

Edited to add: My mum always reads my blog, although she never comments. This afternoon she sent a text which read: Dear Jo, you know you can peg socks straight onto a coat hanger? Love Mum

There you go. When in doubt, ask your mum.


This is such a brilliant solution. No sewing, no faffing, just reusing all the wire coat hangers I already own. That is a life time's supply of sock hangers, right there in the wardrobe. Thanks Mum:)

Comments

Tanya Murray said…
I very much enjoyed that series but I somehow missed the sock hangers. Well spotted and how clever. This is a wonderful idea for a Tasmanian winter where everything is "finished off" hanging around indoors.
Jo said…
Oh yes, Tanya, the laundry draping game. Isn't it fun?
Anonymous said…
I have a secret confession to make... I chuck ALL the socks and ALL the jocks in the clothes dryer. Even in summer. Which is appalling of me - but I don't have enough pegs to hang the 67,000,000 pairs of socks the four of us generate in a week! (That's my excuse and I am sticking to it!)

Victorian winters aren't much better for the clothes draping necessities. I have four heater vents and five airers and off we go.
Jo said…
Dear Miss Maudy, 67,000,000 socks IS rather a lot, I must admit. I trust you have a large dryer:)
Anonymous said…
I made me some hangers using an old broken lampshade wire, lots of wooden pegs and bits of wire. I got angry the other week as they were pretty average and had sharp wire sticking up plus broken pegs so I hit up eBay and purchased 3 of those sock doodads in stainless steel (from China I'm embarassed to say). They will last and they do the job but oh how simple these hangers and pegs are! And how cheap and lower in carbon miles!!!
I too love the meet the Amish show although there are times I'd like to throttle the British kids! lol I also missed seeing those hangers. Time to rewatch that series for sure.
Jo said…
Oh Jessie, I would love to see your vintage lampshade contraption! It sounds wonderfully steam punk.
I must say I was tempted by the Amish-made wooden clothes dolly (like a miniature wooden Hills Hoist that hangs from the clothesline) Only $81 plus postage to Australia (astronomical..)
Anonymous said…
Ha ha, brilliant mum!
Thanks Jo's Mum, what a great idea, the bain of sock hanging is getting them in the rain, with a sock hanger you can hang them on it indoors and bring it in as on when it rains.
CJ said…
Great idea, you're right, those plastic things are very useful, but for the same reasons as you I don't buy them. I like the pegs and coat hanger tip, very handy. I loved the Amish series, I like the look of the Amish way of life.
Anonymous said…
Mr as is the clothes hanger-outer. And we hardly ever use the dryer. Mr S doesn't mind braving the cold in the morning, whereas I would chicken out - wet clothes and cold air! Ugh. Freezing hands! No thanks. And he gets them in, in the afternoon. If he is late, then we hang them in the laundry, as we have ducted heating vents and one vent is in the laundry. Perfect for drying.

Of course summer line drying is no problem.

As to socks, Mr S puts pairs next to each other on the line so he can roll them up as he takes them off. I'm a higgily piggily hanger-outer, and pair later. No sock dolly. We use the line.
Jo said…
Yes, Dar, mums, often right, who'd have thought?
Siwzy, frequent sudden rain, plus needing extra space, is exactly why I need these.
CJ, I like the quiet Amish way of life too, but the reality of having every last corner of my life mandated by rules? Not so much.
Lucinda, you have laundry staff? Lucky girl:)
Anonymous said…
I'm so going to do this! My other washing issue is a severe lack of pegs (they blow away on the line because the children don't put them back properly and then the dog chews them up). Good help is hard to find these days:-) I think I'll buy some wooden pegs and dedicate them for indoor sock pegging use. Loretta
Jo said…
I knew there was another reason I don't have a dog. Mind you, I just decommissioned the old sand pit, and found about two dozen pegs buried in it. Who needs dogs when you have children?
i know i'm late to this, but i have to say: this sounds like the thing i'd do, look for the fancy solution requiring lots of work ... and then my mum cutting straight to the chase. made me smile. love your mum!
Kerry said…
I've just found your blog and am having a wonderful time reading through old posts. Your mum's text made me laugh out loud. Thank you for the laugh!

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