Do you have a sock drawer or other designated “sock spot?” Look in there now. How many different kinds of socks do you own? How many different pairs? If you put all your socks loose in a basket, how many would you have to pull out at random before you were guaranteed a matching pair?
For me, the answer is: two. All my socks are identical. Once a year, I throw away all my socks, and I buy a dozen identical pairs of new socks. This costs me all of twenty-five dollars, and I always have nice, new, matching socks.
People get so hung up on this idea that you shouldn’t throw things away that haven’t completely failed yet. So if your socks are all threadbare, mismatched, sagging – but still technically socks – then it’s wasteful to throw them away! Bah! Some things you should waste. All things are temporary, but some things are “good” for a year, and then “barely passable” for like ten years after that before they finally, actually break. You don’t need to be held hostage by your socks!
The Opportunity Machine 