A recent MFI survey of 2500 Brits found that there are over 250 million odd socks lurking in the bottom of our wardrobes. Even I was shocked by the extent of the odd sock mountain out there.

I believe it's possible to banish the odd sock problem forever. Here's my tips

Bite the bullet. Get a bag and gather up all the odd socks in your home. Look under beds, in the washing basket, up the stairs, in travel and sports bags - wherever they lurk. Now go room by room and check out all the socks in drawers. Match as many as you can. Chuck any holey, tatty, washed out ones. Now you've two choices - chuck the odd ones straightaway or keep the strays for a maximum of a month. Any that don't turn up by that time let go.

Less is more. Keep only 10-12 pairs of socks per person plus a maximum of 5 pairs of sports socks. That way it's easier to keep track of them.

Different styles for each family member. If you and your partner both like wearing black - it stops confusion for one of you to have ribbed socks and the other plain. Or ensure that each of your kids has clearly identifiable colours or patterns. I was impressed by one couple I worked with recently who simply shared socks. That's one solution to the problem.