I used this to convince my gf to replace her hideous fake tree decoration with a nice bowl for holding stuff instead. This might be the most useful HN post for me ever.

The problem with the laundry pile LRU is the extreme bitrot of the first items in.

Laundry pile needs random access!

I don't care about that as long as it efficiently handles the worst-case of the sock tuple matching problem.

I just implemented a proper cache for unmatched socks this morning! I just got a dresser and dedicated one drawer to socks embedded in a plastic hexagon matrix, with an area on one side for unmatched socks awaiting the re-appearance of their mate on some future laundry day.

It is a slow process but it is very low energy.

I can't recommend this. I have already three drawers full of unmatched socks even though nominally they are only in four colours. The socke maker failed to exceed my quality expectations and delivers visibly discernible specimens of the same model in different batches. I'm currently evaluating makers with TQM or Seven Sigma as the ISO quality management is a total failure here.

Switching to higher quality socks that have whimsical patterns and are sold in pairs will definitely make for a better experience; matching socks is much easier when it’s a matter of “oh hey the other peacock sock finally showed up” than “these white socks I buy in bulk are actually made by different manufacturers for every batch and exhibit subtle distinctions that must be carefully examined”.