Some days I have a cup of hot green tea in the morning, some days a cup of coffee. One thing I insist on is that it is hot.

I mean hot! I like it hot from the get go, and I don’t like to reheat it over & over in the microwave. Have you ever noticed that the quality of the beverage seems to decline with every reheat in the microwave?

I have a ceramic reusable cup with a silicone lid but my one complaint is that it does not keep any beverages warm enough for me. I have a stainless steel mug with a lid but I can’t microwave it!

I wanted to go online and order one of those cute, green, reusable coffee sleeves, but was having trouble justifying the cost of it, as well as shipping it to me.

Then – inspiration struck! Bear with me as I explain.

I love my SmartWool socks in the winter. My feet get cold easily and SmartWool keeps them toasty toasty.  A pair lasts me two winters before I always get a hole in the right sock! I have about three pairs of them. Being a frugal mommy when I can (and because a pair of SmartWool socks runs me about $17!) I always save the left sock for when the right sock of another pair gets a hole in them and – voila! Another pair of SmartWools! (I usually always buy the same colors, year in, year out)

I had one with a hole in it and was about to toss it when I looked at it and realized if it can keep my feet toasty it can keep my drink warm too!

So I cut off the foot portion of the sock and the ankle part is now the perfect sleeve that envelopes my entire cup. It is stretchy so it fits many size cups. It covers more of the cup than a regular coffee cup sleeve, keeping it hotter longer. It keeps my drink warm and protects my fingers, since the ceramic usable mug can get really hot to the touch. That is probably why my coffee would get so cold so quickly, because the ceramic transfers the heat out quickly.

I’m going to have to sew the cut end of the sleeve, I can tell, to keep it from unraveling, but that’s no big deal. You mommies with a sewing machine, that would take you about a minute or two, right?

You have some thick socks no longer good for wearing, you can now turn them into your coffee cup sleeve. You can cut them to be just about any cup size you need! Now there’s a green idea.

Yes I washed my socks before turning them into the Live Green Mom coffee cup sleeve!