Following complex directions

One area where I think we have actually backslid is following complex directions. Witness a conversation of this morning:

Firstborn: Mom? Is this a school day?
Mom: Yes, it is. And there are clean clothes in the basket here (pointing to the basket of folded clothes).
Firstborn returns to his room and then comes back to mom's room again.
I don't have any underwear, socks or shirts.
Mom: They're in the basket, here. (pointing again to the basket.) And there are socks in the basket in the livingroom.

Later, that day, DH says to me: Firstborn has no socks. I walk into the livingroom and take a pair of socks out of the basket that is sitting practically next to him, hand them to him and say:
Socks. In the basket I told you they were in.
Firstborn: Oh. Laughing. I guess I didn't hear.

Now, it was my plan to give him complex directions as often as I could think of them this summer to work on this skill. However, it seems like every interaction with him was difficult and required much reminding.

So, I guess we are not making much headway in complex verbal directions. We'll keep an eye on this.