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May 03, 2023

18 Best Laundry Baskets, According to Cleaning Experts

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By Yolanda Wikiel

Doing laundry is a seemingly never-ending chore. Once you’ve finished one load, another heap of dirty clothes always magically appears in the hamper. It feels like we’re always sorting, washing or folding (yes, even during work Zoom calls). We’re all keen to make the task more manageable, whether that means a laundry room makeover or just a laundry basket that won't break your back and maybe even looks nice in your home.

There's a wide variety of laundry basket options out there, so we asked experienced cleaning experts and professional organizers for the ones that have served them well for years. The baskets are all thoughtfully designed and solidly practical, and come with unique features, so there's bound to be one to suit your exact needs.

$12 at Walmart

Houston-based professional organizer Samantha Davis often recommends this extra-tall Home Logic Lamper, which can hold up to 18 gallons, to her clients. She originally bought several for the sorting stage of her professional organizing business and fell in love. "It's thick, sturdy and won't crack or fall apart even with heavier items inside," she says. Because it comes in four colors, you can designate a different color for each family member to keep everyone's clothes separated.

$10 at Walmart

$12 at The Container Store

Sterilite was the breakout brand among our experts, with three entries on this list. And even this basic model was impressive. The contoured shape nestles against your hip or stomach without digging in, while the ergonomic handles won't pinch hands. "I keep a couple of these baskets in each guest room closet," says Mary Marlowe Leverette, a cleaning expert based in South Carolina. "When the guests leave, I use them to transport the dirty towels and sheets to the laundry room."

$30 at Amazon

$35 Save $5

"Gone are the days of bulky laundry baskets that stick out like sore thumbs and never seem to find a suitable place in our homes," says Memphis-based professional organizer Kendra Littlejohn, of this collapsible style. "For easy storage, this one folds flat when not in use, making it ideal for small spaces." You’ll only need a 3-inch wide slot to tuck this one away so it's a great backup or spare, too. And although designed to be compact, it can securely hold up to 35 pounds and is available in four colors.

$25 at The Container Store

This wheelie basket with a retractable handle can lighten the laundry load for anyone. "It was a total game-changer for me," says Samantha Davis, whose organizing business Think Outside the Closet specializes in helping people of all abilities including people dealing with chronic pain, an illness, or ADHD. She discovered this basket back in college when she was in a manual wheelchair. "It was nearly impossible to do laundry by myself until I discovered this gem," she says. She attached a rope to the lidded basket's handle to the back of her wheelchair, which enabled her to transport her laundry without fear of it toppling over or clothes falling out.

$40 at Amazon

$39 at Walmart

This hybrid laundry basket-hamper has three waterproof polyester bags so you can separate lights, brights and darks to save time on wash day, while the swivel casters (two equipped with brakes) allow you to breezily roll it from the bedroom to laundry room. "Many other laundry baskets in this style are made from cheap plastic and you’re constantly dealing with them falling apart," says Davis. "However, this one is sturdy and reliable." She purchased it for client with a bad back and ended up picking one up for herself too. It comes in five colors.

$49 at Amazon

$52 Save $3

$49 at Wayfair

$62 Save $13

When a workhorse essential is as easy on the eyes as this canvas-and-bamboo basket, it won't be a total eyesore if you don't get a chance to put your laundry away immediately. And when space is at a premium, this beauty folds down flat, so you can tuck it out of sight beside the washing machine. Cleaning expert Marlowe Leverette has been using two of these daily for the past four years, and while she notes that they are on the smaller side, they are sturdy and practical thanks to their water-resistant coating.

$19 at The Home Depot

$33 at Amazon

$38 Save $5

Versatility is what makes this shoulder-strapped bag shine. At 21 by 13 by 18.25 inches, it's spacious and can hold up to 55 pounds without being too unwieldy to lug around campus, plus it "keeps hands free," says professional organizer and mom of five Tanisha Lyons-Porter of Natural Born Organizers in Los Angeles. The soft-sided basket is structured with a rigid baseboard so it can stand open on its own and double as a hamper or to transport belongings on moving day. Yet it can then fold down to 1.5 inches thick to stow away. It's available in nine color combos as well as an option with a built-in divider.

$11 at Ikea

This no-holes basket can tasked with much more than laundry. "I’m a big fan of a laundry basket without holes because it makes it usable in so many other ways—as a dish tub, toy bin, even a doll bath in the summer for my kids," says Houston-based KC Davis, author of "How to Keep House While Drowning." The sleek plastic makes it a breeze to keep clean, and since it's flexible and soft, it hasn't cracked and is comfortable to carry on your hip, Davis adds. Becky Rapinchuk, the Chicago-area founder of Clean Mama, agrees: "I have four of them and have used them for everything from laundry to decluttering to hauling things to the car." The basket comes in three colors.

$22 at Amazon

$25 Save $3

$27 at The Home Depot

For people who dread navigating stairs with laundry, "a lightweight basket with strong handles is the perfect mix of features," says Wendy Silberstein, founder of The Aesthetic Organizer in Bedford, N.Y. The flexible tote-style design means you can hold it one-handed and have the other hand free to grasp a stair railing or open doors with ease. And because it's held alongside your body instead of in front, you’ll actually be able to see where you’re going in a twisty stairwell or dark basement.

$30+ at L.L. Bean

And the award for least conventional laundry basket goes to…the old reliable cotton canvas tote from L.L. Bean. Just how reliable can it be, you say? "I have been using the same one since 1994 and it still looks great," declares laundry guru Patric Richardson, whose show "The Laundry Guy" streams on Discovery+. Spring for the extra-large size so you can stuff it to max capacity (don't worry about breaking it; the handles have been tested to support 500 pounds). "I used to carry supplies to and from class in it and realized that it was the perfect thing to throw in my car and take to the laundromat," he says. "Soft-sided is the way to go: it's easy to carry and walk through doors, plus it fits in a trunk, and expands as you fill it and contracts when you don't need it." Comes in eight colors.

$90 at The Container Store

If you’re a person who likes to work with a few baskets, your laundry room gets cramped fast. That's when Silberstein reaches for these Sterlite baskets, which are "wonderful for going vertical in any horizontally challenged space." The genius lies within the handles, which flip inward so that another basket can stack on top of it and lock in place. Just flip them back outward to carry or to nest several empty ones within each other.

$17 at Amazon

$19 Save $2

Constructed of tear-resistant 600-denier oxford cloth that's waterproof and machine washable, this go-anywhere backpack is a favorite of Silberstein and KC Davis. "It allows you to hold up to 44 pounds, hands-free," says Silberstein. There's also an external pocket that's roomy enough to fit a bottle of detergent, plus a zippered interior pocket for coins or a phone. You can hang it up on the back of a door to collect dirty clothes, then on wash day, adjust the comfy shoulder straps to fit you just right. The backpack comes in 13 colors and patterns.

$16 at Amazon

This featherweight mesh basket transforms from 14 by 13 by 24 inches down to a flat 20-inch circle that can slide right into a carry-on. "No more stuffing dirty clothes in a suitcase for the return home," professional organizer Kendra Littlejohn says. "The pop-up basket doubles as a great hamper during a trip," and the handles make it easy to carry, she notes. The rectangular shape also contains folded towels nicely. The basket comes in three color combos.

$131 at Amazon

Admittedly, this isn't for everyone—after all, it's a commercial-grade cart like you’ll see in hotels. But if you have a large family and your laundry room is on the same floor as the bedrooms, consider laundry revolutionized (it supports up to 330 pounds, no problem!). "I love it because once a week I just go wheeling about the house and throw everyone's laundry in it in one go—I could put every article of clothing our family of four owns into it," says KC Davis, a licensed therapist and creator of StruggleCare.com and @DomesticBlisters, where she shares self- and home-care tips for people dealing with mental and physical health issues. Davis has a very similar one to this model, which is available in several different configurations and five colors.

$65 at Amazon

Not much free floor space? You can still reap the benefits of a wheeled sorter with this clever 58-inch-high double-decker. "These baskets are amazing and I cannot wait to use them in a client's space," says professional organizer Tanisha Lyons-Porter, who loves how space saving yet accessible the removable bags are—and each one is large enough to whole a load of laundry. Also comes in taupe/white.

$32 at Amazon

$27 at Walmart

$39 Save $12

"This lightweight laundry basket makes it so simple to go from floor to floor or room to room in your home," says Silberstein. The contoured shape fits just right into the curve of your hip and the easy-grip handles make for an overall comfortable design. It also comes in XL size. It's similar in size to the other hip hugger style and good for fans of Rubbermaid products.

$27 at Amazon

Here's another collapsible laundry basket that's also a go-to of several of our experts. It's similar to our other pick, but because it's free of holes, you can use it to soak hand-wash-only items or even fill it with ice to chill drinks at a party. It folds down accordion style from 10.5 inches to 3.5 inches (almost as slim as the Brookstone model) so you can slide it under a bed when not in use, like cleaning pro Rapinchuk does. It comes in eight colors.

$80 at Amazon

$130 Save $50

If you find yourself overwhelmed by mountains of clothes on wash day, "this rolling laundry basket makes sorting a little bit easier, thanks to designated spots for whites, darks, brights, and delicates," says Rapinchuk. Designed with four-way swivel wheels (two with brakes), this cart can nimbly cruise narrow hallways and tight corners.

How can you tell the difference between a laundry basket and a hamper? Most experts agree that there is some crossover. But for the most part, a hamper is for the collection of dirty items and usually lives in the bedroom, bathroom, or closet. Meanwhile a laundry basket is for the actual act of doing laundry: transferring clothes and linens to and from the washer and dryer. Unlike a hamper, functionality, not aesthetics, should be the main determining factor when buying a laundry basket.

The experts we spoke with don't recommend woven styles made of wood, rattan, hyacinth and the like because delicate fabrics are more likely to get caught and snag on their rough textures. (If you prefer a basket made of one of those materials, make sure it has a fabric lining that's ideally removable and washable.) Plastic, on the other hand, is smooth and will be the easiest to keep clean and sanitized. Shape is another important feature to consider. Rectangular or elongated oval designs are most spacious. Generally, a round basket will limit the amount you can fit inside—it may only accommodate a single stack of folded towels (and awkwardly at that).

Of all the aspects to keep in mind when choosing a laundry basket, one of the most important to consider is your space, says Lyons-Porter. "Think about where it will be stored and what its purpose will be." Do you have a dedicated zone for laundry or will it have to squeeze into a common area? Do you need something portable to transport to a laundromat or that can navigate narrow hallways? Do you have mobility issues and need a basket that's lightweight and accessible? "One of the biggest challenges I’ve noticed as a professional organizer is most people do not have a laundry basket to support the quantity of clothing they have which also contributes to clutter in the home," notes Lyons-Porter.