How to Turn Any Basket into a Laundry Basket & How to Pick the Perfect One

If you have ever spent an exorbitant amount of time wondering why is it so hard to find cute laundry baskets that don’t cost an arm and a leg, this post is for you. I was so sick of our ugly plastic hamper taking up precious space in our small bathroom, it was time for a change. I just had no idea sticking the tag ‘woven hamper’ onto a basket would make prices jump $80+.

And so, like every shopping dilemma, my problem (& solution) became a blog post. To make your favorite, affordable basket into a hygge laundry hamper, you’ll need… a heavy duty laundry bag! Earth shattering, I know. But I sincerely forgot these were an option until I was looking at alternatives for the $100 Anthropologie picks and didn’t want my clothes snagging on basket weave.

I love these inserts for their DIY potential- I’ll probably switch out the nylon cord for leather or cotton cord and dye the bag for more contrast later on. Or if you have a solo, extra large pillowcase floating around in your linens, sew in a drawstring, and BAM! Perfect hamper insert!

How to Pick the Perfect Laundry Basket

Some baskets work better than others for hampers, something I didn’t think much about until I was looking for ‘the one’. I definitely was the weirdo in Target hauling baskets to the towel section for testing, (I folded them all back!) but to save you the same fate, here are some quick tips.

Low or No Handles

Handles that stick over the lip of the basket will get in the way of the laundry insert fitting tightly. Go for handles that are cutouts in the basket sides or handles that pull away from the basket lip.

Tight Weave

The tighter and stronger the weave, the more towels your basket can take. A galvanized metal basket is going to be the strongest, while a sewn rope basket is going to flop everywhere and lose its shape. Some woven baskets come with interior reinforcements for display- keep those in!

If your laundry basket will be in your bathroom, I highly suggest getting a synthetic fiber or sealed metal weave. The constant humidity over the past year has been weakening the shape of our natural fiber basket, so into the closet it lives now.

Size

If you’re shopping online for baskets and don’t know what size to look for, compare product dimensions with other laundry baskets. A good starting point is 18-20″ tall for standard hampers.

Bushels & Bunches of Baskets

A lot of places have New Years organization sales, so now is the time to shop! My favorite places for affordable baskets are:

World Market

Target

Home Goods/Marshalls

Thirft Stores

Where are your favorite places to find woven baskets?

 

(he’s just helping test durability 😉 )