A laundry basket is one of those household objects that you might not notice until something goes awry. Depending on the layout of your home and your laundry situation, you might use it to transfer clothes from room to room, up and down multiple flights of stairs, or just to collect items for the wash in one location.
But if you have a bad laundry basket – one that buckles under the weight of a full load of laundry or makes the task of transferring folded clothes more cumbersome than it has to be – you start noticing fast. Nothing makes the task of getting laundry done less pleasant than fighting with the container that’s supposed to be helping you.
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At a glance
Best overall:
Sterilite Ultra 2 Bushel Basket
Best collapsible laundry basket:
Sammart Collapsible Laundry Basket
Best rolling laundry basket/best non-plastic basket:
Yamazaki Tosca Slim Rolling Basket
Best portable laundry basket:
Ikea Frakta Bag
If you want a larger rolling basket:
Steele Canvas Small Truck
If you want a more elegant portable laundry basket:
CleverMade Collapsible Fabric Laundry Basket
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Why you should trust me
I’m a longtime product reviewer of kitchen and home items. And as the mother of an eight-month-old who lives in a Philadelphia rowhome, I do a truly astounding amount of laundry. Our washer and dryer, located on the second floor, are almost always working away to deal with the day’s output of burp cloths, onesies, sheets, towels and, oh yeah, my own clothes, too. Trust me when I say I have become very invested in laundry baskets.
How I tested 10 laundry baskets
After researching the many, many options of laundry baskets for sale, I picked 10 to put through their paces.
I used each of them for two days’ worth of laundry in my house, which meant holding and transferring at least two basket-fulls from around the house to our laundry room and back. I walked, rolled, carried and otherwise coaxed them up and down three sets of stairs, and noted where there were design flaws or other difficulties that hindered my progress.
To keep things fair in case some loads were lighter than others, I also did my stair walk with a bowling ball weighing 11lbs (what my washer counts as an “average” load) in each of the baskets.
I also walked every basket, again with the bowling ball, around my block in West Philadelphia, to stress test them on a slightly longer journey – and simulate what it might be like to take these baskets to a laundromat
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Best overall laundry basket:
Sterilite Ultra 2 Bushel Basket
$13.99 at Ace Hardware $21.99 at Amazon Why we love it: The Sterilite Stacking laundry Basket is a workhorse of a laundry basket. With its white plastic exterior and ventilated sides, it looks pretty similar to the cheap laundry baskets I was using before I started testing baskets. But the construction of the Sterilite Ultra is more heavy-duty, with thicker plastic sides and grips on the handles of the basket that prevent the edges from cutting into your hands when wrestling a heavy basket up and down the stairs. After my stress tests, it showed no sign of cracking, splitting or splintering, like some baskets I’ve owned. It’s also got a smooth interior, which makes wiping it down easy, and the vents don’t have raised edges that snag on more delicate clothes inside. The two-bushel capacity was also just roomy enough without taking up a lot of extra space in my laundry room, able to fit an entire comforter or a load of towels with ease.
It’s a shame that … With its blocky plastic exterior, the Sterilite is not the most aesthetically pleasing choice. It’s also bulky enough that I didn’t have room for more than one of these.
Material: Plastic
Capacity: 2 bushels (about 71 liters)
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Best collapsible laundry basket:
Sammart Collapsible Laundry Basket
$28.40 at Amazon $28.40 at Walmart Why we love it: If you live in a smaller space, a full-sized laundry basket is difficult to store easily. That’s where this collapsible basket comes in. When folded, it’s the size of a small card tabletop, and about 3in thick, making it perfect for an apartment, dorm room or any other cosy space. Once popped out to its full dimensions – one medium to large load of laundry can fit comfortably – it’s surprisingly sturdy. The sides have less ventilation than a standard basket, but that’s a small sacrifice to make for a basket that you can so easily compress down.
It’s a shame that … Though the Sammart comes in a couple color options like blue, pink, teal, and green, it has the same plasticky, functional aesthetic of a typical laundry basket. And while popping it out and back in isn’t too difficult, it does require two hands and a bit of effort. It’s difficult to carry for long distances while fully loaded with laundry. It’s also smaller than my top pick.
Material: Plastic, rubber
Capacity: 42 liters
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Best rolling laundry basket/best non-plastic basket:
Yamazaki Tosca Slim Rolling Basket
$145 at Amazon $145 at Williams Sonoma Why we love it: Of all the baskets I tested, this Yamazaki number is the most pleasing to look at. Unlike our other picks, it’s tall and deep, rather than squat and short, which means that it tucks nicely into the corner of a room. It’s made of steel with a wooden handle, and it looks just a little chic, even when it’s full of dirty towels. And not only does it look good, it’s functional. The wheels on the bottom are also steel, and did fairly well on my trip around the block, even though I wouldn’t say they’re designed for off-roading. For moving laundry around one floor of a house, this is a sleek and solid option.
It’s a shame that … The basket itself fits 14.5 gallons, or roughly 55 liters, a lot smaller than the Sterilite. This was enough for a full sheet set, but not a full sheet set plus a comforter. It encouraged me to do my laundry more often, since it only fits about five days of dirty clothes rather than a week or more’s worth. The wires are powder-coated, so they’re not likely to catch on most clothing, but you might need to be careful with extra delicate items that could snag, such as silk. It’s also awkward to carry up and down stairs. Finally, beauty comes at a price – it’s on the more expensive side.
Material: Steel, Wood
Capacity: 55 liters
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Best portable laundry basket:
Ikea Frakta Bag
$0.99 at Ikea Why we love it: I tested several fancy portable options for laundry baskets, including a stair-climbing rolling cart, a backpack and a collapsible laundry tote. But when it came down to brass tacks, none of them did a better job than that $0.99 bag you can grab at the checkout at Ikea. Yes, the Frakta bag has a certain college-kid vibe to it. But if you’re not fussy about how it looks, it can carry up to 50lbs, which is a huge amount of laundry, and can also fold down into a small fabric square for easy storage.
It’s a shame that … Frakta bags, though hard-working, will tear and fray after enough use, as I learned after toting a bowling ball around in one. They’re also more prone to spill laundry out of the sides than a proper basket, and it’s an inelegant option for use as a freestanding hamper. And they’re hard on the neck and shoulder if you’re constantly carrying heavy loads in them.
Material: Plastic/Fabric
Size: About 71 liters
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The best of the rest
If you want a larger rolling basket:
Steele Canvas Small Truck
$139.99 at The Container Store $154.95 at Steele If you’re looking for a more industrial-looking solution for laundry, Steele rolling trucks are an excellent option. They reminded me of the baskets we had in the basement laundry room of my old building in Brooklyn – durable, functional and handy if you’re bringing laundry up and down in an elevator. It also rolls really well: it aced the sidewalk test and the bowling ball test.
It didn’t make the final cut because: Unfortunately, the minute you have stairs to contend with, it’s a pain. Whereas the Yamazaki’s shape allows you to pick it up, the Steele truck is harder to get a grip on.
If you want a more elegant portable laundry basket:
CleverMade Collapsible Fabric Laundry Basket
$44.99 for pack of 2 at CleverMade $44.99 for pack of 2 at Amazon This laundry basket is constructed like a giant tote bag, with a structured bottom that allows the basket to more easily stand upright when you’re filling it with clothing. And it functions much the way a giant tote bag does, allowing you to sling it over your shoulder and carry it without any fuss.
It didn’t make the final cut because: The Ikea Frakta, which sells for $0.99, is a vastly less expensive option.
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What else to know about laundry baskets
Are laundry baskets recyclable?
Whether you can recycle your laundry basket hinges on what material the basket is made of and the particulars of the recycling program near you. Cloth laundry baskets are usually not recyclable. Plastic laundry baskets can be, depending on the type of plastic. Several recycling programs I researched, including ones in San Jose, California and in Monmouth, Maine, accept plastic laundry baskets as part of regular residential recycling pick-up. Other cities require you to drop off the basket at a recycling center, since it’s a bulkier item. It’s worth researching the recycling program where you live to find out the particulars.
How big is a standard laundry basket?
Laundry baskets vary widely in size and shape, but the typical US laundry basket is built to hold 1.5 to 2 bushels of laundry. This translates to about 24in long, 11in high, and 17in wide, or enough for one or two standard loads of laundry.
How many laundry baskets do I need?
The number of baskets you need depends on your household needs and size. If you live by yourself and wash your clothes frequently, one basket could be perfectly sufficient. If you have multiple people in your household, or you prefer to sort your clothes into light and dark, or other categories for the wash, having multiple baskets could be helpful. For my family of three, I have four different baskets, because I like to use them to sort and transport laundry to different rooms – and I don’t have to be too efficient about folding and putting away laundry, one of my more dreaded tasks.
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Margaret Eby is a writer and editor with more than 15 years of experience writing in the kitchen and lifestyle space. She has tested pillows, coffee grinders, kitchen garbage cans, and too many spatulas to count. Her most recent book, You Gotta Eat, is a cookbook for when you have no energy to cook
