When you purchase a new laundry basket, don’t toss away your old one. You can continue using it for other laundry, or you can use it in a new, creative way. It can store your dry cleaning for your next trip to residential laundry services. It can be temporary storage for folded laundry that needs to be put away in a closet or wardrobe.
Hamper for family laundry
Instead of tossing out your laundry basket, convert it into a basket for your household. Have everybody put their dirty bath towels or used socks inside, so you can wash them in one load. This makes it faster to gather enough of the same clothing article for a full laundry load. You could also have your household fold away their dry-clean only clothes in the basket, so you can send it to dry cleaning services in one go. You can also use your basket as a part of your pillow care routine. When a down pillow is ready for cleaning, you can stack it inside.
Recycling bins or waste baskets
Depending on the material of your laundry basket, you could give it a second life by transforming it into a paper or waste bin. Baskets that are made of thicker materials, like plastic, seagrass, or wood, can support waste liners. Simply treat them as any other trash bin and pop in a plastic liner of the appropriate size. For baskets of softer or more flexible materials, such as polyester mesh or cotton, you can use them for collecting unsoiled recyclables (e.g. paper and cardboard containers).
Blanket storage
Is your supply closet overflowing with folded blankets? Do you struggle pulling out specific blankets without triggering an avalanche of blankets and whatever else is squeezed inside? Free up your closet space by turning old laundry baskets into blanket storage. Stack the blankets you frequently use in the basket, so it’ll be outside of the closet and ready for easy access throughout the day. Take the basket to the living room during sleepovers or movie nights, so everyone can quickly grab a blanket for warmth.
Wet shoe and umbrella storage
A plastic laundry basket, or a sturdy one that can support a plastic liner, is perfect for storing wet items that will be reused. During rainy seasons, fit a shoe rack inside the basket if there’s space, or lay out wet shoes in a row. If the basket is too narrow for shoe storage, use it to store wet umbrellas. When the rain lets up, you can convert the basket into one of the three above suggestions, or find another creative use.
