The Best Laundry Baskets and Hampers

Ultimately, we landed on the six most durable, breathable, washable, and portable options to make doing endless loads of laundry as stress-free and straightforward as possible.

A laundry basket or hamper can bring order to a mountain of dirty clothing and make you feel ready to take on not only laundry day, but the chaos of daily life in general.

This sturdy laundry backpack has padded, adjustable straps to comfortably fit many body types, and it holds more than an extra-large load of laundry.

This petite steel basket isn’t cheap, but its minimalist design is great for leaving out on display and for those who run small (or frequent) loads of laundry.

This well-ventilated hamper has a lid to keep the mess out of sight but offers the portability of a basket.

Three reinforced cloth compartments make it simple to sort laundry by type, while the wheels are great for people who need to scoot, rather than lift, heavy loads.

This affordable, reliable plastic curved basket holds more than a large load of laundry, cleans like a dream, and is a favorite among those who prefer a curved “hip hold” model.

The plastic Sterilite Stacking Laundry Basket has been loved by Wirecutter staff since 2017. It can carry 1.5 bushels/53 liters, which is well over an extra-large (around 21 pounds) load of laundry, has excellent ventilation, and cleans up as good as new when wiped down with a wet cloth. The flexible, extended handles make it easier to grip a fully packed basket, thereby minimizing trips to the washing machine on laundry day.

With three sturdy handles and a curved rim on one side, the plastic Sterilite 1.25 Bushel Ultra HipHold Laundry Basket gives you two options for holding it. The curve makes it comfortable to prop the laundry’s weight on your hip—an arrangement that makes carrying a fully loaded basket (44 liters, or about 21 pounds for an extra-large load) up flights of stairs less of a chore.

If you have more room, or a dedicated space for laundry, and want to pre-sort your items, the Honey-Can-Do SRT-01235 Heavy-Duty Triple Laundry Sorter is the pick for you. The sturdy metal frame on wheels holds three removable polyester-cotton cloth laundry bags on metal rods, and they can be lifted out with ease for loading the contents straight into a washer. Each bag can hold about a large (11 pound-ish) load of laundry, for a total of over 30 pounds. While not huge, this sorter is not the most compact of our picks, so if you don’t have a ton of space or have no need to sort and wheel your laundry, you may be better off with a single hamper or basket.

While hampers may be able to transport laundry like a basket, they are usually taller and meant for tossing your clothes away and out of sight during the week. The woven-style plastic, lidded Mind Reader 50 Liter Laundry Hamper can hold about an extra-large load of laundry or 21 pounds (similar to our basket picks) and is virtually indestructible. We were able to tote it to the laundry room easily enough using the two sturdy, built-in handles on the sides, but the tall shape could make it a little harder to maneuver.

The moveable handles on the powder-coated white Yamazaki Tosca Steel Wire Laundry Basket in Large easily loop over the crook of the elbow for hands-free schlepping of a compact load of laundry. This basket is also good for those living in small spaces who want a laundry basket that can hold produce, mail, or diapers too. It’s the smallest of our picks, with a capacity of 33 liters (about 8.8 pounds), which is about a medium load of laundry. Unlike our plastic picks, it doesn’t have a solid bottom, so it wouldn’t be ideal for toting dripping-wet laundry.

The washable Azhido Laundry Backpack Bag easily stows 115 liters, which is about two extra-large loads of even the bulkiest laundry items—plus, it has a front Velcro-secured pocket for stowing detergent and dryer sheets. The padded straps can be adjusted to make it comfortable for college students or city dwellers to walk long distances to a laundromat, with their hands free to grip stair railings or push a stroller.