The 13 Very Best Laundry Hampers and Baskets

Material: Plastic | Size: 9.65” x 22.64” x 14.76” and 24.6” x 14.8” x 22.6” | Design: Graphic lines, stackable

Danish design studio Hay has a respected reputation among current and former Strategist staffers, with a number of entries in our covetable Home Catalogue; in particular, the company’s toaster, storage bin, lamp, and tube light are longtime Strat favorites. Its laundry basket has the clean lines the Scandinavian maker is known for — in a traditional gridded pattern — and comes in pastel baby blue and yellow, as well as utilitarian green and gray. The basket is “one of the most beautiful” versions Tanner has seen on the hamper scene. Those who spring for both sizes can stack the small ($30) on the large ($50); it nests right into the top like a set of kitchen mixing bowls.

I recently tested the small and large as a pair and found that even when they’re full and you’re hauling them up and down stairs, they are easy to carry as a duo without spilling anything from the top. The rectangular openings on both baskets align and function as handles when the two sizes are nested — this helps balance the heaviness of a week’s worth of clothes. (I didn’t feel dragged down while en route to my washer in the basement.) The smallest can handle lesser loads or separate delicates or whites; I used it to hold drying sheets and a bottle of detergent instead. The baskets themselves are light on their own — so moving them from one corner to another isn’t a task — but the more laundry, the harder they are to carry. If a basket’s too full, you could end up with a rogue sock slipping through a slot.