Storing & hiding laundry baskets

No utility room, no airing cupboard, and a hallway you have to walk down carrying everything. This is the problem most flats have.

The conflict

A laundry basket needs to be two contradictory things.

It has to be where clothes come off, or it gets bypassed and the floor becomes the basket. And it has to be out of sight, because a basket of washing is not something anybody wants as a feature.

Most people solve this by moving the basket somewhere tidy, which fails, because the clothes then stay where they were taken off.

The better answer is to keep it where it needs to be and hide it in place.

Where it needs to be

Wherever clothes are removed. In most homes that is the bedroom, sometimes the bathroom, occasionally both.

Two smaller baskets in the two rooms where clothes come off beats one large one in the room where the machine is. You can consolidate on wash day; you cannot make people walk.

The laundry baskets guide covers choosing them.

Hiding it in place

Inside a wardrobe base. The best option if you have the space. Most wardrobes have unused floor beneath hanging clothes, and a basket there is completely invisible with the door shut.

Under a shelf or in an alcove. A basket tucked under something reads as part of the furniture rather than as laundry.

Behind the bedroom door. Dead space in every room, and the door hides it whenever it is open.

Beside a chest of drawers, in the gap that usually collects dust.

The trick in all of these is that the basket does not move - only its visibility changes.

Airflow is the catch

Hiding a laundry basket well can create the problem you were avoiding.

Damp washing needs air. Sealed into a wardrobe that opens twice a day, a full basket of washing will make the whole wardrobe smell, and that transfers to clean clothes hanging above it.

Two mitigations. Use a mesh or open-weave basket so air can move even in a confined space - a mesh basket is designed for this. And never put anything genuinely wet in; hang wet towels first.

If a wardrobe has no ventilation at all, choose a different hiding place.

Baskets that fold away

The other approach: do not hide it, remove it.

A pop-up basket collapses to almost nothing, so it can live flat behind a door or under a bed between wash days and come out when needed.

This suits homes where laundry is done on a fixed day rather than continuously. It suits families less, because the basket needs to exist all the time.

A pop-up hamper is the middle ground - it stands up in use and folds when it does not.

Making it look deliberate instead

Sometimes hiding is not possible, and then the answer is to make it look chosen.

A basket that matches the room's other storage reads as furniture. One that obviously came from a supermarket reads as laundry. Same function, completely different effect.

Neutral colours, a lid if the room airs well, and a shape that suits the room - grey baskets disappear into most bedrooms, and the styling guide covers matching.

The clean washing problem

Half of laundry mess is clean, not dirty, and almost nobody plans for it.

Clean washing waiting to be put away lives on a chair, a bed or in the machine, and it looks worse than the dirty basket ever did.

A second basket for clean, folded clothes solves it - a tote works well since it moves easily between rooms. Keep the two obviously different so nobody mixes them up.

Small bathrooms

If the basket must live in a bathroom, keep it off the floor where possible and choose something that copes with damp - plastic or mesh rather than woven.

Over-door options are worth considering, since bathroom floor space is the scarcest in the house - the bathroom guide covers vertical options.

Households with several people

Sorting fails in shared houses more than anywhere, because it relies on everybody using the same system.

What works better is one basket per person rather than one per colour. Each person's washing stays together, nobody has to make a decision about somebody else's clothes, and whoever is doing a load takes their own.

It uses more floor space, so it suits a landing or a utility area rather than a bathroom.

Airing cupboards

If you have one, it is the best place in the house for clean laundry and the worst for dirty.

The warmth that airs clean linen also accelerates everything unpleasant about damp washing, so keep the dirty basket out of it however convenient it looks - wardrobe boxes suit the clean side.

Slatted shelves matter here, because airflow is the whole function of the cupboard.

Browse laundry baskets, wardrobe storage and the full range, with more in the laundry and wardrobe guide.

The short version

• Keep the basket where clothes come off and hide it in place rather than moving it.
• Wardrobe bases, alcoves and the space behind a door are the best hiding spots.
• Anything hidden still needs airflow, or the smell transfers to clean clothes nearby.
• Pop-up baskets fold away entirely, which suits fixed wash days more than families.
• Half of laundry mess is clean washing - a second basket for it solves more than you expect.

Frequently asked questions

Where should a laundry basket go in a flat?

Wherever clothes actually come off, usually the bedroom or bathroom. Two smaller baskets in the two rooms where clothes are removed beats one large basket in the room with the machine, because people will not walk to it.

How can I hide a laundry basket?

Inside a wardrobe base, under a shelf or in an alcove, behind the bedroom door, or in the gap beside a chest of drawers. The point is that the basket does not move - only its visibility changes.

Is it bad to keep a laundry basket in a wardrobe?

Only if there is no airflow. Damp washing sealed into a wardrobe that opens twice a day will make the whole wardrobe smell, and that transfers to clean clothes. Use a mesh basket and never put anything genuinely wet in.

Are folding laundry baskets worth it?

If you do laundry on a fixed day rather than continuously, yes - a pop-up basket collapses to almost nothing and lives flat behind a door between washes. It suits families less, since the basket needs to exist all the time.

What do I do with clean washing waiting to be put away?

Give it its own basket. Clean laundry on a chair or in the machine looks worse than the dirty basket ever did, and a second container for folded clothes solves more daily mess than the dirty one does.