Why I'm Ditching the Traditional Laundry Basket for a Laundry Tote

Did you know that the average family does 8-10 loads of laundry per week? Based on my calculations, laundry is the chore that takes up the most time in a home. And if you have a baby or a kid in sports, it’s even worse. So any improvement to the laundry process is going to be worth it. Which is why I’m always talking about laundry. And today is no exception, because I want to discuss a revelation I had about laundry baskets.

My Current Laundry System

Earlier this year, I wrote about my one-day-a-week laundry system. Funny story, I’ve actually switched up my system yet again since I wrote that post. I still stand by that system, and I think it’s a good one for the winter or seasons where we’re staying in the home more often. But during the summer, I found myself craving something different that would not chain me to my house so much, so I pivoted to a one-load-a-day system.

In my one-load-a-day system, I take advantage of habit-stacking:

Start the laundry with breakfast.
Switch the laundry with lunch.
Fold and put away the laundry at the kids’ bedtimes. (And when possible, do it together with them.)

These three times of the day are very consistent for us. They happen every day, and around the same time. Breakfast usually entails walking from upstairs to downstairs (which is where our laundry is), so I just need to remember to bring the laundry basket with me every morning. And then the kids’ bedtimes are the opposite—from downstairs to upstairs. As long as I can remember the carry the laundry load each time, there should be no additional trips up and down the stairs for laundry. And the more I form this habit, the easier it is to remember.

Involving the kids is also my first step towards teaching them. My kids are 1 and 3, so there’s a lot more “modeling” than anything else at this point in time. But I know I’m laying the foundation. And occasionally I get a good sock-matcher out of my 3-year-old… 🙂

Let’s Talk About Laundry Baskets

Regardless of which laundry system I’m doing, one problem remains the same: carrying the laundry basket up and down the stairs. Sometimes it’s no big deal, because I don’t have anything else I’m carrying. But more often than not, I also have a water bottle or a laptop or a baby in my hands. And then I have to take another trip up and down the stairs to grab the laundry basket.

Once I analyzed this, I realized that the root cause of this issue is that I have a traditional laundry basket. It’s hard-sided it requires two hands to carry. While there are certainly some pros to a hard-sided laundry basket, it’s simply not working for me in this baby-carrying season of life.

I want a laundry basket that I can carry with one hand… Enter: the laundry tote. Or at least that’s what I’m calling it. A laundry tote, according to my definition, is any basket or bag that can be used for laundry, has handles or straps, and is soft-sided enough to be carried with one hand.

I already own at least one laundry tote, and I can confirm its superiority. So now I’m on the look-out for more. Here’s a round-up of my top contenders: