Who this is for
Laundry piles up fast. In fact, the average American household tumbles through 300 loads per year. Whether you’re a freshman in college handling your own laundry for the first time, a city dweller in a walkup apartment with a coin-operated basement laundry room, or a family of four in the suburbs with a dedicated laundry room of your own, you’re going to need a basket or hamper (and maybe even several of them) to get it done.
Baskets and hampers are essential for storing dirty laundry before loading it into the washing machine and then transporting stacks of folded laundry back to your closet afterwards. You’ll probably use your laundry basket or hamper multiple times per day.
Baskets vs. hampers
While it’s true that baskets and hampers can do the same tasks, they differ in shape and intended function. Baskets are open on top and usually wider than tall, and they are intended for transporting laundry from one place to another. Hampers, on the other hand, tend to live in closets and bedrooms and are meant to collect your dirty laundry day-to-day. They are also usually taller, with a smaller footprint than baskets, and can sometimes have lids.
You may choose to buy a hamper if you do laundry only once a week (or even less frequently) and want to “hide” it under a lid. The best hampers offer some form of breathable ventilation but still mask the sight and lingering scent of sweaty workout clothes. With a wider variety of textures and materials available, they also tend to be more attractive than baskets and can complement, rather than detract, from décor if left out in a bathroom or bedroom.
And for some folks, the right answer might be to purchase multiple baskets and hampers—and maybe even a laundry sorter on wheels for separating out a baby’s laundry, work or school uniforms, or items by color. For example, a larger household might want an individual basket for each person so that kids, grownups, or roommates can easily carry their own laundry to the washing machine and then bring a clean, folded pile back to their rooms. Those using a laundromat or shared laundry room in a dorm or apartment building might opt for a hamper at home and a laundry backpack or a pop-up hamper to transport laundry and to transfer multiple loads between machines without dropping clean items on a dirty floor. 
