This Best List-Winning Hamper Easily Corrals All My Laundry Without Taking Up Lots of Space in My Small NYC Apartment

Written by

Nikol SlatinskaCommerce Shopping Writer at Apartment Therapy
Nikol SlatinskaCommerce Shopping Writer at Apartment Therapy
I write home shopping content for Apartment Therapy. My job entails product testing and reviewing, as well as writing serviceable shopping guides for furniture and home decor. I received my undergraduate journalism degree at the University of Missouri and wrote for local publications in my college town.
published Mar 2, 2023
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Before I moved out on my own, I had my own little laundry basket in my parents’ house. I was fortunate enough to have a washer and dryer just a few steps from my bedroom, so I didn’t need anything too substantial. If my basket became full (which it frequently did), I just had to walk downstairs to empty it and wash the load. But now that I’m living the big city life, in-unit laundry is a luxury I no longer have access to. The nearest laundromat is almost half a mile away, and there’s no way I’m making that trip on a regular basis. As a result, I quickly realized I needed a sturdy hamper that could hold a lot in between my now biweekly laundry days. It just so happened that I got to try The Container Store’s Poppin Laundry Hamper almost immediately after I moved. Call it a stroke of luck!

This hamper’s tall rectangular design is simple but ultra-convenient. I can easily slide it between furniture because it’s narrow, but it also extends back nearly 20 inches, which gives it that large holding capacity. Although this hamper is heavy-duty, it sports a soft fabric exterior that comes in six neutral colors. It collapses whenever you’re not using it, but I like keeping the hamper upright and storing dirty linens inside until it’s time to clean them. In fact, I really love that the basket comes with its own flat lid; right now, I have it situated next to my desk and often use that surface as a makeshift shelf.

Credit: Nikol Slatinska

Another feature I enjoy is the hamper’s removable canvas liner, which is washable, itself. It has drawstrings, so I can just pull it out, cinch it shut, and carry it directly to the laundromat without having to transfer everything into a new container. If the bag is full, you might feel more comfortable carrying the load in a backpack or rolling cart. But I don’t have one of those yet (at least not one that’s big enough for this purpose), so I’m happy that I have the liner for now.

Of course, it goes without saying that the Poppin hamper looks great, too. Unlike a lot of plastic laundry baskets I’ve seen, this one is much more refined, plus it doesn’t stick out obtrusively amid other furniture and decor. Regardless of whether or not you live in a small space or have in-unit laundry, you’re bound to get plenty of use out of this roomy hamper — you can take my word for that.