The Ingenious $40 Organizing Find I Use for Everything (Including Hand-Washing Clothes!)
I dread laundry day for multiple reasons. First, I don’t have a washer and dryer in my building, so I have to haul a heavy load down two flights of stairs and a couple of blocks to the laundromat. Secondly, I’m a chronic thrifter, and for some reason, I always end up buying items that are hand-wash only. You’d think I’d have learned my lesson by now, but I can’t help myself. Usually, I risk using the delicate cycle, but I don’t fully trust the run-down machines in my laundromat.
That’s where my collapsible buckets come in. This set from QVC has been a lifesaver for washing all of my clothes by hand, and until laundry day arrives, they take up hardly any space under my bed. There are also several other purposes they can serve — you can turn one into a grocery or picnic basket, for instance — which makes the $40 price a total steal. Here’s why you should grab this versatile set, especially before summer arrives.
Campanelli Set of 2 Multi-Purpose Collapsible Baskets
What is the Campanelli Set of 2 Multi-Purpose Collapsible Baskets?
What you see is what you get with these buckets, but that doesn’t detract from their usefulness. The smaller bin has a nearly four-gallon capacity and the bigger one’s is a little over five gallons. Despite their spaciousness, when they’re folded down, they’re only a few inches thick. There are foldable handles on either side that make transporting them a breeze, and the plastic and silicone construction is thick and leak-proof, so it’s completely reliable for hand-washing clothes or mopping your floors.
Why I Love the Campanelli Collapsible Baskets
The smaller collapsible bin sits at the perfect height for under-bed storage. Currently, it holds three sets of sheets, though it could probably fit more if I bothered to fold them more carefully. (I imagine you could use one to store cleaning supplies under the sink, too, but I digress.) It does take a little bit of force to expand them from their collapsed state.
As much as I hate the tiresome process of cleaning clothes by hand, these baskets make it as painless as it can be. I only use the larger one for laundry, because I found the full depth perfect for the size of my sink; I placed the basket under the faucet while it filled halfway with water. Thanks to the handles, shuffling it from the sink to the hallway afterward wasn’t too difficult, and I could soak a couple of garments in it at the same time. The high walls even prevented splashing as I swished them around.
All in all, these baskets resulted in the smoothest laundry day I’ve had, and I got an extra storage bin out of it, to boot.
Buy: Campanelli Set of 2 Multi-Purpose Collapsible Baskets, $39.96
