Comments on: A Tale of Two Plastic Laundry Baskets

By: Sherry

Sherry — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 17:32:47 +0000

Ellen and Beth, those are clever fixes to common problems! Great reuse!

I have had a wicker clothes basket for almost 30 years, but it is finally drying out enough that the strands or reeds or whatever they are called are starting to break. Wish there was an easy fix for them. Any ideas out there?

I love the sound wicker baskets make as the strands rub against each other when you carry the basket. Plus cats LOVE wicker too, with or without clothes in the basket.

By: Susan

Susan — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 02:32:15 +0000

Great idea! As for your broken basket, I would drill small holes around the perimeter and weave strong nylon string or fishing line through it (think along the lines of darning a sock). that would keep anything small from falling through yet wouldn’t cause any bumps for delicate clothes to catch on.

By: Cousin Yellowstone

Cousin Yellowstone — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 05:00:34 +0000

I applaud Ellen’s and your ingenuity.

When I needed a new laundry basket, I repurposed a big bucket that was once the packaging for kitty litter. I never buy such buckets, but a neighbors does, and the buckets get left in our shared recycling bin. The recycling contractor accepts only bottles, not plastic in any other shape, so I feel no guilt about taking the buckets out of the recycling bin and using them for laundry or other purposes.

One nice thing about kitty litter buckets is that they’re good for soaking clothes before washing them. Since I retrieved the bucket from the recycling bin, there have been no complaints about me leaving clothes to soak in the bathroom sink.
.-= Cousin Yellowstone´s last blog ..New Year’s Resolutions =-.

By: Jenn

Jenn — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:47:19 +0000

I hate plastic laundry baskets – I have been a big fan of the nylon mesh with the metal flat wire frame sort of baskets that fold down like those sun shades for cars. You can use them forever and ever and they make really excellent cat toys ("I'm in the basket, nobody can see me!" "I'm outside the basket, he'll never see me pouncing… RAWWR!")

Btw, I did that melt-on-the-floor-heater trick with an Electrolux vacuum once… vacuuming, phone rang, shut off vacuum – forgot where it was sitting… yuck. Only do that once!

By: Robbie

Robbie — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:11:01 +0000

We've got an old laundry basket that has been taped beyond recognition. I swear on a good roll of packing tape!

By: Pheas

Pheas — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 02:51:24 +0000

Rather than patch just the hole, it might be simpler to glue down a new bottom. That would also avoid the lumps and "catchiness" of screws. I was thinking something like an old flexible cutting board or a piece from a retired storage bin. Failing that, a piece of corrugated cardboard covered with plastic (old shower curtain or tarp, packaging from a blanket?) might do fine. Fixing things is very satisfying, even beyond the green (environmental and financial) benefits!

By: Terry Mehlman

Terry Mehlman — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:59:54 +0000

I was thinking that baskets are generally made either of plastic or woven from some natural material — small sticks or grasses. I wonder if you could repair the hole in the bottom of your basket by drilling small holes on each side and weaving in a new piece made from natural materials. I realize this might (or might not) be in your current skill set but it might be valuable to learn. In this way, you could eventually re-do the entire basket.

By: Condo Blues

Condo Blues — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 03:12:55 +0000

I agree with everyone who suggested some sort of patch for your basket.

Last weekend I saved my husband's bedside lamp by replacing the socket that holds the bulb because the pull chain came off and he couldn't repair it. "Let me try" I said and had the socket apart in no time and determined that I needed a new part. Bought it, installed it, saved a lamp from the landfill and impressed the heck out of my husband. I'm sooo thankful that my middle school made girls take shop class & make pop can lamps. :)

By: Amber

Amber — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 02:08:46 +0000

I don't have any tips, but I'm definitely making more of an effort to repair my existing household items and clothing these days. I really think 'repair' should be the 4th R, since it's so important. If we keep the stuff we've got we're making the greenest choice possible.

Hooray for laundry basket repairers!

By: Robj98168

Robj98168 — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:07:34 +0000

Ok Beth Here I is with your plastic free fixit. Drill some small holes- around the hole, Then with Michael's Cordless Drill, screw some 3/4" drywall screws to a piece of ply wood. I would put ply wood in side the basket. OR leave the basket out for soots to eat for care free disposal! (j/k soots- don't nom plastic!)