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For a functional and stylish laundry room.

We updated this article in July 2022 to add a new pick for the best laundry hamper with wheels, add more information for some featured products and more information about how we test hampers at the Good Housekeeping Institute Cleaning Lab.

Laundry hampers may not be as exciting as other home buys like new mattresses and cozy duvet covers, but they serve an important purpose. They collect all your laundry — clothes, linens and towels — in one spot, so you don't clutter your bedroom or bathroom floor with messy piles.

The Good Housekeeping Institute Cleaning Lab likes clothes hampers that make laundry day more organized by dividing your colors, lights and darks so your loads are ready to go straight into the washing machine without any additional sorting. For a storage solution that is just as functional as it is stylish, here are our recommended laundry hampers in varying shapes, sizes and materials to fit any space and decor.

At the end of this guide, read more about how we chose the laundry hampers on this list, what you should look for when shopping and answers to your frequently asked questions. For more laundry day content, check out our guides to the best laundry detergents, stain removers and laundry day upgrades.

This hamper from Pottery Barn has all the features the GH Cleaning Lab looks for in a laundry hamper: dividers to separate your clothes, a lid to keep your laundry out of sight and cut-out handles that make it easy to transport clothes from the bedroom to the washing machine. Plus, it's made from a hand-woven rattan and seagrass, meaning this hamper provides the airflow needed to keep your clothes from getting smelly.

• Dimensions: 28 x 13.5 x 27 in. • Material: Seagrass and rattan with a metal frame

Great for travel, college dorm rooms or other small spaces, this hamper can fold flat when it's empty. The mesh material isn't just for aesthetics and weight: It allows air to circulate properly, reducing unwanted odors from musty towels and sweaty clothes. It's affordable enough to buy a few so you can pre-sort your laundry loads.

• Dimensions: 24 x 13 x 14 in. • Material: Mesh with metal frame

Take a cue from other Amazon shoppers — over 20,000 shoppers have given this hamper a five-star review! This lidded pick has two sections, so you can divide your lights and darks. Use the attached removable mesh bags to conveniently move your clothes to the washing machine and back.

• Dimensions: 23 x 13 x 22.75 in. • Material: Polypropylene plastic frame with canvas covering

If you have to (or want to!) leave your laundry hamper out in the open, go with one that fits your decor. This two-tone rope basket doesn't take away from your room's overall look, and at just 18 inches tall, it's the perfect size for small and large homes.

• Dimensions: 18 x 16 in. • Material: 100% cotton

Solve two problems with one Amazon buy: Keep the canvas hamper on your floor and stick it on the dolly when it's full (or you've accumulated enough for a wash and dry). When you're not using the dolly to tote around laundry, use it to wheel around groceries or heavy household items. The three large wheels on each side of the dolly make it easy to bring up and down stairs and makes for smooth travel from the bedroom to the laundry room.

• Dimensions: 16.75 x 17.25 x 38.37 in. • Material: Polyester hamper and metal wheeled frame

This laundry hamper from Full Circle is collapsible for storage, lightweight for carrying and big enough to hold a regular load of laundry. It fits easily in a small corner of your bedroom, bathroom or laundry room and has long handles that make slinging it over your shoulder easy. It's another great option for college dorm living too!

• Dimensions: 15 x 14 x 24 in. • Material: Cotton with metal frame and polyethylene liner

A lidded laundry hamper with a sleek look, removable tote bags and a compartment for your lights and darks? Check! This hamper from Joseph Joseph has everything you need to streamline your laundry day prep. Our pros loved the handle on the bottom of each tote bag which made it easier to empty the hamper. It scored well for sturdiness in the Lab.

• Dimensions: 28 x 22.25 x 15.75 in. • Material: Cotton tote bags with polyester exterior

Pick up this bundle of six laundry baskets, so you can scatter them throughout the house (one in your primary bedroom, one in your kid's room — you get the idea). There aren't any bells and whistles here, but Amazon reviewers rave about just how sturdy and durable the plastic is and its uses beyond the laundry room.

• Dimensions: 27.38 x 18.63 x 12.38 inches • Material: Plastic with titanium handles

Sort dirty laundry and even fold and iron clean clothes and linens on this spacious laundry hamper and ironing board combo. With removable laundry bags and wheels, you have two easy ways of moving your laundry to your washing machine on wash day. The ironing board can also serve as a folding station once everything is nice and clean.

• Dimensions: 31.5 x 33 x 16 in. • Material: Steel frame with polyethylene and cotton laundry bags

In the Good Housekeeping Institute Cleaning Lab, we’re continuously testing the best laundry room essentials from major appliances like the best clothes dryers to basics like detergents. We've even taught many a beginner how to do laundry the right way. Using our decades of expertise, we researched trends and the most popular options across multiple home goods retailers to determine the top laundry hamper recommendations. For the model tested in the Lab (pictured), our expert added multiple, 7-pound loads to the hamper to check for capacity, carried the laundry hamper back and forth a short distance and assessed how easy the hamper was to assemble.

We considered capacity as well as whether there were multiple compartments for sorting. We factored in aesthetics, material (for airflow to prevent odors), portability and whether it included removable liners. When possible, we chose hampers with a lid for keeping soiled washables out of sight and odors contained.

✔️ Size: When shopping, consider the space, both inside and outside the laundry hamper. While large hampers with dividers will cut time out of your laundry day by allowing you to separate your clothes up front, these can often be bulky and take up a lot of space in your home. Think about how much floor space you can spare: An empty corner? Slim space between bedroom furniture or near your washer and dryer? A sizable portion of your closet? Also, consider how much laundry your household generates between washes.

✔️ Ventilation: Proper ventilation will go a long way in keeping the hamper — as well as your laundry room, bedroom or bathroom — smelling clean. Your hamper should not be completely sealed or it will trap odors. A laundry hamper that's constructed with a loose weave or made from a breathable material like cotton, linen or bamboo will be the best option for making sure air can properly circulate through your laundry to keep odors at bay.

✔️ Features: Find a hamper that will tackle your specific needs: Wheels and handles make it easier to transport heavy loads to and from the laundry room; lids conceal unsightly piles; collapsible designs save space. There are even hampers with shelves for organizing or that double as an ironing board. Finding the right hamper for your home will make doing laundry less of a chore (all while making it possible to finally see your kid's bedroom floor again).

Your laundry hamper can start smelling for two reasons: Poor ventilation traps soiled clothing odors, or wet clothing placed in the hamper causes a smelly mold to grow. To keep your laundry hamper odor-free, make sure that the hamper you’re using is made of breathable material. If possible, wash laundry often enough to keep the hamper from overflowing and allow damp laundry — like wet towels or sweaty gym clothes — to dry out before tossing them in.

And it’s important to clean the hamper itself from time to time. Hampers with removable cloth liners are also great for keeping things fresh. You can throw the liners in the washing machine together with your regular load of laundry to keep it clean and odor-free.

Jodhaira Rodriguez has been testing laundry products and other cleaning tools and appliances in the Good Housekeeping Home Appliances and Cleaning Products Lab since 2021. She helped update this list with new, highly-rated picks and personally tested the Joseph Joseph model included in this guide.

Amanda Garrity is a former editor for Good Housekeeping, where she covered all things home and holiday, including the latest interior design trends, inspiring DIY ideas and gift guides for any (and every) occasion.