I went looking for one laundry basket. I came home with a whole set I picked out myself
Six reasons the build-your-own set beat buying one piece at a time, from a woman who only meant to replace her cracked plastic laundry basket.
Megan Hayes · Customer · Knoxville, TN · 5 min readI'm 59, I make lists, and I'll start with a confession: I stick to them. The list that day had one thing on it: a new laundry basket, because the plastic one I'd had since the kids were small had finally cracked down the side. And then I did something I never do, which is change my plan halfway through the checkout. I want to explain why, because I think a lot of you are about to stand exactly where I stood.
My friend Carol had a quilted laundry basket from Ella & Finn Boutique, a small husband-and-wife studio that quilts these in small batches. I went to their website for a basket like hers. Next to the baskets I found a set where you pick one laundry basket, one quilted tote and one toiletry bag, any print you like for each, and pay one price for the three. I'd admired Carol's tote too. The toiletry bag I hadn't even noticed. Ten minutes later I had all three.
The morning the box came. Basket, tote and toiletry bag, all three picked by me.
Here's what I'd been doing for years without noticing. A tote from one store, a toiletry bag from the drugstore, a laundry basket from wherever. None of it matched, none of it was chosen, all of it was just fine. My sister calls it the "it'll do" collection. Every house has one.
I'd spent weeks deciding on one tote. The set let me stop deciding and just pick what I loved, three times over.
After a month of using all three every single day, it comes down to six things.
You pick every piece yourself
This isn't one of those mystery boxes where you hope for the best. You tap through every design, choose your basket, choose your tote, choose your toiletry bag, and you see exactly what's coming. There are over fifty baskets and fifty totes to choose from, and forty toiletry bags. I went cats, cats and cats. My friend Carol went sunflowers, sheep and turtles, and somehow hers works too.
I was worried a set meant settling. It's the opposite. I picked every single print and changed my mind twice before I checked out.
Brenda S., Maryville, TNThe laundry basket is the one I came for
The basket in the set is the same quilted basket Carol has, in the medium size, which turns out to be the perfect size for a bedroom or a bathroom. It stands up on its own even empty, the canvas handles are sewn right in, and the design wraps all the way around so there's no wrong side.
The medium one, in the guest room. The size I didn't know I needed.
The medium fits right between the dresser and the wall. Big enough for a week of clothes, small enough that it doesn't take over.
Teresa W., Bristol, VAThe tote is the large one, and it holds everything
The tote comes in the large size. It takes my wallet, my reading glasses, a library book, a sweater and Saturday's farmers market haul without looking stuffed. It's padded and quilted, so it keeps its shape, and the handles sit comfortably on my shoulder or my arm.
Saturday morning at the market. Two women asked where I got it before I'd bought a single tomato.
I get stopped about this bag at church, at the grocery store, at the doctor's office. I've started keeping the website on a note in my phone.
Gloria H., Spartanburg, SCThe toiletry bag was the surprise
I nearly skipped it, and it's the piece I use most. It's padded, it stands up by itself on the counter, the zipper runs smoothly and it wipes clean with a damp cloth. It fits a full-size bottle of lotion, my toothbrush and everything else I take to my daughter's for the weekend.
On the counter at my daughter's house. It stands up on its own, which my old zip bag never did.
Ordered it as the third piece without thinking much about it. Now it comes on every trip and lives on the counter in between.
Judy L., Johnson City, TNMatch them or mix them, it all goes together
Because it all comes from the same studio and the same quilting, the three pieces look like they belong together even when the prints are completely different. Pick one theme for all three and it looks like a set somebody planned. Mix them up and it looks like a collection. Either way, the "it'll do" pile is gone.
All three in my front hall. It finally looks like somebody chose it, because somebody did.
I did all three in the sea turtle prints for our beach house. My husband said it looks like we hired someone.
Cheryl D., Myrtle Beach, SCIt doubles as three gifts
Here's the part I didn't expect. With the holidays coming, I realized the set splits up beautifully. The tote with the toiletry bag tucked inside is a lovely gift on its own, and the basket can go to someone else entirely. I've already got my second set planned: one piece for my sister, one for my daughter-in-law, and I'm keeping the basket.
The tote with the toiletry bag inside, ready for my sister. She has no idea.
Bought two sets and split them into five Christmas presents. Nobody guessed they came in a set.
Nancy F., Athens, GAThe set, next to buying piece by piece
I priced it out both ways before I clicked, because that's who I am. Here's the difference.
Medium basket $49.95, large tote $39.95, large toiletry bag $33.95
$123.85 for the three
Three separate decisions, spread over weeks
Odds are you stop after one
Same three pieces, any print for each
$84.95 for the three
Picked in ten minutes, one checkout
Use them yourself, or split them into gifts
About the price
The set is $84.95 for the basket in medium, the tote in large and the toiletry bag in large. Bought separately at today's clearance prices those same three pieces come to $123.85, so the set saves you almost thirty-nine dollars on top of the sale.
I'll pass on what the studio told me: they're a small shop that sells directly, and they're clearing out this year's designs to make room for the new collection. When a print sells out, it's gone. I'd rather pass that on than have one of you write to me in December asking where the sheep tote went.
I read the reviews again before ordering, out of habit. Over 11,540 customers rate them 4.8 stars, and a surprising number of them mention buying a second piece within a month. I'm one of them now.
If you've got your own "it'll do" collection at home, this is how I'd replace it: three pieces you actually chose, for one price, while the prints you want are still there.
Megan
BUILD YOUR OWN SET
- ✓Pick any laundry basket, any tote and any toiletry bag
- ✓Medium basket, large tote, large toiletry bag
- ✓50+ basket prints, 50+ tote prints, 40 toiletry bag prints
- ✓Match them, mix them, or split them into gifts
- ✓Quilted, padded and made in small batches
- ✓FREE US shipping & 30-day free returns
Studio Clearance on now, making room for the new collection. Popular prints go first.