Review: Brabantia laundry bin

Laundry all over the floor? Old woven laundry bin falling apart? Allow me to suggest the Brabantia laundry bin. There are some household chores, like cleaning the bathroom, or anything that involves getting my hands wet, that I really don’t like. There are others, mainly the ones where my hands remain dry, like hoovering and general organising of things into tidy piles, that I’m much better at.

Laundry, although it involves a certain amount of moistness, is one that I often find strangely satisfying. There is something about the endless rhythm of it, the washing, drying and putting away cycle, that’s almost soothing. Unlike cleaning the bathroom, laundry doesn’t ever trick you into believing it’s finished – it’s just always there. If someone were to put together a soundtrack of family life, the swooshing of the washing machine would be in there somewhere.

Over the years I’ve experimented with different washing systems, but have concluded that the best approach is to buy low maintenance clothes and then wash everything on the ‘auto 40’ setting. There just isn’t time in life for anything else. We are on this planet for 80-odd years – why spend a year of that sorting colours?

I’ve also owned a fair few laundry baskets in my time. Normally the cheap sort, where you’re going for a 99% to 1% practicality to style ratio. I also have an Ali Baba style basket that I found in a second-hand shop. My boyfriend at the time was a little uncomfortable with the idea of it having held someone else’s dirty pants, but as I pointed out, you’re washing everything that goes it in anyway, so what can go wrong? I like it because it reminds me of the basket my Gran and Grandad had on their landing for their washing. I would hide in it sometimes during games of hide and seek, cosy amongst my Grandad’s M&S pyjamas.

This year though… this year my laundry basket style rating has been cranked up a notch by the arrival of my brand new Brabantia laundry bin.

Now, you might think that there isn’t an awful lot to say about a Brabantia laundry bin, and let’s be honest, you’d be right, but there are a few key features that I would like to draw your attention to.

Firstly, it looks pretty cool, especially if you have a lovely white bedroom or bathroom like this one. (I don’t, but it still looks nice.) It’s Brabantia, so obviously you immediately feel about 45 years old and like you might own a decent second car, and I’ve had to resist the urge to put it somewhere visible, so that people can ask about it, and I can say casually, ‘Oh that? It’s Brabantia, darling.’ It has Brabantia’s laundry bin 10-year guarantee too.

One of my favourite things about the Brabantia laundry bin is the lid. You can chuck a pair of pants at it from a distance and they slide elegantly into the hole in a very cool way, but once they are in, you can’t see them. It’s the ultimate in ‘I can’t be bothered to actually lift a lid to put something in’ laziness.

The other thing I like about the Brabantia laundry bin is that it has an integral laundry bag, so when you’re ready to do your washing, you can just pull out the bag and sling it over your shoulder, Santa Claus style, thus avoiding that awkward moment later in the day when your guests arrive and you realise you’ve left a trail of dirty socks down the stairs. The bag fits easily back in with an ingenious velcro fastening.

The Brabantia laundry bin is also available in a shiny or matt steel, in a mint colour, and with a cork lid.

So there you go. That’s my Brabantia laundry bin review. Please do leave a comment if you have any interesting laundry bin anecdotes to share.

I received the Brabantia laundry bin for the purposes of this review – all opinions are my own.