How to Build a Wooden Laundry Hamper for Beginners

A plastic laundry basket does the job, but it never looks like it belongs in your home — it cracks, it tips over when it is full, and it turns a tidy laundry room into a cluttered corner. Learning how to build a wooden laundry hamper for beginners fixes all of that at once. This measured 25 × 17 × 32-inch (64 × 43 × 81 cm) design is a proper piece of furniture: slatted sides that let damp clothes breathe, a hinged lid that opens with one hand when your arms are full, a centre divider so lights and darks stay sorted, and two removable laundry bags you can lift straight out and carry to the machine. It is built from solid pine with simple pocket-hole joinery, no advanced tools, and no skills beyond measuring, cutting, and driving screws. In this guide, you will learn how to size a hamper to your household, choose the right wood for a damp room, cut a full parts list, assemble the slatted frame, fit the hinged lid and the divider, and finish the wood so it survives years of wet towels and heavy loads.

This is the measured, slatted version of the project: a real wooden hamper with airflow built into every side, not a solid box that traps damp air and smells. If your laundry room needs more storage once the hamper is done, our guide to how to build a wooden storage crate for beginners uses the same slats-and-rails method for a matching crate. Most beginners finish this build in one weekend — about 4 to 5 hours of hands-on work plus drying time — and it sits comfortably alongside the other storage builds in our easy woodworking projects for beginners that sell collection.

What Size Laundry Hamper Should You Build?

Before you buy a single board, count the people in your household — not the floor space. A hamper is sized to the laundry it has to hold between wash days, and capacity is the detail most first-time builders get wrong. A hamper that is too small overflows by Wednesday; one that is too big lets damp clothes sit for a week and start to smell. The rule is simple: one person fills roughly 1.5 to 2 cubic feet (42 to 57 litres) of hamper space per week, so a couple needs about 4 cubic feet and a family of four needs about 6 to 7.

This build is 25 inches (64 cm) wide, 17 inches (43 cm) deep, and 32 inches (81 cm) tall, with an interior of about 20 × 15½ × 27 inches — roughly 4.8 cubic feet (136 litres) of usable space, or about two standard loads of laundry. The centre divider splits it into two compartments of about 2.4 cubic feet each, so one side holds lights and the other holds darks, and each side takes roughly one large wash load. The 25-inch width fits between a washer and a wall in most laundry rooms, the 17-inch depth keeps it from sticking out past the machines, and the 32-inch height is comfortable to drop clothes into without bending over.

Hamper size	Best for	Usable capacity	Loads held
20 × 14 × 28 in (51 × 36 × 71 cm)	One person, small laundry room	~3.5 cu ft (99 L)	About 1 load
25 × 17 × 32 in (64 × 43 × 81 cm)	Couple or family of 3–4, this build	~4.8 cu ft (136 L)	About 2 loads
30 × 18 × 34 in (76 × 46 × 86 cm)	Large family, shared laundry room	~6.5 cu ft (184 L)	About 3 loads
36 × 18 × 34 in (91 × 46 × 86 cm)	Family of 5+, heavy wash days	~7.5 cu ft (212 L)	About 3–4 loads

Measure your laundry room before you cut anything: leave at least 2 inches (5 cm) of clearance on each side of the hamper so air can circulate around the slats, and at least 6 inches (15 cm) above the lid so it opens fully without hitting a shelf or a cabinet. If the hamper will sit between a washer and a dryer, measure the gap and shrink the width to fit — the frame in this guide scales to any width by changing only the rail and slat lengths. Also think about how you carry laundry: if you haul the bag upstairs, keep the hamper near the stairs; if you wash in the same room, put it beside the machine so the bag lifts straight out and into the washer.

Choosing the Best Wood for Your Laundry Hamper

For a first hamper, pine is the best choice: cheap, light, easy to cut and sand, and it takes stain and paint beautifully. A 25-inch pine hamper costs about $30 to $45 in lumber. Pine is a softwood, so it will dent if you bang a heavy basket against it, but a hamper takes far less punishment than a desk or a workbench, and a dented hamper still holds laundry perfectly well. If you want a harder surface that resists dents from buckles and zips, poplar is a step up: still easy to work with, machines cleanly, and costs a little more. Cedar is the traditional laundry-room wood — it smells wonderful and naturally resists moths and mildew — but it is two to three times the price of pine, it is soft and dents easily, and it is best saved for a second hamper once you are confident with the joinery.

Buy 1×3 boards (actual size ¾ × 2½ inches, or 19 × 64 mm) for the corner posts, the rails, and the slats — one size does almost the whole hamper, which keeps the shopping list short and the cuts simple. Buy 1×6 boards (actual size ¾ × 5½ inches, or 19 × 140 mm) for the lid planks, and a small offcut of ½-inch (12 mm) plywood for the divider panel. Pick straight boards by sighting down each edge, and reject any with large face knots, heavy cupping, or twisting. A knot on the inside face of a slat is fine; one on the front face will show every time you walk into the laundry room. Let the boards acclimatise in your house for two to three days before you cut them — wood that moves after assembly is the number one cause of a hamper that rocks or a lid that sticks.

Avoid reclaimed pallet wood for a hamper: boards vary in thickness, often hide nails, and need far more sanding to become smooth enough that they will not snag clothes — and a rough slat will catch a sock every single time. Start with clean, new pine from the lumber yard and you will finish faster with a better result. Also avoid MDF or particle board entirely: both swell and fall apart the first time damp laundry touches them, and a hamper lives in the dampest room in the house.

Tools and Materials You Will Need

You probably own most of these tools already, and the rest can be borrowed or bought cheaply. Do not buy a tool you will use once if a neighbour or a tool library can lend it — but a decent cordless drill and a pocket-hole jig are worth owning for every furniture project after this one.

Item	Details	Typical cost
Pine 1×3 boards	3 boards, 8 ft (2.4 m) long, posts, rails and slats	$18–$27
Pine 1×6 board	1 board, 8 ft (2.4 m) long, for the lid	$8–$12
Pine 1×2 board	1 board, 8 ft (2.4 m) long, for the divider cleats	$3–$5
Plywood, ½ in (12 mm)	2 × 2 ft (61 × 61 cm) offcut, for the divider	$6–$10
Pocket-hole screws	1¼ in (32 mm) coarse-thread, about 40 screws	$6–$10
Wood screws	1 in (25 mm), about 50 screws, for the slats and lid	$4–$6
Wood glue	One 8 oz (237 ml) bottle	$5–$8
Butt hinges	2½ in (64 mm), one pair, for the lid	$5–$9
Cup hooks	4 screw-in hooks, to hang the laundry bags	$3–$5
Laundry bags	2 cotton drawstring bags, about 18 × 28 in	$10–$16
Pocket-hole jig	Single-hole or two-hole jig with drill bit	$25–$40
Sandpaper	80, 120, and 220 grit sheets	$5–$8
Finish	Wipe-on polyurethane or hard-wax oil, 1 pint (0.47 L)	$10–$16
Tools	Circular saw, drill, sander, tape measure, square, clamps	$0 if owned
Total (25 in, pine)	Lumber, hardware, bags, finish	$85–$125

Safety gear matters too: safety glasses, hearing protection for the saw, and a dust mask for sanding — pine dust is an irritant. Apply the finish outside or in a well-ventilated garage, and keep oil-soaked rags flat to dry outdoors until stiff, then throw them away — bunched-up oily rags can self-heat.

Cut List for a 25 × 17 × 32-Inch Laundry Hamper

This cut list is for a hamper 25 inches (64 cm) wide, 17 inches (43 cm) deep, and 32 inches (81 cm) tall overall, with a slatted body 30 inches tall, a plank lid, a centre divider, and two removable laundry bags. Cut the posts first, then the rails, then the slats, then the lid pieces — and always measure twice before every cut.

Part	Material	Size	Quantity
Corner posts	1×3 pine	30 in (76 cm) long	4
Front and back rails (top and bottom)	1×3 pine	20 in (51 cm) long	4
Side rails (top and bottom)	1×3 pine	12 in (30 cm) long	4
Front and back slats	1×3 pine	25 in (64 cm) long	14
Side slats	1×3 pine	25 in (64 cm) long	8
Lid planks	1×6 pine	25 in (64 cm) long	3
Lid filler strip	1×6 pine, ripped to ½ in (13 mm) wide	25 in (64 cm) long	1
Lid battens	1×3 pine	14 in (36 cm) long	2
Divider panel	½-in (12 mm) plywood	15½ × 27 in (39 × 69 cm)	1
Divider cleats	1×2 pine	27 in (69 cm) long	2

The body is 30 inches tall because the lid adds about 2 inches to reach the full 32-inch height. The front and back rails are 20 inches long because they fit between the two corner posts: 25 inches minus two 2½-inch post widths. The side rails are 12 inches long for the same reason: 17 inches minus two 2½-inch post widths. The slats are 25 inches long because they run between the top and bottom rails: 30 inches minus two 2½-inch rails. The lid is 17 inches deep because three 1×6 planks (5½ inches each) plus one filler strip ripped to ½ inch adds up to exactly 17 inches: 5½ + 5½ + 5½ + ½ = 17. The divider panel is 15½ inches wide because it fits between the front and back slats: 17 inches minus two ¾-inch slat thicknesses.

Step 1: Measure and Mark Your Boards

Careful measuring comes first, because every later step depends on it. Lay your boards on a flat workbench and check each one for straightness. Mark the straightest face of every slat with a small pencil tick — that face goes outward, where everyone sees it and where clothes brush past it. Then measure and mark each cut with a pencil and a speed square, drawing the cut line squarely across the full width of the board.

Label every piece as you mark it: “Post A” through “Post D”, “Rail Front Top”, “Rail Front Bottom”, “Rail Side” four times, “Slat Front” seven times, “Slat Back” seven times, and “Slat Side” eight times. The slats all look identical, so the labels stop you mixing up a slat you already checked for straightness with one you have not. Next, mark the rail positions on the posts: the top edge of the top rail sits flush with the top of the post, and the top edge of the bottom rail sits 2½ inches above the bottom of the post, so the bottom rail clears the floor and the slats have a clean run between the rails. Mark all four posts at the same time, clamped together, so the rails sit perfectly level. Finally, measure your laundry room gap once more and confirm the 25-inch width. If anything has changed, adjust the rail and slat lengths now, not after the saw is running.

Step 2: Cut the Boards and Slats to Size

Clamp a straight board or a speed square to your workpiece as a saw guide, and set the circular saw depth so the blade cuts about ¼ inch (6 mm) past the bottom of the board — no deeper. Cut slowly and steadily, letting the saw do the work; pushing hard causes burning and wandering cuts. Cut the four posts first — the longest pieces, and the ones where a square cut matters most — then the rails, then the twenty-two slats, then the lid planks and battens.

The lid filler strip needs ripping to width: a 1×6 board is 5½ inches wide, and you need a strip just ½ inch wide. Clamp a straightedge ½ inch from the edge of an offcut and run the circular saw along it, keeping your fingers well clear of the blade — or ask the lumber yard to rip it when you buy the boards. After cutting, dry-fit the three lid planks and the filler strip edge to edge on the workbench and check the total depth: it should be exactly 17 inches. A small error here — even ⅛ inch (3 mm) — is easy to fix now by trimming the filler strip, and almost impossible to fix after the lid is glued up. Sand the cut ends lightly with 80-grit paper to remove splinters and saw marks. Keep your offcuts: a short piece of 1×3 makes a perfect spacer block for the slat gaps, and a scrap of 1×6 is ideal for testing your stain or finish colour.

Step 3: Drill the Pocket Holes and Build the Frame

The rails join to the posts with pocket holes, and one jig setting does the whole frame. Set your pocket-hole jig for ¾-inch (19 mm) stock and drill two pocket holes at each end of all eight rails — front, back, and side rails — on the faces that will point inside the hamper, where nobody will ever see them. Drill the holes before you assemble anything, while every piece is still flat on the bench and easy to clamp.

Test the jig setting on a scrap piece first: the screw should stop just short of poking through the face of the board. If the screw tip shows, lower the drill collar one notch and test again. Now build the front and back frames: lay two posts flat on the workbench with their 2½-inch faces pointing up, and set a front rail between them on its pencil lines — the top rail flush with the tops of the posts, the bottom rail 2½ inches up from the bottoms. Spread a thin bead of glue on each rail end, then drive 1¼-inch (32 mm) coarse-thread pocket-hole screws through the rail into the posts — two screws per end. Work with a square in hand, checking that each rail sits at 90 degrees to the posts. Clamps hold everything tight while you drive the screws; with only two clamps, fix one joint at a time and move the clamps along.

Repeat for the back frame, then stand both frames upright and fit the four side rails between them the same way, working from the top down so gravity helps keep the rails seated. The result is a four-post box with rails on all four sides — the rails are what stop the hamper from racking sideways and give it the rigid, furniture feel. Set the frame on a flat floor and press down on each corner in turn. If it rocks, find the long post and trim it — never shim a hamper, because shims work loose and it will wobble again. Check the frame for square by measuring diagonally across the top — the two measurements should match within ⅛ inch (3 mm). If they do not, loosen the screws on one corner, rack the frame square, and re-tighten.

Step 4: Fit the Slats and the Divider

With the frame square and solid, fit the slats. Start with the front: stand seven slats upright between the top and bottom rails, spacing them evenly with a ⅜-inch (10 mm) spacer block — a scrap of 1×3 cut to ⅜ inch works perfectly, or use a couple of stacked coins as a gauge. The seven slats plus their gaps fill the 20-inch opening exactly, with about ⅜ inch between each slat and a small margin at each post. Spread a thin bead of glue on the top and bottom end of each slat, press it into place, and drive one 1-inch (25 mm) screw through the rail into each end of the slat from inside the frame, so no screw heads show on the outside. Work from the centre slat outward so any tiny spacing error ends up split evenly at the edges instead of piling up on one side.

Repeat for the back with seven more slats, then fit four slats on each side with a ⅝-inch (16 mm) spacer — the side opening is narrower, so four slats with slightly wider gaps look balanced and keep the airflow even all round. Once all twenty-two slats are in, run your hand over the outside of the hamper: every slat end should sit flush with the rails, with no proud corners to catch clothes. If one slat sticks out, sand it flush now — it is much harder to reach once the lid is on.

Now fit the divider. Screw the two 1×2 cleats to the inside faces of the front and back slats, running vertically down the centre of the hamper — one cleat on the front, one on the back, each 27 inches long, positioned so the divider panel will sit exactly in the middle. Slide the plywood divider panel between the cleats and drive short screws through the cleats into the panel edges, two screws per cleat. The divider should sit 2 inches above the floor and stop about 1 inch below the top of the frame, so it divides the laundry without blocking the lid. If you want a solid floor under the bags, cut a ½-inch plywood base panel 20 × 15½ inches and drop it inside the frame now, resting on the bottom rails — it keeps the bags off a damp laundry-room floor, and it is worth adding if your floor ever gets wet.

Step 5: Build the Hinged Lid and Fit the Laundry Bags

The lid is a simple plank top: three 1×6 planks and the ½-inch filler strip, joined edge to edge with pocket holes on the underside and locked flat by two battens. Lay the planks face down on the workbench with the filler strip at the back edge, spread a thin bead of glue along each joint, and drive 1¼-inch (32 mm) pocket-hole screws through the holes — three per joint — clamping the planks flat while you work so the lid does not glue up with a twist. Then screw the two 14-inch battens across the underside of the lid, one near each end and inset 1½ inches from the front and back edges, with the grain of the battens running across the planks. The battens stop the lid from cupping as the seasons change, and they give the hinges something solid to bite into.

Fit the lid to the body with two 2½-inch butt hinges on the back edge. Set the lid on top of the frame, flush on all four sides, and mark the hinge positions 4 inches (10 cm) in from each end. Chisel a shallow mortise — about ⅛ inch (3 mm) deep — for each hinge leaf on the back rail and on the lid batten, so the hinge sits flush and the lid closes flat. Screw the hinges in place, then open and close the lid a few times: it should swing freely and sit flat when closed, with an even gap all round. If the lid sticks on one side, loosen the hinge screws on that side, shift the lid a fraction, and re-tighten. If the lid slams shut — a real risk with small fingers in the house — fit a soft-close lid stay on one side: it holds the lid open at any angle and lets it down gently instead of dropping.

Now fit the laundry bags. Screw two cup hooks under the inside of the front top rail and two under the back top rail, one pair per compartment, spaced about 8 inches (20 cm) apart. Hang one cotton drawstring bag from each pair of hooks so the bag mouth stays open at the top of the hamper and the bag hangs down inside its compartment. The bags should reach to about 2 inches above the floor — trim or fold the drawstring if they drag. Test the whole system: drop a towel in each side, lift the bag out by its drawstring, and carry it to the machine. If the bag catches on a screw head, back the screw out a quarter-turn or cover it with a dab of glue — nothing inside a hamper should snag clothes.

Step 6: Sand and Finish Your Hamper

Sanding is where a beginner build starts to look professional, so do not rush it. Sand every slat, rail, and post in three passes: 80 grit to level the joints and remove saw marks, 120 grit to smooth the surface, and 220 grit for a silky final finish. Always sand with the grain, never across it, and pay special attention to the slat edges and the top edges of the rails — those are the surfaces clothes brush against, and a sharp edge or a splinter will snag a sock every time. Round over the front top edge of the frame slightly with 120-grit paper, and sand the inside faces of the slats just as carefully as the outside: the inside is what your laundry touches. Vacuum or wipe the dust off with a tack cloth between grits; dust left behind shows up as rough spots under the finish. Our full guide, how to sand and finish wood for beginners, walks through grit progression and common sanding mistakes in detail.

A hamper lives in the dampest room in the house, so it needs a finish that resists moisture. A wipe-on polyurethane is the most forgiving choice: it builds a hard, waterproof film that shrugs off damp towels and is easy to repair later with a light sanding and one more coat. Apply three thin coats to the outside and at least two to the inside, sanding lightly with 220-grit paper between coats, and pay special attention to the bottom rails and the feet of the posts, where mop water and splashes reach first. If you prefer an oil look, use a hard-wax oil rated for floors or tabletops, at least three coats, letting each cure fully — it will not waterproof as well as polyurethane, so re-oil once a year. Avoid plain Danish oil for a hamper: it looks beautiful but is not waterproof enough for daily damp laundry. If you want colour, stain first, let it dry fully for 24 hours, then seal it with polyurethane. Let the final coat cure for at least 72 hours before you load the hamper with laundry — a finish that feels dry is not the same as a finish that has cured hard, and wet clothes will stick to a soft finish.

Slatted vs Solid-Panel Hamper: Which Is Better?

Beginners often ask whether the gaps between the slats are a weakness, and the answer is no — for a laundry hamper, the gaps are the whole point. Damp clothes need air, and a solid-sided box traps humid air inside until the laundry smells musty. Slats let air move through the hamper all day, so a towel dropped in on Monday still smells fresh on wash day. The gaps also make the build more forgiving: a slat that is a fraction off is hidden by the gap beside it, while a solid panel shows every error.

Feature	Slatted hamper (this build)	Solid-panel hamper
Airflow	Excellent — damp clothes breathe, no musty smell	Poor — traps damp air, laundry can smell
Weight	Lighter, easy to slide across the floor	Heavier, harder to move when full
Build difficulty	Beginner — slats hide small cutting errors	Harder — panels must be flat and square
Look	Classic, farmhouse, matches wooden furniture	Modern, clean, hides the contents
Dust inside	More dust passes through the gaps	Keeps dust out
Best for	Everyday family laundry	Guest rooms, hiding clutter

If you love the slatted look but want to hide the laundry, the removable bags solve it: the cotton bags conceal the contents while the slats still let air through. A solid-panel hamper is the better choice only if the hamper will sit in a dusty garage or workshop, where keeping dust out matters more than airflow. For a laundry room, build slatted every time.

Styling Your Finished Hamper

Once the finish has cured, bring the hamper into your laundry room. Slide it beside the washer with at least 2 inches (5 cm) of clearance on each side so air can circulate around the slats, and check the lid opens fully without hitting a shelf or a cabinet above it. Hang the two laundry bags from their hooks, label the compartments if you like — “Lights” and “Darks” on small wooden tags tied to the hooks — and drop the first load in. If you want matching wall storage above it for detergent and folded towels, our guide to how to build floating shelves for beginners makes a matching weekend project that sits perfectly over a hamper.

To keep the hamper looking new, wipe up splashes straight away with a barely damp cloth and dry it immediately, never leave soaking-wet clothes sitting in it for days, and add a fresh coat of polyurethane once a year, or whenever water stops beading on the surface. Wash the cotton bags every month or two with the regular laundry so they stay fresh. A hamper built this way will last for years, and because it is sized to your household, it will fit your next laundry room too — just check the doorways before moving day. If your laundry room needs a bigger storage bench for folding and sitting, the same slats-and-rails method builds its bigger cousin, our guide to how to build a wooden storage bench for beginners.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Most problems come from rushing one of these seven steps — slow down here and the rest of the build goes smoothly.

Building the wrong size. A hamper sized to the floor space instead of the household overflows by Wednesday or lets damp clothes sit for a week. Count the people, allow about 2 cubic feet per person per week, and build to that.

Skipping the dry fit. A bowed slat hides until the screws are in. Lay out the front slats, check the spacing with your spacer block, and mark the arrangement first.

Drilling pocket holes on the wrong face. Pocket holes go on the inside faces of the rails and the underside of the lid planks. One rail flipped the wrong way leaves visible holes on the outside of your hamper.

Forgetting the glue. Pocket screws alone will loosen under daily use. Glue every joint, and the screws mainly hold everything tight while it cures.

Spacing the slats by eye. Gaps that wander look amateur and let small items slip through. Use a spacer block for every single gap, front, back, and sides.

Rushing the finish. Polyurethane over dust or a skipped grit looks blotchy forever, and rough slats snag clothes. Sand through the grits, clean the dust, and let each coat cure fully.

Forgetting the acclimatisation. Boards cut the day they arrive will move after assembly. Let them sit in your house for two to three days first, or the lid may stick within a month.

How Much Does It Cost and How Long Does It Take?

For a 25-inch pine hamper, expect $85 to $125 in materials if you already own the tools — roughly a third of a comparable solid wood hamper in a shop, sized exactly to your household and your laundry room. A smaller 20-inch hamper is closer to $65 to $95, a 30-inch hamper around $100 to $145. Cedar costs two to three times more in lumber alone. Time-wise, plan 4 to 5 hours of hands-on work over one weekend: half an hour to measure and mark, half an hour to cut, an hour to drill the pocket holes and build the frame, an hour to fit the slats and the divider, half an hour to build and hinge the lid, an hour to sand, and half an hour to finish, plus overnight glue drying and 72 hours for the final coat to cure. The same skills transfer directly to your next storage project — a matching storage crate, a storage bench, or floating shelves all use the same rails, slats, and pocket-hole joints.

Frequently Asked Questions

What size should a wooden laundry hamper be?

For a couple or a family of three to four, build 25 × 17 × 32 inches (64 × 43 × 81 cm) — about 4.8 cubic feet (136 litres), or roughly two standard loads of laundry. Allow about 2 cubic feet per person per week between wash days. A single person can build smaller, around 20 × 14 × 28 inches, while a family of five or more should go up to 30 or 36 inches wide. Always measure your laundry room gap first and leave 2 inches of clearance on each side for airflow.

What wood is best for a laundry hamper?

Pine is the best wood for a first laundry hamper: it is cheap, light, easy to cut and sand, and it takes stain and paint well. Poplar is a good upgrade if you want a harder surface that resists dents from buckles and zips. Cedar smells wonderful and naturally resists moths and mildew, but it costs two to three times as much as pine. Avoid MDF and particle board entirely — both swell and fall apart the first time damp laundry touches them.

Do slatted hampers really stop laundry from smelling?

Yes — the gaps between the slats let air circulate through the hamper all day, so damp towels dry slightly instead of sitting in trapped humid air and turning musty. A solid-sided hamper traps moisture and is the main reason stored laundry starts to smell. The slats in this build leave about ⅜-inch gaps on the front and back and ⅝-inch gaps on the sides, which is plenty of airflow while still hiding the contents behind the cotton bags.

How do I keep the lid from slamming shut?

Fit a soft-close lid stay on one side of the lid: it holds the lid open at any angle and lets it down gently instead of dropping. A pair of 2½-inch butt hinges plus one lid stay costs under $15 and is worth fitting if children use the hamper. As a simpler option, a short length of chain between the lid batten and the back rail stops the lid from falling past vertical, though it will not slow the closing.

Can I build a laundry hamper without a pocket-hole jig?

Yes. The pocket-hole jig makes the rail-to-post joints fast and strong, but you can build the same frame with dowels, or with screws driven through the posts into the rail ends and plugged with dowel caps. Dowels demand perfectly aligned holes, and through-screws show on the outside of the posts, so the pocket-hole jig is still the easiest route for a first build — a basic single-hole jig costs about $25 to $40 and you will use it on every furniture project after this one.

How do I wash the removable laundry bags?

Lift each bag out by its drawstring, empty it into the machine, then wash the bag itself with the load — cotton drawstring bags wash and dry like any other cotton item. Wash them every month or two so they stay fresh, and keep a spare pair so the hamper is never without bags while one set is in the wash. If you sew your own bags, use unbleached cotton canvas and a drawstring channel at the top, sized about 18 × 28 inches per compartment.

How much does it cost to build a wooden laundry hamper?

A 25-inch pine hamper costs about $85 to $125 in materials if you already own the tools, including the lumber, hinges, cup hooks, two cotton laundry bags, and finish. A smaller 20-inch hamper costs roughly $65 to $95, a 30-inch hamper about $100 to $145. Cedar costs two to three times more in lumber alone, while a comparable solid wood hamper in a shop typically costs $250 to $500.

Recommended Products for This Project

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.