There is one item in the house that accumulates so fast – the laundry. If your dirty clothes stay in the bedroom until their trip to the laundry area and you don’t have a laundry hamper, it may not be a pretty sight.

• Laundry hampers are one of the most practical and best organizing tools ever created. You know the line that says “a place for everything and everything in its place”? That includes dirty clothes.

• An appropriate size, placed in a spot in each bedroom where people get undressed is an organizer on its own. You simply toss your dirty clothes right into it. No strewn clothes in sight!

• Hampers are very ideal for families with small children who, at an early age are unconsciously being trained to be organized as they develop the habit of putting dirty clothes where they belong.

• With laundry hampers, there is no need to figure out which clothes are dirty from the clean ones, a frequent scenario in a child’s room without a hamper.

• A hamper with a sorter makes the laundry task less daunting when dirty clothes are placed accordingly.

Other than the bedrooms, your dirty laundry also accumulates in the kitchen as you change pot holders, dishrags and hand towels. A small but attractive hamper by the kitchen sink would not be a bad idea.

Lid or no lid?

This is a consideration you might want to give careful thought about. With a lid, a hamper in a child’s bedroom might end up with clothes piled atop it. For that reason, it might not be a practical choice.

However, if your children are old enough and you too are patient enough in opening and closing a container in which to put your clothes in, a lidded but creatively made hamper can become an added decoration.

Tips for Hamper Use

• If you own a walk-in closet, you get to undress right within its confines. Place a laundry hamper inside. It is your best bet in making sure that the clothes you removed are not scattered or accidentally included among the clean ones.

• Place a sorter in a large laundry hamper for easier sorting when laundry time comes. This can help you cut time doing the task. The sorter will also help separate the gentle wash from the heavy wash. If space is not an issue in your bedroom, you can add more hampers to separate colored from whites, sheets from curtains, etc.

• If you have a baby in the house, place a small laundry hamper right beside the changing table where you can conveniently toss soiled diapers and keep them out of sight.

The next time you see a pile of clothes going higher whether in your bedroom or that of your children, you know what to do to take that eye sore out. That pile of clothes might have caused you enough mental anguish already that led you to dread clothes washing time when all that’s needed is a little organization with the help of the practical laundry hamper.