36 thoughts on “How to use a hamper. A tutorial in two easy steps.”

1. I would add: clothes on the floor right next to the hamper: NO.

   1. +1!

2. Oh, that’s what that thing is? And it’s called a….a…. Hamper? What a strange concept, this Hamper thing. I thought it was a throw-clothes-on-top-of-it-thingy. You’ll have to pardon my ignorance because, see, I can’t get anyone to use the three (count them) we have in our house. Must email this to hubby at work right away. He’ll be astounded by this new contraption.

   1. It’s also a cat scratch post, as keen observers may have noted.

3. We had the same problem in our house. Turned out it was because the lid was always on the hamper. If the lid is off, apparently, the clothes go right in the basket.

   1. Tried that. No lid means clothes on the floor. Maybe the rim.

      1. I usually leave the lid off for this purpose. I’ve put in about 12 years of training at this point, and nowadays I get a lot of clothing on the rim. I’ve realized it’s the best I’m going to get and I’ve moved on to bigger battles.

4. At this stage of our hamper learning curve, I’d take ON the hamper, as opposed to where the clothes end up now (usually on the floor, nowhere near the hamper… such as left on the bathroom floor, on the floor next to the bed, etc etc.) – and, no, we’re not talking my daughter here, we’re talking the 30ish year old “child” I’m married to! 😉

5. I attempted to follow the instructions in this tutorial, only to find that the inside of the “hamper” was already filled with clothes! Help! What do I do??!

6. Greg–the laundry.

   1. +1

      1. I believe this is relevant:

         http://www.arcamax.com/thefunnies/zits/s-1003303

7. Approve!

8. My hampers have no lids. And yet we still have a problem.

9. Ahhh….sage advice. Having been looking for just such a tutorial. My explanations haven’t made sense. Printed and attached to the small people’s doors for when they arrive home from school. Thank you.

10. No lids here. And still….floor. Or bed. Or couch. Or…

11. Wait a minute. Hasn’t the surgeon general determined that using a hamper may be dangerous to one’s health?

    Was that cigarettes?!

    This stuff is so confusing.

12. I have the same hamper and there is clothes on top. I think it’s a factory defect. I will call Bed Bath and Beyond and demand that they send us refunds.

13. I can’t even say a word, seeing how all of my clothes end up next to the hamper. Ahem.

    Then again, I’m the only one picking them up each week to wash them, so I suppose it’s okay.

14. My daughters have Elf on the Shelf, I have Clothes on the Floor—sometimes they are in a puddle in front of the toilet, other times they are tucked in the crevice of the couch and other times they are strewn about the dining room table.

    Where will they be next? Oh my!

15. My cat has trained our whole family in the art of using a hamper. If we put clothes anywhere she can squat over (top of the hamper, on the floor, on the bed), she pees on them. Yes, seriously.

    1. You should rent her out Peggy! It sounds like there’s a good dozen women on this thread who might be up for a weekend rental.

16. Could you please run another PSA about toilet paper, changing thereof? (Marinka ran a post like this earlier this month, but you know? once is not enough).

17. You mean that is not a basketball hoop?

18. Heh, I asked both girls who do they think left their clothes on top of the hamper and, without a hesitation, they both answered, “Nate”.

    1. What?? Not Chorizo?

19. We have an actual laundry chute. Just stick the laundry in the little door in the wall and it all goes down to a basket in the basement! That’s not only easy, but should be able to be sold to kids as FUN. But no. Clothes on the floor, tucked between the wall and the bed, in the closet….

    I think tutorials only work if someone cares?

20. That is BRILLIANT. Why has no one ever taken the time to ever make this public? These things should not be kept secret. There are a few people around here who will benefit greatly.

    1. I’m a giver.

21. Why is it that my 5- & 6-year-old children can grasp this, but my husband cannot? I sent him the link…thanks for the PSA. 🙂

22. I live in a household where I am the only female, and so to resolve the laundry hamper issue I placed a basketball hoop above the hamper. Now the clothes are where they belong, and my boys gladly fill the hamper…whether it needs to loaded or not…but that is another issue.

23. My hamper is a rectangle shape. Does it operate the same way?

24. My two-year-old daughter would love this. She is a laundry fanatic, and her dad is always pissing her off by throwing clothes on the floor. Next to the hamper.

25. Actually, I’m impressed the clothes made it to the top of the hamper. I’d be happy in my house if they even ended up in the general vicinity of the hamper. For some reason dirty socks are always in my living room, boxers lay on my bathroom floor, and sweaters end up draped over the couches. Men. Pfft.

26. I have the solution…works like a charm. Only wash the clothes that end up IN the hamper. Leave the rest. At some point they will run out of underwear and socks and inquire as to why it’s all dirty. You simply respond that you had no idea since all the laundry from the hampers have been washed. Gently suggest that if they would like it washed, they can place said clothes INSIDE the hamper. Also, if clothes or towels are left nowhere near a hamper, they can be picked up but only if it’s to place them on offender’s bed as a reminder to find a better home for them.

    1. There’s one problem with that solution…it requires me to do my own laundry. I outsource that task (ahem). Otherwise, genius!

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