A letter from a reader

At 58, I finally stopped hiding the laundry basket in the corner

Karen Jennings
Hobart, Tasmania · September 2026

I have never written anything like this in my life. I am a very ordinary woman from Hobart with a golden retriever who thinks he owns the couch, and writing to strangers about a laundry basket would not have been on my list of things to do this year.

I wrote this for the small team at Bruny Boutique after a small thing happened at home, and they asked if they could share what I had sent them. That is the whole story. I said yes, on the condition they did not tidy my words up too much, because I am not a fashion writer, and it shows.

The bit I had accepted about myself

For years I had quietly made a choice in my head that I did not realise was a choice. The thing that is useful is allowed to look ugly in the corner. The thing that is pretty is allowed to be impractical. You do not decide this. It just settles on you, the way it settled on me, after another plastic tub cracked and I shoved it behind the door and forgot about it.

I was not unhappy about it. That is the strange part. I had simply stopped expecting the useful things in my house to also be the things I did not mind looking at.

Useful things are allowed to look ugly in the corner. That was the rule I did not know I was living by.

The moment it cracked open

My sister came to stay in the spring. She walked into the spare room, looked at the tatty plastic bin I had been hiding behind the door, and said, without any malice, love, what is that. Then she pulled out of her car a quilted laundry basket she had bought from a small place called Bruny Boutique, and put it in the corner of the room like it belonged there.

It was the Halle, and it is cut from a thick cotton-poly blend with a daisy and bee print that runs all the way around the body, so there is no plain back to hide against the wall. It stands upright on its own, even when it is empty. It has sturdy canvas handles on each side, stitched through the quilted sides, so a full load is comfortable to carry from the bedroom to the machine. I had a proper look at it, and then I had a quiet look at myself, because I had been putting up with a cracked plastic bin for longer than I wanted to admit.

I went home and ordered one the same week. I chose the daisy and bee print because my sister had, and I am a copycat at heart. They do dozens of designs at Bruny Boutique, which I only learnt after, but the print that made me stop and look was the one my sister had brought into my house.

What happened at book club

Book club met at my place the following month. Three of the women asked about it before I had even put the kettle on, which is unheard of, because Margaret, who never notices anything, picked it up, turned it around, looked at the print on the back, and said, oh, this is lovely, where is it from.

I told them about Bruny Boutique, and about the wide range of designs, and Margaret wrote the name down on the back of her book list, which is how I knew it had landed.

Three things I have learnt from owning it

One. It stands up on its own, and that matters more than I expected. The structured cotton-poly blend holds its shape without a wire frame, so the basket stays upright whether it is full of towels or sitting empty in the corner of the room. I am no longer kicking a soft-sided bin back into shape every morning.

Two. The print runs all the way around the body, so there is no ugly side. The daisy and bee artwork wraps the full body of the basket, which means I can have it sitting out in the room and not worry about which way it is facing. It looks like part of the room, which is a sentence I never thought I would say about a laundry basket.

Three. The handles take the weight, and the basket folds away when it is not needed. The canvas handles are securely stitched through the quilted sides, so a full load is comfortable to carry from the bedroom to the laundry. And when it is empty, the structured fabric folds flat, so it tucks away neatly between washes.

What I thought when I saw the price

I almost closed the tab. The Halle was $74.95, marked down from $149.95, and my first thought was, that is too good, there must be a catch.

There was no catch I could find. Bruny Boutique is a small boutique that sells directly, and the sale is on because it is their 22 year anniversary, which is the honest reason they gave me when I asked. They also offer 30 day returns, which I did not need, but it was nice to know.

I read the reviews before I ordered, because I am careful with money. The rating is 4.6 stars across 914 reviews, and a number like that made me trust it more than a suspiciously clean five would have. Real women, mostly small gripes, mostly happy. I felt I was in the right company.

What I would say to you over tea

If a friend asked me, over a cup of tea, whether she should have a look, I would say yes. Have a look while the anniversary sale is on, see the wide range of designs, pick the print that makes you smile, and stop hiding your laundry basket in the corner. That is the whole of my advice.

I am not going to dress it up. I am a 58 year old woman in Hobart with a golden retriever, and I am writing to you about a laundry basket, and that is how strongly I feel about it.

The 22 year anniversary sale is on now, and that is the only reason I am mentioning the price.

I am a 58 year old woman in Hobart writing to you about a laundry basket, and that is how strongly I feel about it.

Karen

Halle | Quilted Cotton Laundry Basket

★★★★★ 4.6 out of 5 from 914 reviews

$149.95 $74.95

• Quilted laundry basket in a thick cotton-poly blend
• Daisy and bee print that wraps all the way around the body
• Stands upright on its own, even when empty
• Sturdy canvas handles stitched through both sides
• Structured fabric folds flat for tidy storage between washes

Have a look at the quilted basket collection

The 22 year anniversary sale is on now, and that is the only reason I am mentioning the price.