How to Clean a Wicker Basket

Every year we have a family ritual when we clean our house from top to bottom. This includes all of the wonderful wicker baskets and containers used for organizing “stuff” around the house. Wicker is great for organizing things and depending on the things or area it is being used to organize, it will eventually need to be cleaned. Like most things found in a home, wicker can collect dust – and if left alone, that dust can really add up!

Typically, the task of cleaning all our wicker products falls on me, and after a few years of doing this I have a pretty effective strategy for tackling it. It all starts with dividing and conquering the various wicker items into categories. Let’s get started:

This first category I’ll cover is the easiest in my opinion, and the majority of your wicker items will fall into it. I start by gathering up all the big wicker baskets used for dirty linens, magazines, firewood, etc., and place them on the patio in the backyard. They usually have cloth inserts that I remove and drop in the washing machine. Once the inserts are being washed, I mix a bucket with mild soap and warm water for the baskets themselves. I give each item a quick rinse with the hose, and then gently wash them with the warm soapy water and a soft sponge. Finally, give them another quick rinse and a light shake to remove excess water. I let them dry in a shaded area of the patio, usually overnight. Here’s an optional tip that I use when I need them to dry in a hurry – just hit them with a leaf blower for a few seconds each – it is amazing how much water clears off by doing this (obviously, you will want to be in relatively clean area, grass works great for this). My wife is not a big fan of this method due to the noise and prefers I simply pat them down with utility towels.

Compressed air works best when cleaning items like this

The second category is for items that cannot get wet and washed properly. I gather those on the side of the house near the garage and set up a small table to work with them. I use the air compressor to gently clean off the dirt and dust gathered over time. In a pinch, I’ve used canned air for this and found it to be just as effective. Just remember to use some eye protection because there can be a lot of dust and debris in the air while cleaning with this method.

At this point, I usually flip the inserts into the dryer and start returning the air cleaned items to their proper places. I can accomplish this in about an hour flat, plus another 15 minutes the next day putting the inserts in place and returning the items back to their original wicker homes.

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My Weekend Laundry Basket Strategy

In our house, I am the project manager responsible for the weekly laundry duty. My wife and I both work full-time, and long ago it was decided that the ongoing chore of laundry would be my responsibility. Over the years, I have developed a strategy for streamlining this process to ensure my weekend does not become consumed by it.

Let’s start with the kids’ rooms. We have two, one is 15-years-old, and the other about 19 months. I use the same strategy for each: two heavy duty wicker baskets in each room. One is white, and the other is a natural wicker color. The white basket is for the white laundry, and the natural wicker basket is for everything else. Special requests are routed to a blue wicker basket in the laundry room.

First thing Saturday morning, I’ll tackle our toddler’s laundry; it goes pretty quickly since it’s only two loads – a light and a dark. The goal is to have both loads complete by noon. At noon, the laundry machine is turned over to our teenager. She is responsible for doing her own laundry and has the rest of the day to accomplish her task. She usually does about 2 or 3 loads of laundry and understands she has to get it done before Sunday.

Wicker can be very stylish and functional


We have a similar setup in our bathroom: two sturdy wicker baskets for the main laundry and a smaller half-sized one for dry cleaning. On Sunday, I typically tackle the laundry fairy early, starting with the basket of white laundry. That way, I can watch the morning football game while I fold – who says doing laundry has to be boring? The hardest part for me is staying consistent with the laundry cycles. I find using the timer on my iPhone works well for notifying me when it’s time to cycle the laundry.

By the time I’m done, I’ve usually completed a load of whites, two loads of darks, a load of lights, and occasionally, a load of special laundry depending on the contents of the blue basket. Every other week, I also do bed linens and probably only spend about an hour-and-a-half total on that process. Oh, and if you are wondering, that dry cleaning basket gets emptied every other Monday when I pick up (and drop off) the dry cleaning.

The best tip I can share with you is this – having family members pre-sort their laundry in two baskets really helps to streamline the whole laundry process. I hope my story has helped give you some ideas on ways to make your own laundry chores just a little easier by using wicker baskets!

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