A note from DIANE, on the one thing in my house I never chose
A letter from a READER
I Chose Every Room in My House. My Laundry Basket Was Left Behind by a Liftie in 2003.
Six things I’d tell any friend about the basket that finally replaced it, from a woman who never once thought about hers.
Diane Miller · Jackson, Wyoming · November 2026 · 5 min read
Ive lived in this house for thirty-one years, and I chose nearly everything in it. The quilt on our bed was my mother’s. I picked the front room curtains twice, because I got them wrong the first time. Ray built the bench by the door, and I sewed the cushion for it.
Except the laundry basket. In the winter of 2003 we rented our basement to a young man who ran a chairlift on the mountain. In April he drove off to Montana and left one thing behind: a gray plastic basket with a crack down one side. I carried it upstairs to use until I bought a proper one. That was twenty-three years ago. Nobody chose it. It just stayed.
It only ever lived two ways. When company came, and in ski season company comes all winter, it got shoved into the basement closet behind the vacuum. The rest of the time it sat in the hallway with the crack facing out. Somewhere along the way I’d accepted that the ugliest thing in my house was the one I used every day.
Then I saw one at my friend Carol’s, sitting on her landing full of folded towels. I honestly thought it was decoration. It came from Nancy’s little boutique on the Town Square, and I’ve had my own for a month now. When I work out why it made such a difference, it comes down to six things.
On my own landing now, full of clean towels. I thought Carol’s was just decoration until I saw her carry it down to the washer.
1
It stands up on its own, even empty.
The walls are quilted and padded, so it keeps its shape whether there’s one sock in it or a full week of towels. No slumping, no folding in on itself, no tipping over when you take the last thing out.
JW
★★★★★
This is my new laundry basket and I love it so much, not that boring old baskets which broke out of nowhere.
Janet W., Columbus, OH
Verified buyer
2
The turtle is stitched on, not printed.
Run your thumb across the shell and you can feel every stitch. The turtle, the starfish, the coral and the shells are all sewn onto the quilted fabric, and the water is quilted in little waves. Nothing to crack, peel or fade after a winter next to a warm dryer.
Every scale on the shell is stitched in. Ray thought it was printed until he touched it.
PH
★★★★★
Medium for the bedroom and the small for the bathroom. The prettiest useful things I own.
Patricia H., Boise, ID
Verified buyer
3
The handles are sewn on properly.
Two soft loop handles, sewn into a padded cuff around the top. I carry a full load up from the basement every Saturday. The old plastic rim cut into my fingers by the third step. These don’t.
EM
★★★★★
Folded flat and under the bed when my son visits with the dog. Pops back up like nothing happened.
Eileen M., Asheville, NC
Verified buyer
4
It’s finished on the inside, too.
The inside is lined in soft cream fabric. No rough plastic edge to snag a good sweater, and it looks as tidy when you look down into it as it does from across the room.
LT
★★★★★
I use it now for a couple weeks and my friends which have seen them are loving it as well, they ordered also and loving them.
Lorraine T., Scranton, PA
Verified buyer
5
It holds a whole winter load.
From November to April in Wyoming, laundry means bath towels, flannel sheets and thermals, and it’s heavy. This one takes a full load of towels with room to spare, and it still stands straight.
DS
★★★★★
Empty or full it stands there like a piece of furniture. The plastic one went out with the trash the same week.
Donna S., Bangor, ME
Verified buyer
6
3 sizes, and more designs than I expected.
I went back and forth for a week between the turtle and the bee with the daisies. The turtle won, because we watched sea turtles hatch one summer at our daughter’s place on the Outer Banks, and I like a bit of somewhere warm in a Wyoming winter. Carol ended up with the bee.
The bee I nearly chose and the turtle I did.
RG
★★★★★
I have one in my bathroom and one in the living room. You can use it for different jobs.
Rhonda G., Tulsa, OK
Verified buyer
My basket, against the one a liftie left behind
I’m not one for comparisons, but this one is fair.
THE ONE THAT JUST STAYED
A cracked plastic rim that bites your fingers
Shoved in the closet whenever company came
Slumps when full, tips over when empty
Hard plastic that snags good sweaters
Gray, because that’s what he left
Never chosen, never liked
Nancy Susan Moulton
Soft handles sewn into a padded cuff
Stays out, and people ask about it
Stands up on its own, even empty
Lined in soft cream fabric inside
A stitched sea turtle, waves and shells
Chosen on purpose
Everything in my house got chosen except the thing I used most. Now that’s chosen too.
Why everything is 60% OFF this month
I’m careful with money, so I’ll be honest: the price is what made me hesitate. Small is $49.95 (was $125), medium $54.95 (was $137.50), and large, for a full family load, $59.95 (was $150). Carol bought the large. She has six grandchildren who come for all of Christmas.
I assumed there had to be a catch. There isn’t one I’ve found. Nancy Susan Moulton is a small local shop selling directly, and Nancy is celebrating five years on the Town Square with 60% off everything. It’s not a closing-down sale. She’s not going anywhere. Free shipping, 30 days to change your mind, and when a design sells out, it’s gone. Nancy told me the turtle has already sold out once.
5th Anniversary Run · Limited to this month
5
Years on the same street
4.8★
Across 1,500+ reviews
28
DIFFERENT PATTERNS
30
Days to change your mind
CR
★★★★★
I was so happy with my first one that I needed to order a second one, and here it is.
Carol R., Sarasota, FL
Verified buyer
Before I ordered, I read the reviews. The same six things I’ve written about here kept coming up, over and over, and that’s what decided it. If your laundry basket also just turned up one day and never left, this is the one I’d point you to. Choose it on purpose, before the holidays fill your house with towels, and while the design you like is still there.
— Diane
THE SEA TURTLE | QUILTED LAUNDRY BASKET
★★★★★
4.8 / 5 from 1,500+ reviews
$125
$49.95
Save $75.05
Turtle, starfish, coral and shells stitched on, not printed
Soft loop handles sewn into a padded cuff, cream lining inside
CLIENT · NANCY SUSAN MOULTON · JACKSON HOLE, WYOMING
Diane has lived in Jackson Hole for thirty-one years with her husband Ray. She’s a customer, not a professional writer, and she wrote this because Carol told her to.
