DIY July: how to retrofit a laundry hamper

We recently teamed up with talented artist Evie Kemp to turn her laundry into a vibrant, maximalist-inspired haven. To complete her laundry and make it extra functional, she shows us how easy it is to retrofit a 2 x 35L base mount laundry hamper into one of her existing laundry cabinets.

If you’d like a tidier and more functional laundry in just 30 minutes, follow along with Evie by watching her tutorial, plus keep scrolling to hear about her experience and get all the information you need to retrofit your own laundry hamper!

hear from Evie

why did you want to add our pull-out hamper to your laundry space?

“What I disliked most about our old laundry was how the bench was always piled with “stuff”, after doing our kaboodle renovation we have so much more cupboard space and I realised I didn’t need to have laundry hampers taking up bench space. Instead, we could use one of our lovely cabinets for a really functional hamper system. I love how solid and smooth the pullout hamper is and that I can have two separate hampers for sorting and still have cupboard space left. You can see our laundry from the front door, and the laundry hamper makes it look much tidier!”

how did you go installing the laundry hamper?

“Installing the hamper was so incredibly easy, it took probably about 30 minutes in total – which includes the time it took me to find my screwdriver. The instructions were super easy to follow, with logical steps, clear diagrams that refer to what pieces actually look like and the handy template for figuring out where to screw. As with other kaboodle products I’ve used, there are no unnecessary steps and pieces come ready to go wherever possible so you end up with a really streamlined process and solid end result. It’s very satisfying!

can you list out the steps you took for this DIY project?

“I started out by clearing out the cabinet I wanted to install the hamper in, next to the washing machine. This was a 600mm base cabinet and I was placing the hamper off to the side closest to the washing machine.”

Note: Our 2-basket laundry hamper is the perfect fit for a 450mm base cabinet. If you only have a 300mm base cabinet to work with, use our 1-basket laundry hamper. If you’ve got a larger base cabinet to work with, you can place either hamper off to one side like Evie did.

"Then I took out the shelf that was in the cabinet (I’m going to reuse that as an extra shelf in another cupboard!).

I unpacked the box and then made sure to read the instructions before getting stuck in. Luckily the instructions are really clear, and there aren’t too many pieces so it was very straight forward.

Using the paper template on the instructions I marked and drilled holes in the bottom of the cabinet, and then attached the base brackets with screws.

Then it was just attaching the handle to the basket and latching it onto the runners, before popping in the hampers.”

And just like that, Evie was able to make her laundry even more functional and keep her space tidy with the simple addition of a kaboodle pull-out laundry hamper.

You can download the full instructions here. You’ll also need a few standard tools that you’ve likely got around the house or that you can purchase from Bunnings;

item checklist:

• Cordless drill

• Screwdriver

• 2.5mm drill bit

• Marking pen

If you’re feeling inspired to retrofit a laundry hamper into your own laundry, use our store locator and pick one up from your nearest Bunnings! For more ideas and inspiration, visit our design blog or follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.