I used to come home from every road trip with a garbage bag full of dirty clothes that I’d then spend twenty minutes sorting. It was a mess. Then a friend gave me a collapsible laundry basket and I started throwing it in the trunk every time we left town.

Why it’s worth the trunk space

A collapsible basket folds flat when you don’t need it and pops open into a real hamper when you do. On the road it sits in the hotel room or the trunk and collects dirty clothes as they happen, so you’re not doing a big sort the night before checkout. When you get home, the whole thing goes straight to the washer.

What to look for

• Wire frame or a sturdy pop-up. The cheap mesh ones collapse on themselves when you actually fill them.
• A wide, stable base. Narrow baskets tip over the second you drop a wet towel in.
• Folds flat enough to slide under a seat. If it takes up real space, you’ll leave it home.

Where it earns its keep

• Road trips and camping, obviously.
• Hotel stays with kids. Their clothes never make it into a suitcase, but they’ll hit a basket.
• Trips to the laundromat when your home basket is too bulky to carry.

It’s a small, unglamorous thing, but I haven’t come home to a garbage-bag sort in over a year.