After our cat marked his laundry once again, my wife and I agreed that we needed a new basket that would be out of his reach.
The result of my work was a five-bag laundry basket made from plastic pipes, fittings, clamps, fabric, several laundry bags and safety pins.
Basket drawing
This is what I had in mind. I decided to make a basket with a lid (so the cat couldn't get to the laundry). Of course it is not required. But with the help of a fastening coupling you can make interesting things from plastic pipes.
Preparation of materials
I made the frame of the basket out of plastic.
Below I will list what I used.
All elements are 12 mm in diameter.
Pipe fasteners - they are used to secure pipes (without interacting with the liquid in the pipes), although standard fittings can also be used for these purposes.
8 space tees (for corners)
5 tees (for intermediate fasteners and top of cover)
11 T-couplers (for attaching the base under the bags and for use as lid hinges)
2 outlets (for cover corners)
Clamps
The clips will serve to secure the fabric on the lid and laundry bags on the frame.
-12 for bags.
-12 for the fabric on the lid.
-Pipe length.
The length is simple. The basket is one meter high and two meters wide. Therefore, I cut the pipes into two lengths. All pipes had a diameter of 12 mm.
-16 pieces of one meter each (4 for the bottom, 4 for the top, 6 for vertical posts and 2 for the lid).
-11 pieces of 50 cm each (two for the bottom, 6 for the top, 3 for the lid).
But you can rely on the size of the laundry bags.
Other things.
- 5 bags for dirty laundry.
- a piece of material for the lid.
- several safety pins for fastening the fabric.
Frame made of plastic pipes
I started by assembling the bottom. I inserted the uprights and then made the top of the frame.
Notice how I placed the T-couplers on the pipe. On one side I used 3 and on the other 4. The additional coupling served to strengthen the middle of the lid.
When choosing the length of pipes for the cover, I had to think about it. Because the hinges are slightly offset and I needed to cut one of the top tubes to fit the offset. I measured this pipe already at the assembly stage, marking and sawing off its excess part with a hacksaw.
I did not glue the plastic elements together. The fitting and couplings held quite tightly.
Attaching bags and fabric for lids
The laundry bags were secured with clamps. With such devices this is easy and convenient. Bags can be removed for washing or replacement.
My wife found some inexpensive fabric that we used to cover the lid, securing it with clips, and pinning the edges with safety pins.
Ready.
Here is my DIY basket with a lid for sorting laundry.
Quite simple and convenient.
And yet, the cat will not get into it.
