Hampers are large baskets that are usually made using the wicker or plastic and used for various purposes such as storing clothes and carrying food. They can be made from different materials such as plastic or bamboo. The materials used to make them largely depend on the intended purpose and the preference of the buyer. It is important to clearly understand the type of hampers before choosing them for some particular purpose.
Types of Hampers
When classified according to purpose, there are several types of hampers. The most common type of hampers are the food hampers used to store food and giving gifts of food. They usually contain treats such as baked products and chocolate. Food hampers usually have a sweetener which delays the growth of most of the harmful bacteria thus making them ideal for storing edibles.
The second type of hamper is a wine hamper which is basically a more complicated food hamper. It is usually designed for picnics, and this explains its various compartments meant to hold utensils such as plates, solid and liquid food, and picnic cloths. The benefit of the wine hamper is that it is usually large and has been made in a way that it can support both fluid and solid foods for long distances.
The third type of hamper is the clothes hamper that is usually used to store dirty clothes. This kind of hampers is usually found in a central laundry room in which people living together mostly family bring their dirty clothes. They are usually partitioned depending on the type of clothes, for instance, fast color clothes, belts, shirts and jackets compartments. This way, it is easy for the person doing the laundry assign the appropriate care to each of the items.
The fourth type of hampers is bathroom hampers which are used to store the bathroom essentials. In some instances, they can also be used to store dirty laundry especially if the home is quite congested. The bathroom hampers can be collapsible in that they can be folded or adjusted to cover different volumes. The collapsible hampers are used more by people with smaller bathrooms. When using bathroom hampers it is important to choose the one that has vents to avoid bad odor or mild dew to the contents. Even in the case the hamper lacks a lid, adequate air may fail to reach the clothes at the bottom and this results into a bad odor. Keeping that in mind, hampers made from wicker or rattan are most efficient when storing laundry.
Considerations when Choosing Hampers
When choosing the best type of hamper to use, you should carefully consider the envisioned purpose. For instance, it can be hard to use a laundry hamper for a picnic. The price of the hamper and the space available to store it is another valid consideration when purchasing a hamper. With that in mind, it will be easy to narrow down the choices thus leaving the user with the most appropriate hamper for a given purpose. Hampers have been used as gifts where one stocks it with non-perishable edibles such as biscuits, cake, chocolate and wine then presents them to someone as a token of appreciation. Depending on the number of items intended to be placed on the hamper, when giving a hamper as a gift, a person can choose the food to hamper or the wine hamper. When operating on a small budget and limited space, a food hamper is appropriate because it is smaller in nature and can only carry a limited amount of edibles. This will make the hamper full and presentable. On the other hand, if the gifts intended are many, a person should consider wine hamper with many compartments to store different types of food.
Most people in the country use hampers for picnics, and due to the bad choices made by some people, the picnic ends up spoilt by spillage from the hampers. A food basket is not appropriate for a picnic since it can only carry a few supplies and it is not covered thus increasing the risk of spillage. On the other hand, a wine hamper is bigger and the fact that it has different compartments makes it better for storing different types of food both fluids and solid. The hampers can have a lid, and this significantly reduces the risk of spillage.
Most people store their dirty clothes for a longer duration than they anticipate and this makes it necessary to have a ventilated laundry hamper. When choosing a laundry hamper, a person should determine the average days that it takes him/her to clean the dirty clothes and then wanted a hamper to match the purpose. In the case a person cleans the laundry after one day, one can buy the less ventilated hamper if it has more value for money. However, if it takes more than three days to clear up the dirty laundry, a person should keenly consider the ventilation properties of the hamper that they want to acquire.
A person should also consider the size of the family before choosing a laundry hamper. In large families, dirty laundry is usually stored separately, and this shows that there will be several hampers needed in such a home. However, the family might be considering the most economic hamper regarding money and space and a large hamper will be the best choice. To make such a hamper effective, it should have different layers each for the various types of clothes.
In Singapore, most people use hampers for picnics and gifts. Stores usually offer a variety of options when choosing gift hampers which include baby hampers, get well soon hampers and Valentine hampers. For special occasions, most of the stores will be ready to customize a hamper for you, but this will include extra charges. Stores also provide luxury hampers that are usually stocked with expensive stuff such as some designer soap, perfume and other toiletries. Finally, if the most appropriate hamper listed have several shortcomings, you can choose the closest option and modify it to serve a given purpose.
