The Best Dorm Laundry Bag, According to College Students

Don’t make the same mistake I did and forget to bring a laundry bag to the dorm! Carrying dirty clothes in your arms to and from the laundry room can become very monotonous very fast, so finding the best laundry bag for college is key to making your daily life a little easier.

There are a lot of options, and you want to make sure that you find one that’s durable and easy to carry. Thankfully, the college students we surveyed have two highly-rated recommendations, and they’re very similar in price and size. Plus, they both have a front pocket for detergent! So check out our winning laundry bag and the runner-up to find out which will be your go-to on laundry day.

Dorm Therapy is dedicated to helping students at every point of their college experience, and that includes shopping for their dorms! We’re a website powered by real college student contributors (who have recently experienced dorm living) and experienced editors, creating service-first content about navigating life at school and sharing vetted product recommendations for dorms and college apartments.

We went straight to the source to determine our winners for the Dorm Therapy Awards 2025, surveying more than 360 college students and recent grads to learn about their absolute favorite products they used in their dorms. 

For the winning laundry bag, we first looked at how many students recommended specific products, and we chose the top two most popular picks. Students ranked their recommendations on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being a product they loved and would “definitely recommend.” Both products were recommended by nearly the same number of students, and the winning product was selected because it had a higher overall rating. 

This $17.99 laundry essential was our clear winner because of the many high ratings from students — it averaged an 8. This backpack-style laundry bag is made of nylon, and has a drawstring cord at the top to secure the laundry when full. The shoulder straps are adjustable, and there is an external pocket for detergent and dryer sheets, as well as an internal pocket for a phone or keys. 

Students also loved this very similar backpack hamper from Target. The Brightroom Backpack Laundry Bag costs $13, and students rated it a 7.7. Just like the winner, this laundry bag has an external pocket, drawstring, and adjustable straps. Where it differs, though, is that this bag is polyester and doesn’t have an internal pocket.