Aldi snaps up Queensland mum’s clever dirty laundry solution

A Queensland mum has managed to turn a very simple idea into a desirable household product, landing a major deal to stock it in Aldi.

Kelly Lavery had just given birth to her third child when she came up with a genius laundry product – and major retailers couldn’t wait to snap it up.

Like most mums, the then 37-year-old, from the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, was busy juggling a household while also attending to her three children, including her newborn son.

She struggled to find the time to complete household chores, such as laundry, where she would often get as far as soaking items from nappies, bibs, clothes and toys in a bucket full of water and product, to get rid of stains.

But the bucket could continue to sit there and fester for anywhere up to a week.

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Kelly Lavery, 43, from Queensland, is the woman behind the genius Strucket product.

It was in this moment the mum came up with a clever idea, now known as Strucket, which has gone on to sell almost 200,000 units across the country since she developed it three years ago.

Strucket is an integrated strainer and bucket. It works exactly like a bucket with the dirty items left inside to soak.

But instead of having to touch the gross water to drain it, once items are finished soaking you just pull the strainer out and click it into place on the side of the bucket.

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It’s a strainer-meets-bucket so you don’t have to touch the gross water when soaking laundry items. Picture: Supplied

It separates the soaked items and leaves the dirty water in the bucket, which is then released down the drain by pulling a plug.

And Kelly quickly realised that her idea had never been brought to life before.

“I spent about $700 on a patent search and, at the time, the guy told me it had definitely been done before, but he came back to me and said, ‘I can’t believe this, but there is nothing on this product,’” Kelly told news.com.au.

“There had never been a patent on it.”

Kelly, now 43, then decided to take the plunge to develop the product.

Kelly, who was busy attending to her newborn at the time, would often leave dirty clothes and nappies soaking in the bucket for up to a week. Picture: Supplied

The Strucket has a plug at the bottom to empty the dirty water. Picture: Supplied

“It was our family sacrifice – we put $500 a week away over a 12-month period,” she said, adding that just designing the product cost up to $12,000.

“I couldn’t afford for it to fail. I couldn’t send my family broke doing it.”

And she definitely didn’t.

While it took a lot of hard work, endless long nights and an overall financial strain of $90,000, it was an instant hit.

Instead of touching the gross water and draining it yourself, the product does it for you.

“We stumbled across a gap in the market and I knew to a degree it would work, but I didn’t really think it would take off this quick,” Kelly said.

In 2019, just one year after its official launch, Howards Storage approached the mum to stock the unique item, followed by David Jones and more recently, German supermarket chain, Aldi which will be selling the item in its sustainable Special Buys range on Saturday.

“We have been so incredibly fortunate from launch, not having to go chasing anything,” Kelly said.

Aldi, together with other major retailers, snapped up the mum’s clever item. Picture: Instagram

“We focus so much on bringing an outstandingly high quality product to market and it’s been so well received with currently nothing like it and that’s just mind boggling.”

Kelly said she is grateful for the support she has received from the Australian market and collaborating with such a big name like Aldi will help her small Aussie business gain even more brand exposure.

“We feel really privileged they have taken an interest in us.”

While Strucket was initially designed to solve dirty laundry needs, its use can be extended to cleaning tools, fishing and camping, with an overall sustainable solution for people with sensitive skin.

Strucket will be sold at Aldi’s Special Buys on Saturday, June 26, for $44.99. Other sustainable items in the range include Sodastream® Spirit Machine ($69.99),

Organics By Kirkton House Organic Cotton Sheet Set ($59.99) and Aequi Plant-Based Protein Powder 1kg for $29.99.