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‘I’ve folded 462 baskets!’ Single mum’s laundry venture rakes in $4620

Mum-of-four Danica had to get savvy to make a dream come true
Danica found a clever way to save money for her family
Supplied/Five Diamonds Photography
  • Danica Slack, 26, needed to raise $13,000 for a bigger seven-seater car after welcoming twins Braxton and Aubrey to her family of four children
  • Danica began folding laundry for strangers for $10 a basket and was quickly inundated with orders
  • She has now folded 462 baskets and raised $4620 – proving a simple idea can make a big difference

Here Danica Slack, 26, Toowoomba, Qld tells her own story in her own words

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Folding a pair of trackies, I placed them in the basket.

That’s 11 bags down, one to go, I exhaled.

As a single mum to Aylah, six, Theo, four, and twins Braxton and Aubrey, one, I was already doing a lot of laundry. But now, I was using the chore as a way to buy a new car.

My venture hadn’t come without a few curveballs.

After welcoming Theo in December 2021, I suffered post-natal depression and closed my successful candle business to focus on my mental health.

woman folding clothes
Danica has made hundreds of dollars. Credit – Supplied

READ MORE: MONEYSAVER: Top tricks I learned to save on power bills as a single mum

In September 2024, I moved to Bundaberg, Qld, with the kids to be closer to family. I started a cleaning business. But a month later, I was in a car accident. Thankfully, the kids were okay but I was shaken up and, suffering body aches, couldn’t work.

A week later came another shock – I was pregnant with twins!

Although excited, I wasn’t in good financial shape.

Dealing with morning sickness on top of ongoing pain from the accident, I was still unable work, so with the kids I couch-surfed for months until I got a rental in Toowoomba in February 2025.

That March, I was back in the cleaning business after my car was repaired, and in August, I gave birth to Braxton and Aubrey.

Things were looking up, but with two capsules and car seats for my other kids, I needed a bigger car for my family of five.

READ MORE: Thrifty mum: I pay for fuel with my smelly socks

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woman holding laundry basket
Danica keeps herself busy! Credit – Supplied
clothes in baskets in car
Danica with laundry. Credit – Supplied

In June, I learned I’d be eligible for an upgrade, having taken out a loan for my current sedan.

But I needed to pay $13,000 by September.

What will I do? I gulped.

I need to stay home with the bubs, and I can fold laundry, I thought. Why not get paid to do it?

By then I had three employees to keep my business going, so this was the perfect way to earn a little more cash.

Posting on Facebook, I got the word out. For just $10 a basket, I’d need 1300 baskets to reach my goal.

Incredibly, my inbox was inundated within hours, and baskets of laundry started to arrive.

My clientele included busy mums with big families, or parents with children with disabilities who needed a break. Other kind folk donated to allow families who couldn’t afford it to have a batch of laundry folded for free.

woman with children
Aylah holding Aubrey, Danica holding Braxton and Theo. Credit – Five Diamonds Photography
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READ MORE: ‘This is crazy’: This Aussie couple is paying their bills with honey!

And mates would drop off a basket or two to help me achieve my goal.

In three hours, I’d stack around 12 baskets – from easy towels and jeans to trickier items like G-strings and fitted bed sheets!

Today, I’ve completed 462 baskets and raised $4620 towards my 7-seater car. I’ve also expanded to include doing washing, drying and ironing. It’s no easy feat, but I’m proving anything’s possible.

Visit facebook.com/danica.slack

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