Get Organized In A Hurry With Instagram's Quick & Clever Storage System

As much as you would love your home to always look picture perfect, that is simply not realistic: you likely live in your home with other people, and maybe even animals, all of whom will generate messes from time to time. While little piles and general disorganization is to be expected, one challenge that stems from it is quickly resetting your home — in particular, when company is coming over. Your kids left their art project on the table, there's a partially finished puzzle on the ground, random bills and paperwork clutter the counter, and there's random items littered across numerous flat surfaces. Fortunately, you can fake a clean home for company on short notice with a simple step.

Shown on the Instagram channel @breathing.room.home, the clever hack shows how one person uses a simple household basket to round up items that are strewn across the house before guests arrive. She calls the system the GFD Basket — the "guests for dinner" basket. Walking methodically from room to room, the influencer gathers up items from the dining room table and kitchen counters, then places a filled basket into a closet. 

The creator states that this approach allows her to know where everything is the next day — or whenever she has time to put the items away — while also quickly cleaning up the home in anticipation of visitors. The next time you're expecting guests, try to tuck these items away before they arrive using this straightforward approach.

As much as you might want to put that pack of stickers in the art drawer or just return the phone charger to its home, this system works because it removes friction at a time when every minute counts. Instead of sending you scrambling all over the house to put things in their proper spots, this hack capitalizes instead on rounding up everything in one convenient location so that you can focus on the task at hand: getting ready for guests. 

Don't worry, you'll still have a chance to put everything where it belongs later; if you're someone who thrives on an action plan, be thinking about where items belong while you're putting them in the GFD bin. This will help your executive functioning later when it comes time to address the bin's contents.

The GFD bin system is a thing you can do every night to stay organized the next day, even if you're not expecting visitors. Using a bin to collect items that have been left out at the end of the day or before dinner gives you the opportunity to quickly regain control of your space at a moment when you're likely tired, overwhelmed, and juggling other responsibilities. Using the basket to clear precious space on your kitchen table, island, and other shared spaces can give you some visual peace and a break from overfunctioning. Once things have settled, or when you have your coffee the next morning, you can methodically put things back where they belong.

While the GFD bin is a great idea that can seriously streamline your pre-guest prep time (or the end-of-the-day resetting of your home), it isn't a true catch-all. There are certain items that cannot or should not be placed in the bin for a number of reasons. Firstly, anything that is food or drink-related should not be placed in the GFD bin. That includes a half-eaten bag of crackers or a sippy cup that your child was using. Food crumbs can attract pests, so it's best to keep food where it belongs: in the pantry or fridge. Similarly, unwashed dishes can begin to grow bacteria, so take the time necessary to just pop cups or snack bowls into the dishwasher while you're rounding up clutter.

Another category of items that should be put away instead of lumped into the GFD roundup is time-sensitive paperwork: this would include any bills that need to be paid promptly and homework that is due in the morning. The saying "out of sight, out of mind" is very true, so place these papers on a desk or even on the side of your fridge with a magnet to avoid forgetting about them. 

Lastly, avoid placing keys or wallets in the GFD bin while you're filling it up. Even though you might think you'd remember putting them into the basket, you might be too preoccupied to call to mind where your partner's car keys are in the morning when they're leaving for work. Take the extra moment or two to hang up keys, and put wallets where they belong, too.