Try the Viral “GFD Bin” Decluttering Method the Next Time Guests Come Over.
I love watching Reels and TikToks about cleaning because not only do I get some good tips, but I also find them interesting. Yes, Algorithm, I often find myself in a situation where friends come over, but my house is not entirely spotless. How did you know? One Instagram user has a suggestion for how to turn this exact situation into a tidying win: It’s called the “GFD Trash,” and it’s gained some traction on the app as a quick decluttering method worth trying.
What is a GFD basket?
The GFD Basket is a basket for “dinner guests,” according to its creator, Holly Blakey . The home organization and decorating guru shared this video last December, explaining the idea:
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Basically, before guests arrive, you take a large basket (or even a bag) and carry it around the house, throwing everything you don’t need inside. Then hide it somewhere, such as a closet, making a commitment to clean up the contents the next day. By doing this, you’re multitasking: obviously, you’re getting your home ready for guests quickly, but you’re also setting yourself up for cleaning success by dividing the job into two parts.
Just running around and hiding all the dirty parts of your house may seem like a cop-out, but it’s based on two methods that I actually stick to. The first is the idea of segmentation that you use by following the magic basket approach . The Magic Basket, on the other hand, involves going around your house every evening and putting misplaced items in that basket, then putting everything away the next day. The goal here is to distribute your work so that it never becomes tedious. You wake up the next day feeling satisfied with the work you did the night before, put everything aside, and then get motivated by those efforts, creating a loop instead of one longer, more dreadful task.
The second approach that the GFD Bin encourages is the idea of rewarding yourself for creating extra motivation to clean up. You need breaks when you’re doing something productive or you’ll end up burning out, but when you’re doing a particularly unpleasant or tedious task like cleaning, you also want to make sure those breaks are fun and enjoyable. Just like I recommended eating your favorite candy or watching your favorite show while cleaning, incorporating friends over as an enjoyable activity while cleaning can also be motivating.
Instead of beating yourself up for letting things get messy and rushing before someone gets to your house, think of it as a built-in motivational circuitry. There’s no shame in hiding the mess as long as you commit to cleaning it up the next day.