There's no denying Bobby Berk's design genius, but he's also a master of organization, too. As a typical Virgo, the Queer Eye star likes nothing more than a neatly arranged home where everything has its proper space with suitable storage, right down to the minutiae of grocery bags.
We all have an ever-growing collection of plastic grocery bags somewhere inside our home. No matter how hard you try to curb your collection, it seems to mysteriously multiply until you lose total control and they take up far more space than necessary. According to professional organizers, they're one of the most common offenders when it comes to cluttered cabinets and pantries.
Luckily for us, Bobby has a solution, and his nifty trick could save you tonnes of space. The only pitfall is you'll also need tonnes of time on your hands to do it since his extreme method is finicky, to say the least. Where pantry organization ideas are concerned, however, it could just be the super satisfying technique you've been searching for. Here's what you need to know.
As a stereotypical Virgo, Bobby knows a thing or two about neat organization, and his intriguing (yet, time-consuming) method for storing grocery bags proves just that. Taking to Instagram to share his unusual storage idea, he showed his followers how he prefers to fold his plastic bags so that they fit neatly in his drawers without spilling out and taking up space.
To replicate his technique, start by laying your bag flat and folding it into thirds. From there, fold the bottom corner in to create a triangle shape and continue all the way along the strip, folding the handles in to secure the bag in place. The result is a compact little samosa-shaped carrier bag that fits neatly inside a drawer or cabinet.
'Bobby Berk's plastic bag folding hack is a clever and stylish way to keep grocery bags neatly organized,' says professional organizer Di Ter Avest, owner of Di is Organized. 'While this technique may seem over the top to some people, it offers a neat and compact storage solution that can save space and reduce clutter.'
Of course, it takes a certain type of person to commit to this level of organization. What's more, convincing the other members of your household to adopt the technique will probably prove tricky, taking you right back to square one in a matter of days. Unless you have plenty of time on your hands, Ben Soreff of House to Home Organizing says this viral trick for organizing kitchen drawers just isn't realistic, despite being an excellent space save.
'This hack lands squarely in the Marie Kondo aspirational camp,' he says. 'Most people take plastic bags and think, I know where this goes, and shove it in the bag area or drawer, but they never finish the equation which is we want them to come out again. So the first step is to ask, why are we keeping this? Do we use these plastic bags? The time and energy it would take to keep these inexpensive disposable bags this way would not fit the average working person, parent, or caregiver.'
That's not to say it won't work for you, however. 'On one hand, I think this is probably a bit time-consuming and precious for many of us but for others, this makes perfect sense,' says California-based organizer Melissa Gugni. 'My guess is you will know which camp you fall into 10 seconds into this video, but if you don't mind spending time folding your laundry, why not give this a try?'
If you're looking for something more convenient and a little less taxing on your free time, Melissa suggests finding an alternative storage option or kitchen organizer that keeps your bags compact without the requirement of folding. 'It's good to have some sort of system, even if it's shoving them in a bag or bin to condense them into a more manageable size,' she says. 'It's also important to assess your bag stash from time to time. I'm frequently in homes with 100s of bags that a household wouldn't use in a lifetime.'
'Another option would be to use a simple bag holder or repurpose a tissue box to store bags, which might be more practical for everyday use,' adds Di. 'I particularly love the plastic bag organizer by YouCopia, available from Amazon. I use it in my kitchen, and it saves so much space while being very user-friendly.'
