Sharing all the details for what I keep on my countertops (and what I don’t!), a great storage idea for your toaster, how to display clutter with class, and how to hide plugs and cords. PLUS I’m sharing why your kitchen counters are the harbor for junk.

There is no right or wrong answer to how much or what to keep on your countertops BUT I like to air on the side of less is more especially since visual clutter stresses me out. I am easily overstimulated and overwhelmed. Not to mention, in the kitchen I want the food and the people to shine more than my stuff. The kitchen is one of the hardest working spaces in our homes. If you are anything like me then you’re feeding your kids at least 5 times a day here. So its no wonder that our cluttered countertops are driving us nuts.

One thing I’ve learned for sure: If my kitchen counters are a mess, its not usually the kitchen’s fault. Its usually because either my drop zone or my paper system have broken down. So if you are tired of moving piles around so you can finally start to cook a meal, look at those two areas first.

Kitchen Tour

Now lets be clear, I don’t ALWAYS have clean kitchen counters. They get messy just like everyone elses - we do art projects, eat 5 meals a day, and I don’t always have time to finish the dishes. But I do find that those tasks are easy to start and easy to clean up because I’m not constantly moving piles so that I can do what I need to in the kitchen. Come take a full tour of my kitchen below.

If you prefer to watch, rather than read - go here:

Items on my countertop

• Cookbook

• Cookbook Holder

• Cooking utensils jar

• Mortar and pestal

• Olive oil decanter

• Coffee pot

• Coffee canister

• Sonos speaker (similar)

• Fruit bowl

• Dish soap

• Hand soap

• In-Sink Brush Holder

• Paper towel holder

• Dish drying mat
  

cooking zone

To the right of the stove I have my favorite cookbook in an acrylic cookbook holder open for display. I do use the holder regularly but more importantly it hides my phone, charger and a tissue box from plain site. I love this trick for hiding visual clutter and carving out a niche for practical needs like my phone and charger.

Next to the cookbook holder is a jar filled with my metal and wood cooking utensils. We are pretty short on space so I opted to keep my pretty cooking utensils out for display and take back some drawer real estate for the other necessary but less glamorous utensils.

You can see inside all of my kitchen cabinets and drawers here.

One of my other favorite kitchen counter tricks is to find decor that does double duty, like the olive oil decanter. To be honest, we use the olive oil multiple times a day and rarely use the morter and pestal. On the other side of the stove is the coffee maker, coffee canister and music speaker. I originally had the coffee maker on the same wall as the sink but it was too crowded with the soap and there wasn’t enough space for the speaker. I strategically placed the coffee maker in front of the plug to hide “warts” or plugs and cords. In the far corner is a fruit bowl.

cleaning zone

To the right of the sink is a small dish with hand, dish soap and a small plant. I keep my scrub pads in a small dish to the left of the faucet and the dish brush is in a holder inside the sink. To the left of the sink is usually a dish drying mat and always a paper towel holder. Last but not least is the kitchen island.

kitchen island: everyday zone

The kitchen island has taken me a few months to figure out. Its a pretty large open space which sometimes can be a catch all for clutter. It really took tightening up our other systems before I could get this to where it stays free of clutter most of the time. For me, that meant having an effective drop zone for keys, wallets and phones (read more here) and a wya to deal with incoming paper. Now, I keep a cutting board as an anchor for 3 objects. I have a small bowl as a catch all for knicknacks (mostly hair ties, my rings, and chip clips). There is also an OOC plant that needs to be replanted and my favorite candle.

what’s NOT on my countertops

Now you might be wondering, but where do you keep your toaster? What about notes and papers? Where do you keep your kitchen staples like flour and sugar? What about cutting boards? Here are a list of other common kitchen counter items and where I keep mine:

• mixer - My hand mixer and stand mixer are in our pantry. For me, these are less frequently used and with limited countertop real estate it makes more sense for me to have them stored away. (see inside our pantry here)

• salt + pepper shakers - I keep these in the cabinet with my spices. You can see inside every one of my kitchen cabinets and drawers and grab some ideas for your own house here.

• cookbooks - I have a minimal number of cookbooks that I store in my pantry as well. I keep my “cookbook of the moment” on display on my acrylic cookbook holder.

• cutting board - I have several cutting boards around the kitchen area. One is on the island, another is behind the liquor in the bar area and a third (for meats) is next to the pots + pans in the cooking zone (see photo below).

• toaster - We use our toaster almost everyday but I’m not a fan of how it looks on our counter. I keep it in the corner lazy susan cabinet next to our other “morning routine” items like the coffee pot and smoothie station.

• papers - We have a separate system for papers and incoming mail that keeps them off out of the kitchen and off of the counters. I know some people have a “mini office” in their kitchen but its never worked well for me.

• serving pieces - I store serving pieces in the entertainment section of the pantry as well as above the fridge in a slotted metal holder.

I hope this was helpful for you and that you were able to steal a few ideas for what to keep (and maybe what not to!) on your countertops. Let me know if you have any questions. I’d love to answer them.

Shop my countertops

XO

Caroline