Face it, kitchens tend to collect a lot of stuff. This is natural since in most homes, the kitchen is the hub of family life and where most people (or at least one person) spends most of their time.
Kitchen counters are notorious for collecting stuff, most of which could probably find better homes elsewhere. Counter space should be valuable space. The way your organize your counters should make it easier for you to prepare meals. Having a cluttered counter or a counter where things are far from where you need them will add to a lot of frustration and waste time over the course of the life of your kitchen.
Here are some ideas to help you with organizing your kitchen counter.
Since you are used to the way your kitchen looks, you may not realize all of the items that take up some space on your counter. One way to get a new perspective is to take a photo of your counter, or several photos as needed. This may give you new eyes when you are looking at your counter space.
The next thing is to identify anything that doesn’t belong in a kitchen, anything that doesn’t aid in the preparation of food, and find it a better home. Some items that may wander on to the counters include mail, keys, kids art supplies, homework, forms, magazines, coupons, hand tools such as a hammer or screwdriver, newspapers, craft projects, and your digital camera (did you leave it there after you took the photos?).
Once the non-kitchen items are removed, next take a look at the appliances. Anything that does not get used at least every other day should be taken off of the counter and stored in a cabinet, drawer, pantry or closet. If you have a lot of counter space, you may have a little more leeway for clumsy appliances. So if you only use your stand mixer, bread maker, espresso machine or crock-pot once a month, store it off of the counter.
Check back again tomorrow, when I talk a little more about appliances and where to store them.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog and caring for little ones in the Baby Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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