When people come to our house or see pictures of our kitchen, they often ask, “How on earth do you keep your kitchen countertops cleared off?”
Yes, I might be weird, but I like to have really, really clean countertops without almost nothing on them.
I’ve always been like this. I grew up in a home where my mom modeled this. Other than a basket of towels and occasionally some bananas, there was never anything on the countertops.
And I grew to love those clean countertops so much that I knew it was what I wanted in my own home someday.
Now, a lot of people have said to me, “If I had a big kitchen, I could totally have clean countertops.”
I found this picture of when Jesse and I were first married and lived in a little basement apartment during our lean law school years. This apartment was small enough where you could plug the vacuum into one outlet and vacuum the whole apartment without switching to another outlet.
Here’s a picture of our kitchen in that basement apartment…
See? It IS possible to have almost nothing on your countertops — even in a small kitchen.
Yes, it was harder to keep the countertops cleaned in this kitchen because it was so tiny and when you made a meal, it messed up the entire kitchen. However, I loved a clean kitchen and clean countertops so much, that I made it a priority to have my kitchen look like this most of the time.
Now some people think that our kitchen is too clean and too minimalistic. I’ve been told before by people online that our home seems sterile and not warm at all because it’s too cleaned off. And I get that. What works for us, won’t work for others and that’s okay!
I’m a big believer in creating a space that works for you and your family and that makes you happy and encourages you to thrive. However, if you’re wondering how we manage to have clean countertops, here are four tips that help us keep our countertops cleaned off:
1. Only have a few appliances.
Okay, so I’m probably going to step on some appliance-loving toes here, but I don’t think you need to have an appliance for everything under the sun.
If you have a doughnut-making business, by all means, have a Doughnut Hole Baker (is there even such a thing? I may have made up a new appliance!), but if you’ve never made Doughnut Holes and never plan to, please don’t go get yourself a Doughnut Hole Baker and then have it collect dust for years.
Appliances take up a LOT of space and are usually one of the biggest reasons people need to have items on their countertops — because they have so many appliances that there isn’t room to fit all of them in their cupboards.
We stick with a few quality appliances that have multi-purpose use (in most cases) and that we use weekly, sometimes daily! These are things like: a Vita-Mix, a waffle iron, a hand-held mixer, a Bread Maker, a toaster, a KitchenAid, two Crock-Pots, and a Keurig. That’s it!
The kitchen in our first non-rental house, the house we paid cash for — I loved this kitchen so much because it was so much bigger than any kitchen we’d ever had in the apartments and duplexes we’d rented in the past. I did a tour of this kitchen and where we kept everything in it here.
2. Don’t keep what you don’t use.
I go through my kitchen very regularly and ask myself, “Do I have more than I need? What can I get rid of? What am I not using?”
If you’re just hanging onto an item because you think you might use it or if you’re just keeping it because there’s some nostalgic reason but it’s serving no purpose, taking up space, and not bringing you joy, get rid of it!
If you don’t love it and you don’t need it, find another home for it. Because there’s no point in it taking up valuable real estate in your kitchen cupboards or on your kitchen countertops!
3. Regularly clean out your pantry.
I’ve talked about having Eat From the Pantry weeks where we challenge ourselves to see how long we can go without going to the store. If you want to have some creative meals, save some money, and use up what you have, this is great way to do so.
Then, once you’ve gone as long as you can go on your Eat From the Pantry Challenge, go through the extra items and get rid of what you’re not going to use. If you’re not going to eat it and it’s not expired, donate it to a local food pantry and bless someone else.
Our current kitchen in TN — my favorite kitchen of all the houses we’ve lived in, even thought it’s a rental house!
4. Train yourself to put it away.
Want to know my best tip to get rid of stuff on your countertops? It’s simple: Train yourself to put your appliances away. Find a place for it — not on your countertops (!) — and start developing the habit of putting back what you got out.
When we lived in the basement apartment, I had to get creative when it came to where to store things. I ended up putting some of less-often-used appliances at the top of the coat closet that was right next to the kitchen. It was unconventional, but it worked and it allowed us to use that closet space fully while also enjoying clean countertops.
Try the 30-Day Clean Countertop Challenge!
Having clean countertops might seem like a lot of work and effort and it might be something that’s just not a priority to you. I totally respect that! What works for us won’t necessarily work for others.
That said, if you’re frustrated with the current state of your kitchen countertops, I want to challenge you to do a 30-Day Clean Countertop Challenge. Here’s how it could work for you:
- First, go through your kitchen and get rid of items you don’t love, need, and/or use. (I highly recommend reading or listening to The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up for some encouragement to pare down and make your home a space that you love and that brings you and your family joy.)
- Then, find a place for the items that are currently taking up residence on your countertops. If you can’t find enough space, go through your items again to see if there’s anything else you can get rid of. Or, get creative and find other places to store items that might not necessarily be in your kitchen (i.e. my coat closet example above).
- Finally, commit to 30 days of clean countertops. 30 days where you’re committed to put away everything you get out once you’re done with it. At the end of 30 days, you will likely find that you just naturally put things away — without even thinking about it!
If you hate your clean countertops at the end of 30 days, you can go back to however they looked before the challenge. But maybe you’ll fall in love with it and realize you love clean countertops, too! And if you do, I will be so happy because my mom inspired me with it and I’d love to be able to inspire you, too, because it’s made such a difference in our home!
What helps you keep your countertops cleaner? Leave a comment and tell us!
I have been following your page for a while now in the hope that I will become more frugal and organised. It has not happened I am afraid. My fault, not yours. This post really inspired me though. Having paid A LOT of money to renovate my kitchen about 4 years ago I seemed to not be able to keep it tidy despite having so much more space. So today I got a grip of myself and it and sorted it all out. It is a work in progress, but looks so much better already. We are all going to struggle to not use it as a dumping ground for everyday life, but we will get there. I have taken before and after pictures too to remind us what it was like. I wonder if they will look the same in 30 days? I hope so.
Yay! You can do it! I’m cheering for you!!
I love clean counter tops!!! We have usually only have our Keurig and Toaster out but since our dishwasher broke we have a drying rack now too. It’s driving me bonkers!!! I can’t wait until we get our new dishwasher and my counters can go back to empty glory!!!
This is my dream! I am totally doing this! But first organizing. I have a corner in my kitchen with all my crap and the kids school stuff and I saw a pin about making my coat closet an home office (cloffice) and am going to do that first. Then I can start this challenge. I’m getting happy thinking about it. I hate hate hate how my family and I dump everything on the centers. It’s going to be like a cleanse! Your counters make me happy!
Where do you keep counter fruits and veggies? I’d love a cleaner look but right now we’ve got a box of tomatoes, a Costco bag of avocados avocados and oranges (so, a lot), apples, limes, lemons, squash, kiwis, garlic, and bananas on the counter. We don’t have a pantry. Thanks!
I admire your sparkling clean countertops! I love a neat and tidy kitchen, but I’ve never had completely cleared off counters. I’m currently in a small house with a family of five, and figuring out how to carefully use our kitchen space is a challenge. We do a lot of from-scratch cooking and use things like our Kitchen Aid and coffee/tea tools daily. As I work on clearing my counters, here are a couple questions I have:
How do you store fruit? This is probably my biggest problem. We go through a lot of fruit and veggies (thank you, Aldi’s!) and I have a big platter on my kitchen counter to hold it all. It does take up space in a small kitchen but-where else do I put fruit that needs to ripen? We have one fridge, so space there is tight, but I do try to store apples in a fridge bin. Anything that needs to ripen or gets mealy in a fridge-like tomatoes, avocados, etc-is hard for me to figure out.
Along those lines-what about potatoes, onions, garlic? I’ve always thought that storing those in an enclosed cabinet will contribute to faster rotting, so mine have sat in a large bowl on the counter taking up space! (I don’t have an extra pantry or an attached garage, so I’m limited in storage.)
Bread & butter. Do you store bread in the fridge or in a cabinet? Our bread box is another item that takes up space but I either don’t have room in the fridge for bread or tire of it drying out so fast in there. I only store bread in the fridge in the heat and humidity of summer when it is more prone to go bad fast. Maybe I just need to be less picky! Then there is my beloved butter, which I keep in covered glass butter dish for spreading easily. Hard butter from the fridge makes me sad. Perhaps I can continue working on clearing enough cabinet space in order to pop the container inside for easy access. How do you store your butter? Am I the only weird one who likes room temperature butter for easy smearing? Heehee!
Love all your other tips-thanks!
Crystal, it’s amazing how many times I come to your site and see a post that’s about something I need help with! If only you could see my kitchen countertops right now!! I’m in for the challenge, and excited to build a new habit. 🙂
Yay! I’m SO grateful!
Also, challenge accepted.
Crystal, I cleared off my kitchen counters except for my knives and my onion basket. The first thing I noticed is that it made a very clear standard for supper clean up. We are not done if the counter is not clean and empty. Sometimes there is confusion about when clean up is done. This helps a lot. Day 1. Check
WOOHOO!!! Way to go!!!
Yes! To knowing when clean-up is done. I’be found that clutter begats clutter. For example, my bottles of vitamins that I keep on the counter collect a bottle of olive oil, a wooden salt cellar, and all kinds of miscellaneous stuff because it blends in. My brain doesn’t register that I need to put things away because I think “oh, there’s supposed to be stuff there.”
This is a great challenge! I struggle with food storage because we do not have a pantry in our small kitchen, and the cabinets are too high for some of the snacks the kids like to grab. Also one “corner” of our counters kind of serves as my office space, with my household binder and planner and other items piling up regularly. I’d love some ideas for these two areas!!
I’ve gotten to the place where kitchen supplies and food-wise, my counter tops are under control. My issue is that I don’t have a committed office space, so I stack my papers and calendars and things on a part of my kitchen counter. Sometimes it feels out of control, but we don’t have an office space in our home and I feel the need to have my important papers and calendars in view. I would love to have a clean counter without these things, and I know this sounds whiny, but I don’t know how to put a system in place for office things when there is no office space in the house. On the other hand, nobody in the family seems to mind. ☺️
My husband has always done the bills, etc., at the dining room table. One year, I found a small rolltop desk that I could park in a corner of the dining room, picturing him turning a chair around and sitting there to do the checkbook and bills. No, he still does the bills on the dining room table!! BUT, when he finishes, everything goes back into the desk and the the roll goes down. And he puts it there, not me! On our “annual finance weekend” he even cleaned it out and put it in order while I sorted and looked over last year’s bills, utilities, etc, and made a due date reminder for the recurring ones. So, that is our office. (We get our extra steps in by having the file cabinet in the front coat closet and the storage files under the stairs.) My calendar is on a magnetic hook on the refrigerator at eye level–that has always been a must for our family. The important papers go in the desk with most urgent on top and the rest in descending order below that. I like the idea of a tickler file, but if it were to get closed…disaster!
Love this post! I’ve always struggled with keeping my countertops clear. A year ago, I wanted to see if my family could live without our microwave because it took up so much space. (Yup, I was concerned about space, and not health benefits, lol.) We put it in the basement for what was going to be a month test. It’s been a year, and we’ve learned to live without it! I love having more space on my counters…now if I could just keep them cleared! I love the 30-day challenge!
I’m in!!!! In both homes. We live in a camper during the week to be close to hubby’s job & go home to our house on the weekends. The kitchen in the house looks almost identical to the one in your basement apartment. It feels massive after being in a camper with 2 toddlers all week though. The only biggie I am struggling with is our water filter. We splurged on my dream Berkey & I just don’t say any other spot to put it other than the counter.
I like having things on my countertop. I’ve purposely found containers on trips that I really like and keep my fresh fruit in different containers in different counter spaces based off if they are gas friendly with each other – the kids always know where to find their favorite fruit for snacks. I have a pretty olive oil glass jar and a garlic clove pottery jar that I keep by my stove. My knives are right next to them ready to grab and use. I have a small white porcelain composter by my sink. A fun covered basket in a corner for onions which makes that space useful. Then I have some favorite small art that I lean over the electrical sockets.
The kitchen is my space in the house so I like seeing things that personalize it to me. 🙂
I actually really like having my stuff all on my countertops, ready for me to use. I keep a basket of onions and garlic, our espresso maker, our knife block, our coffee grinder, the toaster oven, food processor, blender, and in the summer our dehydrator. Oh – and our Berkey water filter and dish drainer. There is still more than enough room to do things (we do have a larger kitchen) that we need to do, but this is SO much more conducive. I use almost every appliance every day and if I had to haul them in and out all the time I probably would not do half of the cooking that I do. I think it is so fabulous how we are all so different in how we like our homes! Find what works for you!
Do others keep a lot of produce out at room temp like me. Besides bananas I currently have onions, potatoes, tomatoes, apples, a butternut squash on my counter. Any suggestions for keeping them from cluttering my space. I haven’t found the perfect fruit bowl or basket for my space. Still looking…
I’ve found a two tier wrought iron basket (from Southern Living party) that attaches to the side of my island (screwed into side of the cupboard) to store all my room temperature produce and get it off of the counter! 🙂
I love this idea! I don’t have room for an island since my kitchen is so small, but that’s a great solution.
Yes! This is my exact same problem! All of mine is on a platter or in a bowl-or both-and it takes up so much space and yet I’m not sure what else to do with it.
I love clean countertops as well! I just can’t kick the dish drainer off the counter. It seems that our water bottles are always drying in there, or pots and pans, etc. Where do you keep your dish drainer? Or do you hand dry and immediately put it away?
Do you ever use a dish drainer/drying rack type thing? Do you hide it when it’s not in use? Ours is almost always “drying” something, but I do not like the look of it!
I use a dish towel. I don’t like drying racks and don’t have space for them. I thought those drying pads were cool, but then I noticed that they get moldy and stained and gross looking. With dish towels, I can hang them up and they dry quickly. I throw them in the washer and don’t have to worry about a dedicated item just for drying dishes. With a small space, it is better for me to have one item serve several functions.
We just wash dishes in one side of the sink and use the other for drying. It takes up part of the sink, but not counter space 🙂
The putting appliances away is what I do, too! Since we moved into a VERY tiny rental while we save money for a house, I do NOT have a lot of counter space. The microwave and knife block take up most of it!
I turned my dining room table into a kitchen island since there isn’t even enough room to put chairs around it. My stand mixer, panini (great for quick grilled cheese sandwiches cuz I don’t need to break out the frying pan), crock pot, and bread maker all live down under the table. The only other appliance we have out is the food processor and that lives on top of the mini-fridge and the Keurig which sits on a half-table next to hubby’s office, since he’s the only coffee drinker.
Some day I will have a large enough kitchen for a real island, and I still plan on keeping most of my appliances there.
I’ve been dreaming of your counters for years. I have about half the stuff on top of mine now that I used to and I love it.
I love having a decluttered kitchen with clear counter tops but sometimes I find it to be more trouble than it’s worth. My counter and cupboard space is similar to your basement apartment I’m cooking (and preserving this time of year) for a family of four. I have a separate pantry and keep many appliances and supplies in the basement which means I’m making multiple trips daily up and down the stairs for necessary items. Out of necessity we have a kitchen island with open shelves for pots and pans and several other open shelving units in the kitchen. As much as I try to stay on top of it, things are just going to look cluttered. Not to mention the dish rack on the counter. How are you getting along without one, even with a dishwasher? Unless I wanted to spend a ridiculous amount of time every day working on keeping my kitchen perfectly decluttered I just don’t see how I could keep my counters clear without drastically affecting the functionality. This challenge is well meaning (and I will definitely be taking a look at ways in which I can do better) but I have to admit that it makes me feel defensive because of the amount of time I spend keeping my kitchen in order yet it’s still never going to be as pristine as yours.
I replaced my plate drying rack with a drying pad. I mostly use the dishwasher, but use the drying pad for little plastic storage cops and odds and ends. I fold the drying pad and store it with kitchen dishtowels when not in use. It makes such a difference not to have that eyesore of the dish drain!
Even though I do have a dishwasher, I also hand wash some dishes and pans in the sink. I have a double bowl kitchen sink. On the left side of the sink, I wash and rinse the dishes. I bought a dish drainer that fits INSIDE the right bowl. This is where I put the items to drain. As I’m washing things and the drainer gets full, I just stop and hand dry some things to free up more space in the drainer. There is a small utensil holder in the drainer where I keep my dish scrubbies, so they can air dry too.
I just dry dishes and put them away as I wash them.
Wow, I wish I had space in my cabinets for some of this stuff, but I don’t. I do keep my lesser used appliances (like my waffle maker and food processor) in the garage, but I use the toaster oven/knives/Vita-mix daily and the KA weekly for bread.
However, just to change it up I’m going to try moving some of these to the garage and see how it will work given I too have less/about the same counter space as your basement kitchen.
I started with clean counter tops (only 2 appliances and 3 baskets for fruit & vegetables) and the convenience of easy cleaning spread to the rest of the house. My kitchen table has a candle, my bathroom counter only has soap, my end tables only have lamps and my bedroom dresser has a jewelry box. I put all decorative things on the walls in creative arrangements. My goal was to be able to clean the kitchen counters, dust the furniture, clean the bathroom, and sweep the floor in under an hour. I realized I spent too much time moving stuff to clean. I did some major purging and de-cluttering to get to this point. Less time cleaning means more time for other things.
Good for you! I, too would like to get to this point.
We’ve lived in our home 14 years and are in the process of doing some renovation. I think this is a good time for me to go through things and get ruthless about getting rid of stuff. We will be moving furniture to put down flooring and I want to toss/donate as we go.
I want my home simplified and calming..
You can do it, Dianne!
Once I started asking myself, “Do I use this? and “Do I love this?” I found there was plenty I could put in the yard sale pile. I had a friend help me go through all my clothes and tell me what looked outdated or too worn. I don’t miss any of the clutter! Go for it! It will be well worth your time.
=)
I am complete fail at this counter thing. Cooking utensils? Spices? Kitchen Aid mixer? Coffee maker? I use these everyday. I dont have a cabinet big enough for the mixer. I will try it, I will start at square one and see if there are items I don’t use. I love the idea in theory.
I understand. I have a small kitchen and not much storage. I wouldn’t have room to keep my cooking utensils in the drawers as I don’t have very many. My kitchen aid mixer is kept out. My coffee pot, paper towel holder, and microwave. Plus a bowl to hold fruit. Oh and my cookbooks. Yes my counters r full. But I don’t have anywhere else to put them. Its a neat idea but for some its just not practical. I am going to at least go through my cabinets and see what I don’t use. But it still won’t give me room to put away what’s on the counter.
That’s awesome that you are able to keep your countertops so clear and that it works for you. For me, that is not at all a priority. I like having things that I use all the time easily accessible on my countertops. My kitchen is clean but not so minimalistic, and I’m okay with that. 🙂
Where do you keep your coffee maker or Keurig?
I would love to know this as well. I do not have a cabinet that has a shelf tall enough to put it on. I hate how much space it takes up. And the kitchen aid. I do not have a tall enough space in the cabinet for it, either.
I would love to know where the appliances in general are kept. We have a small kitchen with minimal cabinets and no pantry. I keep a few things in our basement that are only used once in a while (roasting pan, large platters, etc). I would love clean counters but really am stuck on where to put everything then, such as the crock pots, blender, etc. that Crystal mentions.
I CRAVE clean countertops!!! I can’t go to bed until they are cleared. I love waking up to a clean kitchen- such a feeling of “ahhhhh” when you know you’re starting the day fresh! I generally do a clean up of them after every meal and again right before bed. Not sure why countertops are a magnet for everyone’s stuff?! Sometimes my husband thinks I’m nuts and says just to leave the dishes or whatever is on them but I won’t sleep if I do. I do have my coffee maker out all the time but it’s on an 8″ section between stove and fridge that fits the coffee maker perfectly. All other appliances are put away. Crystal, thank you that I’m not the only one in love with clear, clean countertops!
What about the things that I would forget about if they were “out of sight, out of mind?” Like my vitamins and some paperwork that needs to be taken care of, a thing or two that belongs to someone else, those kind of things. If I put them away, I’ll forget about them.
I have a pie rack that is for my produce. If I find that odd item belonging to someone else or that little trinket that needs to be reglued, I’ll place it on the bottom pie plate. When I noticed the pie plate gets too full, then I make piles for everybody according to who’s ever it is and they come and take it away and clean it up. Or I make a “fix it” pile for me to repair the items all at once and then put them away.
Looks fabulous to me! I too will keep some things on the counter because I like it there, but I may go and look for places to put some things I don’t need/want on the counter in different spot.
Also, love the comments above, and I must Pinterest/Google this appliance garage they speak of!
Is there anyone else who extremely dislikes things on the fridge? I loooovveee not having magnets and things on the fridge, but I have a lot because other people give them too me/that’s just where people put papers. So I might add that too the clear clutter challenge.
I used to be super picky about having things on the fridge, but my kids LOVE having things on the fridge, so I’ve slowly collected a few pictures and magnets that we all love and that are special to us that we keep there. It makes me happy to look at — and that’s really the point of what you have or don’t have, right? 🙂
Challenge accepted!!! I need this. I could lie and say I don’t have storage, but the truth is that my organizational skills are very poor, and having small children doesn’t help! I’m excited to make this happen!
Woohoo! You can do it!
Yikes! I could see doing this if I only used an item once a week or so, but I would be SO annoyed if I had to pull the coffee maker down from a cabinet every morning, let it dry out after making coffee, and then put it away. So much easier to simply push it to the wall. Not having the things I need at my finger tips would stress me out! Funny how different personalities work.
We still keep the coffee maker out… though since I gave up coffee, I’ve been thinking of putting it away and only pulling it out when we have guests at our house.
Pre-baby we did keep ours stored in a cabinet and only pulled out for guests. We didn’t drink coffee! I am curious where you keep the kitchen aid? My cabinets are not tall enough.
Yes!! I love the clean look of bare counters! This is just the motivation I need to tidy mine and remove a few items.
So question: what do you do with your stand mixer? I don’t have a lower cabinet big enough to hold it, and there’s no way I’m lifting that big bad boy higher than the counter. I use it maybe once a week, so it definitely doesn’t need to be out, but I don’t like the idea of carrying it in from another room. How do other people stash their large and heavy appliances?
I found that when I narrowed down the under the sink storage I had space down there. It is amazing how much junk had built up.
We keep it on the floor of the pantry. Not super convenient, but I don’t use it every day, so it works for me.
Oh MY! This challenge is for me, I’ve looked at your other challenges and I had all of them covered. I do have somewhat “clean” countertops and I have the small area of clutter that I actually have “organized’. Only when I have company do I hide that stuff. I have the kids paperwork organized in a binder and my planner on the countertop and it just seems that stuff collects around it. I actually have a built in desk off of my countertop that I’m now motivated to use because of this challenge! Thanks, looking forward to it!
You are so welcome! I’m cheering for you!
Less is more! A completely clean, clutter free kitchen bring me peace in my brain! 🙂
YES!
I love to have completely clear countertops. Less clutter=more efficiency for me. I recently got a magnetic strip from Ikea, and we installed it just under my cabinets. I put my knives and kitchen shears on it, so no need for the knife chop block anymore. I love it–one less thing on the countertops!
“Less clutter=more efficiency for me.” <--- This. I'm so there with you!
I like clean countertops, But I have to keep my coffee maker there…I used to have an appliance garage but got rid of it and it opens up the kitchen so much…I keep my coffee maker in that corner since I use it all morning everyday and its much smaller….bananas, my knife set and paper towel holder are also essential…but I can’t stand the looks of dish soap by the sink…mine is under the sink and handsoap is in the dispenser connected to the sink….To each is own I guess…my 5’x6′ island has a flower arrangement in the middle..thats it…
I think it sounds like you have found a GREAT set up that works for you!
I can’t stand the look of the dish soap bottle on the sink either, but we use it several times a day, including washing hands, so I put it in a pretty cobalt blue glass pump bottle and set it by the sink. It’s my favorite color, so it makes me happy (instead of cringe) every time I look at it. 🙂
I have to keep my counters clean, out of necessity 🙂 Our home has virtually no counter space, I have a small spot on each side of my sink and that’s it. It looks like your basement apartment actually had more counter space than me lol. Strange thing is my kitchen isn’t that small.
Where do you store your coffee maker? I’m having such a hard time putting that away or just leaving it out.
We currently leave our coffee maker out… however, since I’m no longer drinking coffee and Jesse has cut way back, we may put it away and only pull it out for guests.
Would you mind sharing why you stopped consuming coffee? I love coffee, but if there was a compelling reason I may reduce or quit.
I wrote a little more about it here: https://www.instagram.com/p/BMOlZgZDnp9/?taken-by=themoneysavingmom
Thats great !
I did the same but on my own.
Who is your nutritionist ?
Thanks
I have decided to have a “beverage” table for my keurig…complete with teas and coffees and bottled water for the machine…I love it! Morning coffee or afternoon tea is a snap now! All my supplies are very close to the area I will be enjoyed my beverage in, and close to my son as he works on the computer… It is a win for us!
You aren’t alone; I love the look of clean, uncluttered kitchen countertops. Other rooms, yes, a little clutter helps me think that our home is lived in by a family with kids, but the kitchen, that’s different for me. In my dream kitchen I would have an appliance garage so I could just close the door and poof, those small appliances would be hidden from site. I think one of the biggest things for me and this is, the kitchen is just about the first place I go to when I wake up in the morning so I can grab my cup of coffee. If the countertops are cluttered, then I already start my day agitated at the site of clutter and feeling like I have to spend the day cleaning. But when the countertops are cleared off, then it just helps me to start my day more peaceful and happy. I’m not there 100% of the time, but I think I will take the 30 day challenge to ramp up my efforts. I’m sure I can put some of my less used appliances somewhere and that might help me even more.
YES! I’m right there with you! And I love the appliance garage idea! 🙂