With a new month, comes a new space to tackle in the Organize & Refine Your Home Challenge. This one’s a biggie…are you ready for some kitchen organization my Pretties?? First up is kitchen countertop organization.
If you’re anything like me, the urge to spring clean is in full force right now. The kitchen is usually at the top of the list of spaces that could really use a deep cleaning.
Problem is, it’s really difficult to deep clean a cluttered space. So let’s make it easier on ourselves by decluttering and organizing the heck out of that kitchen. What do you say?
Kitchen Countertop Organization
In the organizing industry, kitchen countertops are often referred to as “hot spots”, or areas that serve as a magnet for clutter.
Any large flat surface in the home tends to be a magnet for clutter, but kitchen countertops are especially problematic. They tend to serve as a dumping ground for all things when we walk through the door.
By putting your household drop zone and command center in place during the first month of the Challenge, you’ve hopefully been able to drastically reduce the volume of clutter on your kitchen countertops already.
But there’s still the matter of that pesky pile of recyclables, the seldom-used army of small appliances, and those annoying flour/sugar canisters that are always getting in your way.
Not only are cluttered countertops almost impossible to clean, but they also make food preparation and cooking a frustrating and difficult task (and for Pete’s sake, if you’re as meal preparation-challenged as I am, you don’t need ANY additional hurdles in the kitchen to overcome) .
This week, I’m challenging you to take a good, hard look at what items you’ve given permission to live on this most precious of real estate in your home. Perhaps it’s time to serve an eviction notice!
When organizing clients’ kitchens, I always started by removing every single thing from the countertops. After we put away the items that had just been dumped on the counter instead of placed in their designated homes, it was then time to get serious about establishing a no-clutter policy for kitchen countertops.
Translation – only items that were used in that kitchen on a daily basis were allowed back on the countertop.
I know this may seem hardcore, but the stakes are high in this organizing project.
Cluttered countertops leave you nowhere to unload the groceries, and no room to prepare your dinner. Kind of an issue, don’t you think? (plus, we’ll need to use those countertops as a staging area when it comes time to declutter the other areas of your kitchen later this month).
So what types of items are typically given permission to continue occupying valuable countertop space?
Number one on the list always seems to be beverage-making accessories (smoothies, coffee, or tea). Rest assured, I won’t deny you your caffeine!
But let’s get creative and use those basic organizing principles to create a beverage station (or “zone”) that includes all the things you need to enjoy your beverage of choice.
Take this awesome example of a kitchen desk turned coffee station. Creative use of vertical space, don’t you think?
Perhaps there’s some underutilized wall space in your kitchen that could house some of those less frequently used items that you evicted from your countertop?
Wondering what to do with all of the items you removed from the kitchen counters that you plan on keeping but do NOT meet the stringent “daily use” criteria? Box them up and put them aside in another room.
Only bring items back into the kitchen over the next few weeks if you find a need to use them. Otherwise, keep these items in the box and we’ll deal with them at the end of this month.
Need a few products to complete your kitchen organization project? Shop from my curated list of favorite kitchen organizing & storage products.
Your Kitchen Countertop Organization Assignment
- Remove all items off of your countertops
- Give your countertops a good scrub down
- Gather all papers together and relocate to the appropriate place in your command center
- Place only items that you use daily back on the counters
- Box up remaining items, incorporating items back into the kitchen on an as-needed basis (you’ll need to find an alternative home for them)
- Create “stations” for frequently used items that are used in conjunction with one another
After you’ve completed this week’s assignment, share a photo of either the items you decided to delete from your countertops OR your clean and clear kitchen counters on Instagram (use the hashtag #ORGANIZEANDREFINECHALLENGE and don’t forget to tag me!).
Happy Organizing!
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This post is part of the Organize and Refine Your Home Challenge
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Suhana Morgan says
Seriously, thanks for sharing this! My husband has allotted clearing out and organizing our kitchen to me and I was a little loss of where to start. Your tips have helped me come up with a game plan on how to deal with the kitchen.
Natalie Gallagher says
Awesome to hear Suhana!
Bob says
I like your tip about removing all the items off of the countertop. That makes sense considering you want to have a cleared surface for deep cleaning. I’ll have to consider hiring a contractor to design counters that are easy to clean.
Bob says
I like your tip about making sure that everything is off the countertops. This makes sense considering leaving things on the counter can lead to scratches. I’ll have to consider your tips if we ever have a kitchen remodel.
Paula from Her Life Is Love says
I definitely have to tackle my kitchen again this year. Since it’s a communal room, it gets cluttered and messy way too quickly for my liking.
Natalie Gallagher says
I hear you Paula. Yes, those rooms that are used by everyone definitely require the most maintenance!
Gentle Joy Homemaker says
This sounds like a great series though this is the first one of it I have seen, so far. Good ideas. 🙂
Natalie Gallagher says
Thanks!
Mrs U says
Excellent tips!!!! I think to keep my counters less crowded, but the thing I struggle with is my spices. I seriously have nowhere to store them other than my countertop and I think it makes it look super cluttered :(. I’ll keep looking for a place to store them, though. I’m not giving it so easy. 🙂
Natalie Gallagher says
Ah, spices. You might need to get creative. Perhaps a kitchen decluttering session might result in an empty drawer or cabinet shelf that you could then relocate those spices to (storing them in a bin that you then place on a cabinet shelf works well
Victoria @DazzleWhileFrazzled says
Great post and checklist. I don’t do my fridge often enough other than a cursory wipe down before restocking it. Love the idea of only keeping everyday used items on the counters. Thanks for linking up with Funtastic Friday.
Natalie Gallagher says
Clear countertops make me happy, and they certainly make life easier when it comes to all of the functions that take place in our kitchen. Thanks for stopping by Victoria!
Victoria @SimplifiedLife says
I love this, especially the idea of a beverage station. Makes so much sense and allows the family to prepare their beverages out of the busy part of the kitchen. I pinned it for later so I can incorporate it into our home. Thanks!
Natalie Gallagher says
Thanks for stopping by Victoria! Yes, I absolutely love how she repurposed the desk area with that gorgeous beverage station!