"A messy kitchen is a sign of happiness," that is, until you wake up the next day and can't find a clear space to brew your treasured morning coffee and you're suddenly not feeling so happy. So you clean and mop and wipe-down every surface to start afresh and hopefully keep it clean as long as possible. However, if there's a lot of clutter on your countertops, your kitchen won't stay that way for very long. 
Before you think this is a rant about completely clearing everything off your countertops, and hey, while you’re at it throw everything else you own right into the garbage, we actually think it’s best to keep certain items on your countertops that are useful. The main goal is to reduce the clutter while maintaining functionality in your kitchen. These simple tips will help you on your way to a cleaner and more functional kitchen.
Remove The Unnecessary Stuff The kitchen is the heart of the home so it’s natural for the countertops to accumulate a lot of stuff. It’s a tempting place to just drop your purse, hoard your favorite recipe books, keep your mail, and store small appliances. Add a few dirty dishes, tonight’s homework, and that stack of mail and your kitchen is suddenly in disarray. The first step to a clean countertop is to look through your kitchen and point out items that don’t belong in a kitchen. Whether it’s your purse or random papers, remove them entirely. 
Relocate What Doesn’t Belong The next step is to find a more useful place to store your things. Create an inbox in an office or desk drawer to store your mail to go through later, use a hook to keep your purse near your entryway, and find a new place for your fridge message board where your family members will see it. By creating specific places for these items to belong, you can keep better track of your things without cluttering up other rooms in the home. 
Use Drawers And Cupboards Wisely You may use certain utensils like spatulas and wooden spoons regularly but you probably don’t need twelve of them out at a time. Instead of leaving them all on your countertops, put most of them away in a utensil drawer and leave a few out for easy accessibility. Cutting boards, small appliances, drying racks, and other bulky items can be stored in a drawer or a cupboard to be used when needed. On that same note, it’s important to allow yourself a “junk” drawer for the random little things, such as coupons, pens, or random coins. Use a drawer organizer to easily keep track of your “junk” and clean it regularly. Lastly, anything that is used less than a few times a year, such as that expensive mixer stand you really only use around Christmastime, are better stored in a cupboard or pantry.
Be Honest With YourselfWhen going through your items, it’s important to be honest with yourself about their usefulness. “One day” has come and gone and yet that juicer still sits there collecting dust. You had good intentions to use that coffee press but it’s still in its original packaging. We tend to hold onto things we think one day we’ll use when whenever we finally have the time and energy. Or more commonly, we’ll regret not having them. However, if you haven’t used it in a year’s time, it’s probably best to find it a new home. This is a good rule to apply in all areas of your home. If you haven’t used it in a year, it’s unlikely you’ll miss the item or even notice it’s gone. 
Finally, Keep Out Only What You Use Think about the things you use everyday are necessary for easy access. If you’re a big smoothie person, find a useful place to store your blender for your morning smoothie. Or maybe you’re a big coffee drinker throughout the day and would find it beneficial to keep your coffee press or Keurig and K-Cups out. And of course, we all use soap regularly in the kitchen so instead of leaving out a Costco-sized bottle of dish soap and 3 sponges, downsize to smaller bottles and one sponge at a time. 
It is possible to keep clutter at bay by making habits of placing items where they belong immediately instead of on your countertops.
Before you think this is a rant about completely clearing everything off your countertops, and hey, while you’re at it throw everything else you own right into the garbage, we actually think it’s best to keep certain items on your countertops that are useful. The main goal is to reduce the clutter while maintaining functionality in your kitchen. These simple tips will help you on your way to a cleaner and more functional kitchen.Remove The Unnecessary Stuff The kitchen is the heart of the home so it’s natural for the countertops to accumulate a lot of stuff. It’s a tempting place to just drop your purse, hoard your favorite recipe books, keep your mail, and store small appliances. Add a few dirty dishes, tonight’s homework, and that stack of mail and your kitchen is suddenly in disarray. The first step to a clean countertop is to look through your kitchen and point out items that don’t belong in a kitchen. Whether it’s your purse or random papers, remove them entirely. Relocate What Doesn’t Belong The next step is to find a more useful place to store your things. Create an inbox in an office or desk drawer to store your mail to go through later, use a hook to keep your purse near your entryway, and find a new place for your fridge message board where your family members will see it. By creating specific places for these items to belong, you can keep better track of your things without cluttering up other rooms in the home. Use Drawers And Cupboards Wisely You may use certain utensils like spatulas and wooden spoons regularly but you probably don’t need twelve of them out at a time. Instead of leaving them all on your countertops, put most of them away in a utensil drawer and leave a few out for easy accessibility. Cutting boards, small appliances, drying racks, and other bulky items can be stored in a drawer or a cupboard to be used when needed. On that same note, it’s important to allow yourself a “junk” drawer for the random little things, such as coupons, pens, or random coins. Use a drawer organizer to easily keep track of your “junk” and clean it regularly. Lastly, anything that is used less than a few times a year, such as that expensive mixer stand you really only use around Christmastime, are better stored in a cupboard or pantry.Be Honest With YourselfWhen going through your items, it’s important to be honest with yourself about their usefulness. “One day” has come and gone and yet that juicer still sits there collecting dust. You had good intentions to use that coffee press but it’s still in its original packaging. We tend to hold onto things we think one day we’ll use when whenever we finally have the time and energy. Or more commonly, we’ll regret not having them. However, if you haven’t used it in a year’s time, it’s probably best to find it a new home. This is a good rule to apply in all areas of your home. If you haven’t used it in a year, it’s unlikely you’ll miss the item or even notice it’s gone. Finally, Keep Out Only What You Use Think about the things you use everyday are necessary for easy access. If you’re a big smoothie person, find a useful place to store your blender for your morning smoothie. Or maybe you’re a big coffee drinker throughout the day and would find it beneficial to keep your coffee press or Keurig and K-Cups out. And of course, we all use soap regularly in the kitchen so instead of leaving out a Costco-sized bottle of dish soap and 3 sponges, downsize to smaller bottles and one sponge at a time. It is possible to keep clutter at bay by making habits of placing items where they belong immediately instead of on your countertops. 
