Decluttering

Top Ideabooks

Appears in

Storage

Organising

Top Ideabooks

Appears in

Storage

Top Ideabooks

See also

Decluttering Organising

3 Ways to Conquer Clutter on Kitchen Benchtops... for Good

Figuring out what’s taking over your benchtops is half the battle. These steps will help you win the war against clutter

Laura Gaskill 1 October 2019

Houzz Contributor. I cover decorating ideas, Houzz tours & the monthly home maintenance checklist. My favorite pieces to write center around the emotional aspects of home and savoring life's simple pleasures. Decluttering course + discount for Houzzers: https://www.lauragaskill.com/welcome-houzzers

Houzz Contributor. I cover decorating ideas, Houzz tours & the monthly home maintenance... More

Comment152

Click "Embed" to display an article on your own website or blog.

That vast expanse of open kitchen bench space probably looked appealing when you first moved in or renovated. But over time, what you’d hoped would be a wonderful space for baking, homework projects, and long chats over wine with friends has probably become a magnet for clutter, with layers as complex (though not as interesting) as an archaeological dig. If you’re ready to reclaim your kitchen bench space, these tips and strategies will help you master your clutter so you can revel in acres of free bench space again.

Gr8 Interiors

The first step towards a clutter-free benchtop is understanding where your clutter comes from. Excavate it to see what you have: unopened mail, magazines, rubber bands, pens, receipts, school papers? Make a mental note of exactly what sort of clutter you tend to accumulate in this area, and keep that in mind as you read through the solutions that follow.

Marta Castellano

1. When the kitchen is also your entrance

Carve out a command station: If your kitchen also acts as the most-used entrance in your home, your benchtop likely holds detritus we come in the door with, such as car keys and shopping bags.

Nip this problem by installing command-station essentials by the door. This could be as simple as a few wall hooks and a whiteboard, or as involved as having a custom-designed cubby system installed to fit your space perfectly.

Sicora Design/Build

Trick out the pantry: No room near your entrance? Try outfitting the inside of your pantry door instead.

In the space shown here, a magnetic chalkboard keeps shopping lists, notes and stationery handy, while a door-mounted paper sorter handles incoming and outgoing mail.

Find a professional organiser or custom-storage designer near you on Houzz to bust your clutter

GIA Bathrooms & Kitchens

Repurpose pretty bowls: There’s no need to buy new containers for organising your clutter when you probably have what you need hidden away in your cupboards.

Set a few small, pretty bowls on the benchtop to use for holding keys, pocket change and any other objects that tend to accumulate in your kitchen. Choose a time every week or month to clean out the bowls.

Designs by Craig Veenker

Use a mail tray: If the easiest spot to stash the mail when you get home is the kitchen benchtop, roll with it. Giving the mail a dedicated tray to land in helps keep it from spreading over your entire cooking surface. Be sure to dedicate a regular time to sorting through the mail each day (or several times each week) to stay on top of the pile.

Cabico Custom Cabinetry

2. When clutter from other rooms migrates to the kitchen

Wall-mount the magazines: If you and your family members enjoy reading magazines in the kitchen (or saving them for recipes), these items can quickly take over your bench space. Dedicate some wall space to a storage rack, and you can quickly scoop up the whole pile and get it out of the way when you’re ready to cook – and grab them again when you want something to read while the soup simmers.

Plain English

Stash a basket (or two): If the benchtop is used for projects – whether it’s your knitting or the kids’ homework – it’s helpful to have a few big baskets on hand to store the related supplies. Use a cleared-out kitchen shelf to store the baskets – your before-dinner clean-up time will be a whole lot quicker.

Colourcube Interiors

3. When your kitchen is also your workspace

Decide what your true essentials are: A little desk in the kitchen sounds like a good idea, but so often the drawers just end up filled with junk: inkless pens, too many rubber bands, an economy-sized box of staples.

Instead of cramming any old thing into your kitchen workspace, consider which essentials should be keep here. A few pens? Certainly. Five hundred pens? Probably not. Move excess supplies to a more out-of-the-way spot.

Picture Perfect: 40 Workstations Woven Into Kitchens

J Foster Architects

Install extra shelving: If you’ve been using your kitchen as a workspace but it lacks a built-in desk, you may need more storage.

If you have a bit of wall space, you can probably fit in some wall-mounted shelving. Use it to store file and document boxes or whatever materials you need close at hand. Attractive storage containers matter because they will be on view, so look for a nice set in a colour and material that works with your kitchen scheme.

Studio Dearborn

Dedicate a drawer to technology: If your devices and charging cords tend to sprawl across the kitchen benchtop, consider creating a hidden charging station. You will likely need to hire a pro to get this done. A joiner or cabinet maker can do the job if an outlet is already in an accessible spot; hire an electrician if you need to add a new power point.

Even if you don’t want to go to the trouble of creating a charging station, it’s still helpful to have a drawer dedicated to storing your devices and charging cords when not in use.

8 Ways to Keep Technology Tidy

Studio Dearborn

Ideas for moving forward

Keep it beautiful: Focus on what you want to use your kitchen benchtop for, and consider what you can do to emphasise that purpose beautifully.

Want to be able to eat breakfast at your island bench? Arrange fresh place settings and a small vase of blooms. Hoping for a clean, clear space for cooking delicious feasts? Wipe down the benchtop and set out a few useful items – perhaps a thick cutting board or a bowl of fresh produce from your local farmers’ markets.

Aurélien Vivier

Maintain habits that work: Most important of all, to keep your benchtop clutter-free, you’ll need to commit to shifting some ingrained habits – no easy feat.

It’s often easier to tie a new habit to an old one, so try this: Every morning while making your coffee or tea, take a moment to scoop up any clutter that has accumulated on the kitchen benchtop and put items back where they belong.

Keep this up for a few weeks, and pretty soon you’ll have a new, clutter-busting habit that will keep your benchtop beautifully clear.

Your turn
What tricks do you use to keep your kitchen benchtop clutter-free? Share your secrets in the Comments below, like this story, share it with fellow mess makers in your home, and join the conversation.

More
Need more inspiration to declutter your house? Find out the 8 Secrets of People With Beautifully Organised Homes

Comment152

Comments (152)

See 149 more comments

Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo

Leeza

My kitchen counters (and island) are clutter free. I have only large glass cutting board, weighing scale, cooktop cleaning spray, two utensil crocks, olive oil bottle, two spice organizers, compost collector, seven coffee syrups, coffeemaker, coffee grinder, canister of coffee beans, crockpot, waffle iron, food processor... drying mat, basket for onions etc. None of that is clutter!

1 Like 17 April 2022 at 11:48am