Note the ridiculous amount of junk on our counter.
If your countertop is anything like mine, it doubles as a storage surface for things like cutting boards, ripening fruit, fermenting kombucha, kefir, herbal tinctures, an overflow of yesterday’s dirty dishes, oatmeal being soaked for tomorrow’s breakfast, notes to myself, and other miscellaneous junk that I put there to remind me to deal with it. Our counter space is already severely limited due to the size of our kitchen, but thanks to both the dish drainer and my many ongoing kitchen “science projects” (see photo above), we often find ourselves squeezing all of our cooking and baking preparations into only about 1 or 2 feet of usable counter space. Ridiculous!
So yesterday Hubby cleaned off the counter completely. The cutting boards found a new home in a cabinet next to the stove…the fermenting kefir jar, kombucha bottles, tinctures, and soaking oatmeal now live on top of the refrigerator. I will need to find some other system for posting notes to myself…perhaps taping them to a cabinet until I can throw them away. Ripening fruit will just have to go elsewhere.
The new rule is…Nothing on the counter! No more “counter-as-pantry-annex.” And I’m totally loving it. It feels open and luxurious. It’s clean and uncluttered…restful to look at, and so much more conducive to efficient cooking. Heck, now that the counter is so clean, the entire house feels like it’s more under control. Sweet!
Wonderfully stark. (Yes, that's all the counter space we have -- can't waste it!)
Clean countertops are fabulous!! What about posting your notes to yourself on your fridge with magnets? Or, is there wall space to hang a small bulletin board that could double as a spot to hang notes, bills to pay, and favourite pictures?? Just some thoughts!
I enjoy your observations so much! Also I find many that are just like mine. I’ve lived in my present small home for 49 years and am amazed at the accumulations that abound. Especially on the kitchen counters. I told friends there seems to be a lot of silent “hatchings” going on both on the counters and in the closets no matter how I “clean” them off and out.
Ohhh, that’s LOVELY! Congrats! I have experienced those same feelings over my kitchen and countertop–from the bad to the GLAD! Enjoy your new spacious space 🙂
Jeanette,
“Hatchings”! YES! That’s funny, because I was just exclaiming yesterday how the junk just reproduces itself while we’re at work. It’s incredible how much stuff can accumulate when we really don’t bring that much through our front door!! Sheesh. It’s a never-ending battle, isn’t it 🙂
Alison,
Yeah, the fridge is generally a good place for notes, but it’s already my designated “appointments and long-term reminders” area. And I kind of like having the notes really “in my face” until I deal with them. Otherwise I just forget! 🙂 And yeah, a bulletin board is a great idea! I think when we have a more permanent place (ie, we’re not renting), I’ll stick one on the wall.
Thanks for all the ideas!
I had to laugh when I saw MY counter in your photo! I will definitely have to focus on that task today. Thanks for the motivation!
This totally strikes a chord with me. I also have a teeny weeny counter for the first time ever and it’s just too easy to leave stuff on it. Thanks for the inspiration! It looks like you had a LOT of stuff on yours, and if you can make it empty, then maybe there’s a chance for me!
Oh, it’s encouraging to know that other people have perpetually messy counters, too. Every inch of our counter space is precious, and should not be squandered! So far, I’m doing a good job of keeping it empty — geez, what took me so long! 😉
I live in the S.E., am retired and have spices and olive oil, along with vitamin bottles lining the back of the counter, and so do others I know as I go into their kitchens some are way more counter loaded than mine. We don’t entertain, and I learned long ago looking at womens home decor magaizines, that it is not reallistic to have “perfect kitchens unless you eat out daily and do take outs. I have noticed cluttered counters in the midwest also. If stuff is orderly and some in small baskets or spice racks it doesn’t matter. If kitchens are open counters would appear “messy”.
Thank you for this Laura; it irks me how magazines make kitchens appear unlived-in. Yet another way magazines and the media lie and give a false standard to strive for. A cleaned-off counter feels great. But if you actually live in your house and make food in your kitchen you’re going to have stuff there. I find it far more interesting to see signs of life in peoples’ homes, rather than pristine and hotel-like atmospheres. If the stuff on the counter is orderly and clean I think that can look just fine 🙂