When it comes to prime real estate inside your home, it doesn’t get more valuable than kitchen countertops. No matter how much (or how little) space you have, it rarely feels like enough.
Add a coffee maker here, a toaster there, and stacks of who-knows-what that pile up, and your space to prep dinner suddenly becomes much more limited.
This is why we asked three organizational experts what you should never keep on your kitchen countertops. Clear these eight items from your counters, and you’ll reduce visual clutter and free up maximum space to prepare your famous lasagna.
Catalogs and bills and junk mail, oh my! These items all need a home—and it’s not your kitchen counter.
“Every piece of paper is a decision to be made—a to-do, a call, or in the trash,” Nicole Gaba, owner of B. Organized, says. “Piles and piles of paper clutter are the home version of a bottleneck.”
Take the time to deal with these papers every day, sparing you from the stress of a pileup and the mess that comes along with it.
Design by PURE Design: Interior Design, Build & Shoppe / Photo by Janis Nicolay Photography
Spare your beloved, beautiful cookbooks from the inevitable spattering of spaghetti sauce.
“Be it water splashing or spills, keeping cookbooks on the counter is a sure way to get them messy,” Jen Rowe, founder of NEAT Method Toronto, says.
An open shelf or cupboard is a better home for them, so you can flip through recipes on their pages (which won’t be glued together with spaghetti sauce) for years to come.
It may be convenient to keep your cooking oils within arm’s reach of your stove, but it’s both an organizational and safety no-no.
Keeping oils near a heat source, like a stovetop, can cause the oils to go bad quickly
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