5 Tips to De-Clutter Kitchen Countertops

No matter where I’ve lived, there has always been one spot in my home that seems to attract clutter the most…my kitchen countertops. In a couple of my houses the countertop most cluttered was a desk area. Now it is the bar/peninsula in my kitchen.

The FlyLady calls these areas “Hot Spots.” They are areas that if left unattended will end up taking over your house.

Over the years I’ve tried various methods to keep these areas clean. Some things worked while others were too complicated or not feasible for my family to keep up with. Here are 5 tips I’ve found to help keep the clutter at bay.

1.  Devote time each day to clean off your countertops. That sounds simple, but if you set aside 5 minutes a day to put away things where they belong, then you can keep your countertops from becoming cluttered.

2.  Have a home for everything. If you read tip #1 and thought, “Yeah, but where does all of this stuff belong?” then you are not alone. I think the main culprit of our countertop clutter is not having a place for everything to go. What can you do? Take inventory of the items that tend to clutter your countertops the most. Then begin to find homes for them. The mail could go in a mail sorter or file. Your kids can begin to take responsibility by picking up their own clutter. Designate a place to hold unread magazines or newspapers. You get the idea.

3.  Consider creating a command central to hold paperwork you need to reference often. I have a family notebook, wall pockets, and a message board to corral my papers. You can also make an inexpensive but helpful countertop command central with this idea.

4.  Create a place to keep your keys, purse, wallet, or other items you need everyday. Often we just toss these items on the countertop because we have no place to put them. Then they get buried under the clutter and we spend precious time looking for them. Install hooks or set out a basket to collect these items.

5.  Decorate your countertops. Yes, I’m advocating putting something on your countertops! However, if you keep them looking pretty and attractive, then you don’t want to mess them up with clutter.

I hope these ideas will help you keep your countertops clutter free!

What do you do to keep clutter off of your countertops?