How to Organize a Kitchen Counter: 10 Tips & Tricks

Living the clutter-free life that you are dreaming of is actually possible if you take a moment to think of your kitchen counter. Is it organized?

If that is not the case, we all know organizing a kitchen is a lifelong and boring task. But here, we want to make it as easy and enjoyable as possible. Read on to find out more on how you can organize your kitchen counter.

The 10 Tips to Organize a Kitchen Counter

1. Create Zones on the Counter

A counter is one of the most utilized areas in the kitchen, accounting for food preparation, cooking, and serving. Its expansive surface is also a place for utensils and cooking spices.

With the counter steaming up with activities, organizing it without zoning is complicated.

Organize the top by designating a cooking and prep area near the stove. Here you will place all the ingredients and tools necessary for cooking a specific meal. For example, use this place to assemble a crate of eggs, mugs, and coffee jars in the morning. After you are done, return back all the used ingredients to their original position.

Serving on areas away from the stove but closer to the sink or dishwasher. By doing this, you will not scramble for limited space around the stove, which is already full of cooking tools.

2. Keep the Counter Clear

Working with a cramped-up counter poses an organizational problem, so try as much as possible to keep them clear. For instance, don’t let towels and cooking gloves occupy a piece of this precious real estate. Instead, find a place on top of the fridge for paper towels or hang a pair of gloves on the shelves. Of course, get help from hooks or nails.

In addition, remove dirty utensils and put them in the sink, and if you have a to-do list, use magnetic strips to suspend them in place.

3. Do You Have a Junk Bowl?

If your kitchen counter is the receiving center for random household items such as papers, keys, and pens, have a junk bowl at one of the corners to catch all of them.

A junk bowl may be an old glass bowl, a wooden fruit bowl, or even a large jar. Though it may take time for all your family members to get used to it, remind them each time they feel like throwing anything on the counter to use the jar. After a few days, you can sort through the items and discard or place them in the proper location.

4. Create More Space With Shelving and Shelf Risers

Overloading the countertop may be one of the reasons it is so cluttered. Fortunately, you can easily relieve it despite your kitchen being a few square feet. For this, intensively use the space above your head.

Shelves are good at creating additional space and are easy to construct. A shelf should not necessarily be long and made by a qualified carpenter. You can DIY a shelf by cutting a piece 6×1 into 2- or 3-foot pieces. Hammer the piece on the wall using steel nails and support them with wall brackets. Also, use a spirit level to get a flat surface. For stylish fittings, hang 6x1or MDF boards from the ceiling.

Not only do shelves last longer, but they also provide more space where you can hide away less commonly used things, such as jars with pickling vegetables.

5. Think Vertically

The walls against the kitchen counter offer premium space, which you can capitalize on, and a simple way to claim it is to think vertically. Rather than placing your kitchen knife block on the counter, forego it for wall mountings.

Find a small one-foot piece of lumber, probably 2 inches wide, and hammer it on the wall. You can replace nails with screws and wall anchors.

Next, peel off the adhesive pad from a magnetic strip and stick it on the lumber. The magnet holds metallic cutlery in place.

6. Consider Your Laterality

Laterality is your preference for using one side of your body, like left or right-handedness. You should consider your dominant hand when organizing and arranging your kitchen counter. If you are right-handed, place the frequently used items on the left side of the counter. On the other hand, if you are left-handed, exploit the right side of the counter.

This arrangement increases your dexterity when organizing the kitchen. Dexterity is how excellent you are at performing certain tasks.

7. Employ the Minimalist Design

The minimalist design is all about doing away with unnecessary items and efficiently managing space. There are different methods of designing your kitchen countertop in a minimalist design. One of the elegant choices is using compartmentalized drawers beneath the countertop. By installing compartmentalized drawers, you can store utensils out of sight. The drawers allow you to categorize utensils and store them in different compartments.

Interestingly, there are also foldable kitchen countertops that manage space very well. These countertops allow you to maximize the available space. Once you have used the countertop, fold it back.

8. Colors Elevate Moods

The colors within the kitchen usually reflect and influence one’s mood. Choosing a color or a range of colors that reflect your personality and mood is highly recommended. Bright colors are usually associated with bursts of energy and happiness. Dull shades of color are associated with a calm and chill vibe. When you paint your countertop in a color that appeals to you, working in the kitchen will be fun and comfortable.

Alternatively, fit the kitchen with a tempered glass countertop and below it, install an aquarium. The playful nature of angelfish, pacus, and pufferfish will keep you entertained, and you want to keep the countertop clear to be part of the action going down. This inevitably helps you organize the countertop.

9. Place Your Dishwasher Below the Countertop

The space around the countertop and within the kitchen is usually crammed up with numerous appliances such as dishwashers, ovens, and microwaves. To save space efficiently, consider placing your dishwasher below the countertop. Apart from this, the design will create more space by allowing you to hang kitchen towels on the handles.

In addition, the dishwasher doubles as a storage space for the utensils that would have been placed on the counter.

10. Embrace Mason Jars

Get rid of bulky packages by using mason jars. Jars store away grains, cutlery, and practically anything that can fit in them.

Always seal jars with foodstuff tightly and slide them to the very back of the counter to clear up the front space. When filled with different kinds of food, jars look great when grouped together.

Conclusion

The countertop is the epicenter of your kitchen, and if disorganized, the mess vibrates throughout the home. While keeping it organized and sparkling clean is repetitive and boring, the results are always amazing.

Try zoning the counter, creating more space with shelves, fridges, and dishwashers, and transforming the kitchen attractively to boost your moods.

Featured Image Credit: Studio Light and Shade, Shutterstock