31 genius tips for organizing your kitchen counter

We all dream of finishing our weeknight meals in a clean kitchen, but is it possible? Our countertops are already full of books and baubles before we even start making meals, and the worst thing you can do is there is.

Minimizing clutter makes it easier to disinfect counters, which reduces cleaning time and keeps your kitchen in pristine condition with just a few edits.

Maximalists, don't worry. An organized countertop doesn't have to be empty. I also love a lived-in look that reflects your design (and culinary) personality, or one that makes things more functional by placing everyday items in convenient locations. Read this article to find great, organized kitchen countertop ideas that match your design tastes and cooking space habits.

One way to maintain an organized kitchen counter is to designate a place for everything, including your cookbook collection. Even if you need it on the counter for easy access, use a pair of bookends to keep it enclosed and organized, like in this Brooklyn loft.

The owners of a historic Lyon apartment keep their kitchen counter tidy by adding a cute kitchen island with storage for dishes, utensils, and more. The island also comes with a place to put a chair and a sturdy wooden top, making it the perfect place to do homework, meal prep, and more.

The key to an organized kitchen counter is to eliminate clutter, or reduce the number of things you need to keep on your counter. In a small kitchen, it's nearly impossible to get rid of kitchen essentials to keep your counters clean, especially if you're an avid cook. However, by utilizing wall space, you can always stay organized. A prime example is the hooks on the wall for hanging towels in the kitchen and his rack of magnetic knives mounted on the wall in this Atlanta home.

If you can't imagine letting go of something in your kitchen, clear out some space. We love how an underutilized kitchen corner in this Savannah home can become a beautiful place to store your favorite entertaining pieces and tableware with just the addition of a few wooden shelves.

You don't have to get rid of everything on your kitchen counter. Especially if some of those items are things you use every day or more. The kitchen counter in this Hollywood home features a vintage-inspired tray that doubles as a coffee bar to make getting to the French press a little easier each morning.

This English farmhouse is full of great flair, but the kitchen island might just be the best yet. Not only is this gorgeous piece a great place to finish homework or catch up on emails, it also has plenty of storage space underneath, plus you can store your family's wine collection for easy drinking. I can.

Maximalists, this is for you. Instead of throwing away some of your favorite items, create a room that barely fits any other items. In this San Diego loft, adding hanging shelves to the bottom of the “second floor” created more color and space for the renters' entertainment essentials.

If you like having a lot of things but want to keep your kitchen tidy, consider using adjacent walls in hallways or nearby rooms. This way, you can keep your kitchen sparkling and tranquil without having to compromise on what parts to keep or remove. This New England farmhouse executes this idea beautifully, making for a photogenic moment.

It may seem obvious, but this is the basis of Clean Counter's entire mission. Store as much stuff as possible in organized cabinets and drawers and save countertop space for the absolute essentials. Try your best not to leave a single dirty dish there to avoid attracting more dirty dishes Just like the principle of always keeping the sink clean, a tidy counter remains untouched. Much more likely.

The best way to create more space anywhere in your kitchen is to get rid of things you don't really need. Common categories of things you can probably get rid of include duplicate kitchen tools, cookbooks you never (or rarely) use, coupons and just about any other scrap of paper.

Instead of taking up counter space with a bulky knife block, hang your knives on a magnetic strip. It's still easy to access, but it doesn't take up valuable counter space and makes your kitchen counter clutter-free.

If you prefer a lived-in feel, give your countertop a more cohesive design to make it look more organized. This Scandinavian-meets-Bohemian home has a variety of objects on the countertops, but they're all unified by the same color, matching the aesthetic of the room itself.

Arranging items on your countertops together in eye-pleasing vignettes creates a much more orderly look than placing items all over the space. The grouping looks meaningful and artistic, rather than like something that has no place anywhere else.

Unless you really refer to them every day, cookbooks are better off on a high shelf or somewhere outside the kitchen than taking up counter space.

A beautiful (albeit large) Dutch oven can be placed on top of the stove. This frees up valuable space in your cabinets, which you can use to store smaller items you might want on your countertop.

Same concept here. Free up cabinet space, and therefore kitchen counter space. You might not be able to put something practical on top of the fridge for fear of looking out of place, but a Dutch oven should be left on to enjoy the view and should be placed near plants. This suggests that the move is intentional.

These counters are already attractive in their bare state, but the use of eye-catching stools draws the viewer's eye to the blue color rather than what's on the counter.

It's unrealistic (and probably undesirable) to make your kitchen counter look like this: completely empty. We recommend creating your own rules for keeping items like electronics, pantry staples, mail, and olive oil off your countertops. We recommend storing these in a cool, dark place.

Instead of leaving sinkside essentials (like the dishwasher and tea towels) in counter space, add some removable adhesive hooks to the backsplash above or directly next to the sink.

The hook and rail system is perfect for storing small kitchen tools. By freeing up much-needed space in the drawer, you can clear the entire cookware urn from your countertop.

Pegboards open up so many storage possibilities and create space for an organized kitchen counter. This pegboard will store several types of items commonly stored on the counter, including oil and vinegar bottles, pepper mills, wooden spoons, canisters, and cutting boards.

Adding a shelving unit to your kitchen can turn your counter into a natural workspace. The wire shelving unit above stores some typical “counter items” such as a stand mixer, fruit bowl, and knife block.

You know that if you keep produce, you'll be sure to eat it before it goes out of season. However, traditional fruit baskets take up valuable counter space. Hanging fruit baskets make good use of vertical space and free up usable countertop real estate.

S-hooks allow you to hang almost anything from ceiling racks traditionally used for pots and pans. By hanging utensils like spatulas and tongs that are often stored in containers, you can free up countertop space while keeping them always within reach.

Even a small, undulating island can free up counter space. Use it to store things stored on the actual counter, such as butcher blocks. Anything with one or two shelves underneath will give you even more storage possibilities.

To store cutting boards and kitchen tools, hang them on adhesive hooks on the inside of cabinet doors instead of leaning them against a backrest or putting them in a jar.

Even if the items you set on the cake stand don't move completely off the counter, you can simply use the cake stand to lift them above the counter, giving them the same subdued look as the tray and making cleaning around them especially easy. Become. Place oil and vinegar, salt and pepper, or dish soap and a sponge on top. Plus, it creates a nice layered look with different levels.

Countertop items can also be stored in the lazy susan. The great thing about these is that you can save a little more and still have access to your items. By doing this, the items you bring with you will be less likely to be scattered around, giving you an overall cleaner look.

A shelf that sticks to the inside of a cabinet door is a great, out-of-sight place to store items that would otherwise be left on the counter next to the sink.

If you must leave your cutting board outside, consider storing it upright instead of horizontally on the counter. It takes up much less space on your counter and you can put your board at arm's length.

Adding rods with hooks to your kitchen wall frees up drawer and cabinet space, ultimately freeing up counter space.