How to Get More Done with a Clean Kitchen Counter

I love my kitchen counter. Because it is always decluttered and ready to work.

At the end of the day, I reward its efforts by putting things away and cleaning it.  Empty counters clean up easily without appliances and decorations to move.

---

Ready to try Meal Planning? Here’s my meal planning template to get you started!

---

Clean Counters mean:

• Space to process papers and sort mail
• Time to whip up pizza dough and roll it out for dinner
• More home cooked meals
• Lunches staged for the next day
• Room to drop grocery bags

Benefits of Clean Counters

The benefits of a clean kitchen counter are endless, not to mention an empty space where your eyes can rest at the end of the day. Imagine coming home after work and feeling relaxed as you prepare dinner. Instead of the stress of a messy kitchen and then ordering takeout.

Once upon a time, our cabinets and pantry were filled to the brim.  Being an “organized” person, I found myself reorganizing the pantry every weekend. The top shelves housed just as many dishes as their lower companions. 

Counters were cluttered with appliances, canisters, and decorations. Doing anything in the kitchen required rearranging. I said to myself, “It shouldn’t be this hard.” Then, I looked inside the cabinets. It was pretty obvious we could live with much less.

For over 15 years, I barely cooked. Now, I’ve picked up a recipe or two and do 80% of the cooking in our home.  I attribute my newfound interest and desire to cook to the space and time created by decluttering.  When I established my values, family dinners became priority and I need clean counters to make them.

Own Less, Entertain More

I know what you’re thinking, what about entertaining? There is no correlation between the number of place settings you own and the frequency you will use them. In fact, it’s an inverse relationship. (Less Stuff = Neater House = More Space = More Entertaining)  

We entertain often and in large numbers. Moreover, the clean counters allow people to comfortably gather in our kitchen. 

Your New Kitchen

Here are some tips to achieve Clean Kitchen Counters:

• Reduce number of dishes, cups, and utensils
• Move appliances inside cabinets
• Establish boundaries for each category
• Minimize bulk shopping to reduce food waste and storage
• Use existing food inventory first, meal plan and save money
• Eliminate kitchen gadgets and small appliances
• Reduce and remove decorations

What items would you like to remove from your counters?

Try creating some space inside the cabinets first.