What has a permanent home on your kitchen counter top?

[GardenStream]

I decided to go through my kitchen yesterday and get rid of things we never use. I feel like we have a lot of things permanently sitting on the counter top, too many really. How do you justify things permanently sitting on counter vs things that should go in a cabinet?

[SomethingAnonymous]

I guess by how often it's used. 

Permanent things:

container with utensils used on the stove top

2 cutting boards stored vertically against the wall

paper towel holder

4 canisters filled with salt, and other frequently used pantry items

Edited by SomethingAnonymous - 2/19/11 at 4:00pm

[Alyantavid]

The stuff that sits on my counter is stuff we use everyday.  I don't have a ton of cabinet space so it doesn't make sense to stuff it in a cabinet if I'm going to take it out every day anyways.

What's there now:

coffee pot

knives

mug with utensils

papertowels

draining rack

vitamins

toaster

big ass glass (margarita glass I got in Vegas that holds change)

microwave

plant

wooden cutting board

There's also a few things that need to go to other people in a little pile on one end.

[34me]

I have my knife block, the staples I use frequently (Almonds, quinoa, sesame seeds, etc), the toaster and my huge Kitchenaide Stand Mixer. My dh would like the mixer put away but I won because it's too heavy to drag out every time I want it.

[ollyoxenfree]

Too much. It's a tiny kitchen with almost no cupboard space and very little counterspace. 

- knife block

-tea caddy

-chopsticks in a bamboo cup  

-toaster

-trivet

-mason jars with sprouts

-KitchenAid standmixer

-microwave - which usually has mail, phone charger, gloves, and other sundries piled on it. 

Often, the salt, pepper and butter are also left out, adding to the clutter. I try to put these away but they keep migrating back. 

If we had more cupboard space or some shelving, I'd put away the tea caddy, chopsticks and toaster. There really is no cupboard space for the toaster, which gets used a couple of times per day, as does the tea.

Chopsticks are my go-to cooking utensil, I use them as much as knives, so I need to keep them handy too. 

ETA: I forgot about the stuff by the sink!!

-Pot brush, bottle brush, and vegetable brush all sitting on a ceramic trivet 

-stainless steel compost bucket.

-Hand soap and hand lotion.

No wonder it feels cluttered. 

[pear-shaped]

Mine has my knife block and the appliances I use pretty regularly: electric grill, stand mixer, toaster oven, and microwave.

[Aubergine68]

Vita-mix, coffeemaker, box of cloths (paper-towel-free here), liquid soap dispenser, teapots, fruit bowl, butter dish, steel container of utensils.

We have to use  it constantly for it to be on the counter.

[abiyhayil]

We have a small galley type kitchen and all of the wall space is covered, we keep some of the front half clear to use for cutting boards and mixing bowls.  To the left of the sink is just enough space for our Ikea bread box filled with teas.  In front of that is my espresso maker and electric kettle.  On the other side of the sink is just enough space for the electric griddle.  On one side of the stove are my cookbooks and utensil crock with either crockpot, rice steamer or compost crock in front.  On the other side are the toaster oven and microwave. 

[Arduinna]

The only thing I leave on the counter all the time is the ceramic salt container, pepper mill and a crock with cooking spoons ect.

oh and the knife block and spoon rest.

[chezlyryan]

On my counter there is the coffee maker, bottles that are too tall to fit in the cupboard (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and cooking wines), the cutting board, dish soap, and a fruit bowel.  The drying rack full of dishes is always there, but it's not supposed to be a permanent fixture on the counter. 

[enkmom]

I have a tiny L-shaped counter, with my kitchen sink smack in the middle.  I have the knife block, utensil caddy, bread box (which I should move, because we store the bread on top of the box!), coffeemaker, sugar jar, paper towel dispenser, soft soap container, stand mixer, and a box of tissues.  I also store my dish mat standing up behind the mixer, and there is a trivet on that side for some reason, as far as it can possibly be from the stove.

Seeing it written down, I should make a couple of changes.

[HollyBearsMom]

Things I use everyday remain on the counter

coffee maker

electric kettle

toaster

microwave

knife block

crock with wooden spoons, spatula, etc

dish drying rack

bose stereo/ipod player

fruit bowl (currently woefully lacking-2 bananas, 1 apple and lonely looking avocado)

[Ola_]

We've got a glass with chopsticks (DH's favourite eating utensil), salt dish, pepper grinder, and spoon rest by the stove.  Then there's a Kitchen Aid mixer (used once or twice a week but too heavy to put away), knife block, fruit bowl, dish drying rack, dishsoap, and handsoap.  There's also DH's kettle/water boiler which is probably the most used appliance in our kitchen.   We have a lot of counter space so IMO this doesn't look too cluttered (though there's normally plenty of clutter there as well ;)).  Oh, and my cutting board is always out, it's made of joined strips of different types of wood - that and the red Kitchen Aid are my kitchen eye candy.

[Youngfrankenstein]

I have a pretty big kitchen so I guess I have a lot of stuff:

baby moniter

small flat screen tv

aerogarden

2 utensil crocks

keurig coffee machine

fruit bowl

salt bowl

pepper grinder

baby wipes

toaster

stand mixer

electric kettle

and a bunch of dirty dishes!

[goinggreengirl]

Utensil jar, microwave, toaster, food processor, coffee grinder, coffee maker, fresh fruit bowl, bread box and some jars with rice and beans (those are more for looks, I have a really deep counter and they don't take up my work space.)

[GardenStream]

OK, I'm feeling a little better about my clutter now We don't seem to have anything out of the ordinary taking up space on the counter.

[Callimom]

We have a small kitchen and not tonnes of counter space.

We have a bread box and on top of that is my recipe box.

I have a jar of utensils by the stove (wooden spoons, spatula etc) and our knife block.

The kettle stays on the stove.

I have 4 old large milk jars full of oats, flour, sugar and rice that stay on a small counter space under our microwave and a small garlic keeper.

Our toaster stays out.

We  have a big cutting board that lives on the counter pretty much permanently.

I have one decorative item  - a french country rooster of my grandmothers and it sits on the window sill beside the pepper grinder.

hth

Karen

[Chamomile Girl]

I find it so interesting how everyone has pretty much the same stuff on the counter!

I've got lots of counter space since I have a kitchen island as well as an IKEA hutch in my kitchen. Its the largest room in my house...and the main reason why this house doesn't suck.

We have:

Coffee maker, grinder, coffee
Espresso maker
Kettle
Dishrack
Knife block
Utensil pot
Butter
Toaster
Fruit bowl (or in the summer tomato bowl/bowls)
Sauerkraut jars (because I can't figure out where the heck to put them while they ferment)
Compost container

[chel]

coffee maker

toaster oven

[JayGee]

As little as possible.  Currently, my knife block, the coffee maker, and some bananas.