Simple Tricks Experts Swear By For Keeping Countertops Free Of Clutter

We get it. Decluttering your home can feel like a never-ending (and never-winnable) battle. And, if you're like many, your countertops are among the most cluttered surfaces in your home. Cluttered kitchen and bathroom countertops are more than just an eyesore. They can have a negative impact on how functional the space is. In the kitchen, it can be difficult to find the space you need to prep food, find the utensils you need to cook, or have a large enough area to lay out your dishes to dry.

Similarly, cluttered bathroom countertops can really get in your way when you're trying to get ready for work or a night out. Finding the items you need and having space to lay them out can be nearly impossible when so much of the surface area is covered with clutter. To figure out how to create more space, we interviewed two professional organizers for their tips and tricks. Continue reading to learn their go-to moves for keeping countertops clutter-free.

You can't reasonably expect yourself to keep your countertops clutter-free if you have too many unwanted or unneeded things lying around. Christian Pfeiffer, a professional organizer and the owner of Valley Organizing in Phoenix, Arizona, emphasizes the importance of this during an exclusive interview with House Digest. He says, "The first step is to declutter and organize each surrounding area thoroughly, starting with the kitchen." If you toss what no longer serves a purpose, you'll only have left what you need. Then, you can focus on finding homes that are off the counter for those things, such as in enclosed storage like drawers, pantries, or closets. This will be much easier to do if you don't have a mountain of stuff that needs to be fit. 

Pfeiffer adds, "Go through every cabinet, drawer, pantry, and storage space to ensure every item has a designated home. This will help minimize clutter and make it easier to decide what should stay on the counter versus what can be stored away." If you find enough room in drawers and cupboards to stash your items, move them over. Whatever doesn't fit — or would be too inconvenient to hide — gets left out on the counter. Which leads us to our next tip. 

Keeping your countertops clutter-free doesn't mean keeping them empty. Things can still be displayed on them — but you need to keep the amount to a minimum. Once you've gone through your drawers, cabinets, and countertops and gotten rid of anything you no longer need, it is time to evaluate the frequency with which you use various items. You'll need to prioritize which to leave out on your counters and which will be better stored elsewhere. To minimize clutter, Pfeiffer says, "Keep only the items you use daily, like coffee makers or utensils. Everything else should be stored in cabinets or pantries."

When you have only the items you use regularly out, you'll be able to access them with ease. More rarely used items — like that pizza cutter you only use a few times a month or the clunky air fryer you don't even remember when you last used — don't deserve dedicated counter space. They're only adding to the clutter, and you're not benefiting from them being so easy to grab because of how rarely you need them.

Even when you put away rarely used items, you may find that you still have too much out on your countertops and that they're looking too full. "For items that need to stay on the counter, it's essential to have enough space," says Pfeiffer. He recommends using organizers to help keep everything organized and to prevent it from looking sloppy. By corraling them into organizers with compartments, slots, and multi-levels, you not only make the setup more aesthetic but also more compact. 

One organizer he recommends is the Mind Reader Cup and Condiment Station, which costs $34.99 on Amazon. With spaces to hold coffee cups, lids, napkins, tea bags, and more, this organizer can help you keep your coffee station tidy. Pfeiffer also recommends this magnetic spice storage rack from HuggieGems. It costs $21.99 on Amazon for a two-pack, and features heavy-duty magnets to keep it securely attached to your refrigerator — keeping your spices easy to access without taking up any precious counter space.

Bathroom counters are notoriously smaller than we would like them to be. They can easily get cramped and cluttered holding the items you use on a regular basis. To add insult to injury, bathrooms also often lack sufficient cabinet space. Ashley Murphy, the co-founder and CEO of Neat Method, shares her tips on how to compensate for these problems. "If bathroom cabinet space is limited, storing frequently used items like cotton swabs and face pads within countertop canisters is a great solution. Not only does it maximize storage but it does so in a way that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing," she says.

Murphy recommends the Neat Method Canisters, which start at $13. They are made from a clear, BPA-free polymer plastic and feature a BPA-free lid that is available in black, brass, or bone to coordinate with the rest of your bathroom decor. Four size options are also available to suit your varying storage needs (just note that these canisters are not recommended for bath salts, powdered detergents, or other volatile chemical products (VCPs). Alternatively, you could consider this set of clear plastic apothecary jars from STORi. The set includes three jars of varying sizes (15 ounces, 30 ounces, and 60 ounces), each of which offers the look of glass, without the risk of shattering that comes with real glass jars. They're available for $28.99 on Amazon.

If you don't have turntables, also called lazy Susans, in your kitchen, there is no time like the present to make a change. As you'll quickly learn, lazy Susans are a kitchen best friend. You'll be impressed with how much it helps keep your countertops clean. "I love using a small turntable for corralling frequently accessed cooking essentials like salt, pepper and olive oil. I keep mine near my stove so those daily-use items are right at my fingertips," shares Murphy.

Beyond placing a turntable next to your stove as Murphy suggests, these rotating trays can also be used when storing items in your cabinets. Because they spin, you will still be able to easily access all the contents, and won't have to constantly move everything around to get to what you need. Because of this design, you might be more compelled to keep more items in your cabinets — and off your countertops — helping reduce the overall clutter in your kitchen.

If you have a utensil holder on your counter, you might want to weigh its necessity against how much clutter it adds to the space. "One of the first things we like to do when organizing a kitchen and creating clutter-free countertops is to remove the utensil holder off the counter, and place mixing spoons, spatulas and other cooking utensils in a top drawer near the stove," says Murphy. She recommends using expanding drawer dividers — such as the SpaceAid Bamboo Drawer Dividers or the Lifewit Kitchen Drawer Dividers— to keep all of your utensils organized and easily accessible. If you're on a tighter budget, you could consider using Dollar Tree items as drawer dividers or could even DIY your own wooden drawer organizer.

A knife block is another item Murphy recommends removing from your countertops for a less-cluttered feel. As she explains, "It takes up a lot of space and isn't always the most visually appealing. Knives can be easily stored within a drawer near your cutting boards using organizers like this Knife Drawer Organizer." If you don't have a lot of available drawer space, you could consider a space-saving option, such as the OXO Good Grips Compact Knife Organizer.

Small appliances and other electronic tools can take up a lot of space on your kitchen and bathroom counters. According to Murphy, "No amount of organization can hide a surplus of small appliances — whether that's a stand mixer in the kitchen or ultrasonic cleaner in the bathroom." She recommends assessing all the small appliances that you have out on your counters and determining what you actually use every day. Those that aren't an integral part of your daily routine should be relocated somewhere accessible, but off of your counters.

For example, if you make multiple pots of coffee each day, you can leave your coffee maker out. However, if you only use your rice maker or blender a few times a week — or even less — they don't deserve a permanent spot on your countertop. You can either find a clever way to hide these lesser-used small appliances, such as setting up an appliance garage, or tuck them away until you're ready to use them.

In theory, shelf risers sound like a great way to keep items from cluttering your countertop. After all, they can help you double — or even triple — the amount of space you have to store items on the counter. However, if you've been using shelf risers for this purpose, Murphy recommends rethinking that decision. She says, "Ultimately, it only adds to the clutter." Think about it: You're creating more levels to pack things into. Where once there was only a tray of face creams or frequently-used spices, there is now a tri-level stand packed to the gills with "essentials".

"Instead," Murphy says, "focus on placing as much as possible behind closed doors, only using elevated solutions for the few daily-use items that remain out." As mentioned above, don't let something you rarely use consume precious counter space and stand in the way of letting you keep your bathroom or kitchen clutter-free.