3 Things You Need To Stop Storing On Your Kitchen Counters

For many homeowners or renters, the kitchen is the central location within the home. It's the area you go to in the morning to grab a cup of coffee and one of the first rooms you enter after a long day of work. Kids may also do their school projects or other activities in the kitchen. Due to all of these factors, it's common for this room to become the area where most of your belongings get stored. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it may prove to be problematic and not the best habit to indulge in.

When too many things begin to accumulate in one room, it can look cluttered and messy. According to Masterbrand, 81% of homeowners state that they are restless whenever their kitchen becomes unorganized. This can then cause unanticipated stress that is completely avoidable.

Storing unnecessary items also results in the loss of space needed to prep and cook food throughout the day. However, the kitchen doesn't have to be adopted as a storage unit. It should be a place used for its intended purpose; therefore, there are some things you need to stop storing on your kitchen counters.

The first thing you need to stop leaving in the kitchen is your personal items. Typically these are belongings that get used on a daily basis, such as keys, phones, and wallets. Aside from taking up space, these important belongings tend to be misplaced fairly easily. As DIY All Day points out, smaller items like keys can get lost behind appliances and around the sink.

In addition, these belongings get taken in and out of the house throughout each day, which means they accumulate a substantial amount of bacteria. Keys are one of the dirtiest objects you can touch daily as germs are constantly being passed from user to user, via LED Future. Therefore, keys are not the most sanitary objects and should not be stored in a place where food is handled.

Instead of throwing them on the counter, consider storing your belongings in a completely different room, such as the foyer or your bedroom. Having a designated area for these objects will allow for more organization while helping to save space in the kitchen for more important items.

Another important thing that shouldn't be stored on kitchen counters is decor. As per Illuminate Vintage, the main purpose of a kitchen is functionality. Yet, too much furnishing that resides in one area or unconventional places, such as the countertops, can prohibit this. You can always move decor to another location in the kitchen when you need access to a specific area; however, this would require an additional step just to use the space. These pieces can also accumulate unwanted residue from foods such as grease and sauce.

Fortunately, there are ways to keep cute decor in your kitchen without removing or ruining it altogether. Consider placing pieces in areas that aren't typically used, such as the top of cabinets, window seals, or floating shelves. Some furnishings can even be hung on the wall or the sides of cabinets. By doing this, you can keep the personal touch your decor brings while also keeping all the space you need.

Lastly, you need to stop storing appliances on the counter. Yep, you heard that right. There are many cool gadgets available in retail stores that can cook or prep your food in several different ways. However, most of these get left on the counters for long periods of time without much usage.

A report by Statista states that around 67% of homeowners in the United States own portable appliances such as a toaster and blender. Yet, the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers states that those who own full-size blenders use them just over six times a month, while personal blenders are used less than nine times.

Instead of having these gadgets out on display, consider placing them in cabinets or on the top of shelves. You can then take them out and use them as necessary. This way, they're still close by when needed but not overtaking the kitchen at the same time.