What is on top of your kitchen units?

[user3274826]

Probably the most boring post I've ever started...

But we've always been a very cluttered house. I've been gradually decluttering for the past year which has helped a lot, but whenever I clear a surface, things get dumped on top (DP is the culprit, although in general I am messier) which drives me INSANE. I've been adding lots and lots of plants around the house to reclaim surfaces to try and stop this and it's helping, I've reclaimed several bookshelves, windowsills etc But the plant solution isn't perfect as they are expensive and I keep killing them so I can't do it everywhere.

My latest decluttering task was the kitchen units. I can't reach on top without climbing up, so I can't put useful kitchen things on there. In most Rightmove photos, they are lovely and bare, do people really manage this or have they been cleared in preparation? It is a large amount of useful space so I don't want to waste it and if it's empty, DH will keep filling it up with crap. I think I could put big curver baskets up there and use the space, but not sure what to put in there and don't need several basket versions of the 'random shit drawer'.

What about on top of bedroom wardrobes?

This stuff doesn't come naturally to me, I try so hard to give things a place and they all get mixed up.

Nothing, my cupboards reach to the ceiling (though it does mean I need a step stool to get things from the upper shelves). The top of my vitrines in the lounge have some weird decorative boats I picked up in a charity shop and one has my mini filing cabinet on top and a toy robot holding a flag and various boxes and its just a mess, I really need to sort it out.

Mum used to keep the medicine box on the top of our kitchen units when I was growing up, kept it well away from children

Alcohol
Husbands nebuliser
Steak knife set
Posh cutlery set
Biscuits to keep away from the toddler
Dust

On top of the fridge
Extra lemonade
Sweets to keep away from toddler
Spare kitchen rolls
Gloves and masks
Occasionally a toy the toddler keeps throwing or breaking

Large vases, candlestick holders and candles. Stuff that's too tall to fit inside the cupboards, essentially.

Cake tin and kids lunchboxes.

On top of the wardrobe is the sewing box.

A very full wine rack

@TSSDNCOP It will be grimy as hell up there, go on have a look 😉

Loads of stuff - I need to declutter them actually.

When we first moved in and were decorating DP found two used syringes, and a burnt spoon, on the top of one of the kitchen ones though. Pushed right to the back

Our cabinets go all the way to the ceiling. Might be worth considering when you redo your kitchen.

Dust, excess tins, box of cereal waiting to go in the cupboard. Usually half a box of Christmas crackers too but we used those the other week to give the dc 5 min of fun.

I moved into a temporary rented place and didn’t think to clean the tops of the kitchen cabinets.
That year I experimented with a breadmaker. Delicious baking smells wafted through the place but the bread itself was a disappointment so I gave up.
When the time came to leave I DID wash the cupboards. Years of black greasy dust (previous tenants obviously did a lot of frying) topped with a web of yeasty spores from my bread making.
Uuuurgh.
Now I put newspaper up there and throw it away whenever it gets grimy.

Sheets of newspaper and a string of LED lights.

Though now I’ve seen @purrswhileheeats photo, I want what she’s got .

There's not a lot of space between ceiling and units, and I can't easily reach up there without climbing, so I'm keeping them empty for now. If I decide to bring them into use then I'm going to invest in a step stool so they can be got at without a lot of unseemly scrambling from chairs onto worktop.

It seems silly to have that space and not use it though, really. If you got a really good step stool, so that you could easily access the tops, then maybe something that's used regularly would be good up there, because it would get washed frequently and not just sit there gathering dust!

In the old house - dust and grease (how does it rise?)

New house much more sensible they are basically boxed in! Didn’t notice particularly when we bought but I think it’s v sensible.

I have designated dh areas he can leave his treasure crap he has a drawer and the whole fecking garage. I also bought a key bowl and letter rack and a basket at the bottom of the stairs for dumping stuff in to take up.

Like these

We did have the problem of OH dumping stuff up there but our kitchen is tiny and I felt it made it feel even more closed in so I cleared them all and made sure he knew not to fill them again.

The kitchen looks much better for it.

I don't have very much on my kitchen sides. Things are mostly put away. My boots at work always takes the piss out of me saying that I probably keep the toaster in the cupboard. I don't. We don't have a toaster - simple - lol.

Looking at my kitchen at the minute as I'm working from home. We have an air purifier which helps with kitchen smells when cooking. Touchless soap dispenser. Joseph Joseph chopping boards. Coffee machine. Our kitchen is quite big so I don't think we have alot out really considering the worktop space.

Anyone have nothing???

We have a tiny kitchen so DP uses the top of the cupboards as additional storage space for cereal, crisps, etc. Doesn't look neat but in a tiny kitchen it doesn't really matter cause it's got to go somewhere!

Nothing at all on my worktop, except the kettle, and nothing on top of cupboards.

Nothing. No one can reach so what's the point?

Nothing but dust and some wiring for the cabinet lights.
Can't reach so nothing gets put there. (I am super cluttered else where)
For Christmas, I get the step stool and put green branches, giant baubles and fairy lights up. It's a PITA to put up and get down but looks lovely.

Oh didn’t see you asked about on top of furniture in the bedroom as well:

Bedside tables: each one has a lamp sitting on it. Otherwise mine is bare except for at night when my phone and glasses are kept there to be close to hand. My DH’s is also usually bare although sometimes he’ll leave a book there, again except for at night when his phone and work phone are kept there, as well as a glass of water. The glass is brought to the kitchen in the morning.

On top of the chest of drawers there are two little Chinese vases, a set of two little ceramic birds, and a framed piece of artwork commemorating our wedding. We also have a little tray on which we keep our respective deodorants, as well as day-to-day cologne and perfume for each of us.

On top of our little cabinet we’ve got our TV and a Blu-ray player (although we’re going to pack away the player as we never use it these days, we just talked about that the other day), and nothing else. Floor is clear except under the very low bed under which we store an extra duvet and pillows for guests. Not visible unless you get down to floor level.

On top of the wardrobe is completely clear.

Window sills are clear.

Nothing on top of kitchen units.
I have some of my me to you bears on top of my wardrobe. Dh also has display stuff on top of his. (I love bears on top of my wardrobe)

Ours have layers of dust, sealed in with layers of the grease that floats in the air from frying. Delightful cocktail. Difficult to clean off as the cables for the pelmet lighting are laid loose up there too, along with the associated low voltage transformers and little junction boxes for the cables.