What do you keep out on your kitchen counter?

[CVGap]

We have:
Toaster - use almost every day
Kettle - use several times a day
Bread machine - use at least every other day
Coffee machine - use every day.

As I don't have any cupboard storage, I've also got tea caddy, salt, pepper, tray, biscuit, spare jam, soap refill, garlic, spare flour. Knife block, bottles - soap, dishwasher, counter cleaner. 2 paint jam jars (DC) and bread board.

Is that standard? I've a friend with nothing out but she has a massive kitchen. One whose surfaces are so crammed you can barely make tea but she has no storage whatsoever. We're thinking of re-doing and I'm wondering what I should try to hide!

[ginsparkles]

Kitchen is just being renovated but I'll only have the kettle, coffee maker and tea and coffee things on the work top. They will be a cleaning caddy on the window ledge and a large vase in the corner of the breakfast bar.

Toaster, bread bin, set it scales will be on the side in the utility room. I want to keep the surfaces in the kitchen as clear as possible.

[HeronLanyon]

I’m probably ‘mid clutter’ by mn standards and it does depend on storage. I actually like my kitchen to look like a used working kitchen
I have out by hob -
Utensil container - old pretty vase.
Salt and pepper
Metal herb spice rack.
Cutting boards
Elsewhere -
Small food processer
Mini chopper
Fruit bowl
Tray with vitamins/meds
Toaster
Kettle
Trays
Small bookcase on one counter with core cookbooks
Lamps
By sink -
Hand wash
J cloth roll
Dish wash
On fridge -
Lamp and wire bottle rack

Over my cupboards I have plain square boxes. They’ve been there since my first period of putting some food and toiletries aside for brexit now for any period of illness etc.

I too have friends while kitchens are much more cluttered than mine and those whose kitchen surfaces are almost completely bare !

[Nacreous]

Mine is a tiny kitchen with v limited storage space: I have kettle, tea tins, washing up/cleaning stuff, giant utensil pot and the toaster out on the side.

But on open shelves I then also have bread bin, microwave and cookbooks and also various plants and vases and teapots and jugs, saucepans, casserole dish etc etc.

My kitchen is basically the opposite of minimalist.

[RepeatSwan]

Oh far too much and I always think I should clear the surfaces but gets annoying to put everything away as then it just feels like open-close-open-close-open-close the cupboards....

So we have: Flour, bread bin, baking trays and racks, mixer, oils/vinegars, garlic, jars of dry things (rice etc), toaster, kettle. They are the things we use at least once a day.

[MillieEpple]

Fruit bowl, salt and pepper, kettle, tea, sugar and coffee caddy, compost caddy. I kitchen has 1 double wall cupboard and 2 double floor cupboard and some drawers. Plus a dresser.

[Mustardbay]

Toaster, kettle and fairy.
All that stuff would drive me mad, it must take ages to wipe down the surfaces each time?

[Frazzled13]

Kettle
Utensil holder for big spoons, potato masher
Coffee
Chopping board
Knife block
Microwave
Cereal boxes
Wine/alcohol (we used to have a nice wine rack that went on the floor in the dining room but crawling and now walking 15 month old DD has meant that for now the wine is kept in the corner of the kitchen).
Washing up liquid
Little box of reusable wipes that I use for wiping surfaces, DD’s high chair, DD’s face after meals
Salt and pepper grinders
Cooking oil

that sounds like quite a lot written down, when I read the OP I thought I hardly had anything out.
It’s not an especially big kitchen but it is well designed and has a lot of surface space.

[Ifailed]

toaster, kettle, bread bin, knife block, ceramic jar with other kitchen utensils,fruit bowl, paper towels, box of tissues, washing up liquid & dish cloth

[caughtalightsneeze]

KitchenAid, a pot of utensils and the kettle. Nothing else.

[Mynxie]

I have nothing at all on mine. I have a boiling water tap so no kettle and everything else is put away out of sight. I don’t have a huge kitchen though it is open plan.

I decided to live this way since I moved to a city apartment- I haven’t always been like this!

[HeronLanyon]

Now adding ‘clean and de clutter kitchen a little’ to today’s list.

[Mumtumwobble]

Not too much, just kettle, toaster, Nespresso machine, kitchen roll stored on holder and fruit bowl. Got a few bits on the window sill like hand wash, candle and plant.

[TinyGarden]

This is interesting. I have a relative who has completely bare kitchen counters - the kettle gets put in a cupboard when not in use.

I do find the concept of completely empty kitchen counters a bit strange though. To me the kitchen is the heart of the home and having a few things around on the counters feels homely to me. Not messy or cluttered, but we have:

• pretty utensil pot
• bread bin
• kettle
• toaster
• fruit bowls
• tray with cooking oils
• chopping boards
• oak stand for recipe books
• recipe books
• basil plant on window sill plus washing up and hand wash bottles by sink
• finally, a 'stationery area' so notepad for jotting things down e.g. shopping, little pot for pens, scissors etc

I always keep it tidy and wipe down every day, and to me it is not at all cluttered.

I know people have different preferences, but I think I'd struggle to feel homely in a kitchen that looked very clinical and functional with no evidence of the owners about!

[Mynxie]

You’re right TinyGarden it’s not cosy at all and I wouldn’t have done it when the children were little. Being a newly retired empty nester, I decided to live in a completely different way once I moved from the country to an inner city - a new challenge if you like

I didn’t want to try and re create what I had before. It is very easy to maintain and clean once you find a home for everything

[mommybear1]

I have a kettle and nothing else on mine. Everything else is put away out of sight. I have a large kitchen island and cannot stand clutter.

[RoseMartha]

Toaster
Kettle
Microwave
Washing up stuff in a small container
Fruit bowl
Letter rack

[RoseMartha]

Oh and
Handwash
Kitchen roll

[Lemonsyellow]

Kettle, toaster, chopping boards. Pot by sink containing washing up liquid, brush and cloth. Windowsill has canister for tea bags, plant, broken cup kept for sentimental reasons, an ornamental glass plate, a jug, an old fireplace tile used as a pot stand.
Bread maker lives on the floor in a corner.

[Osquito]

Half the counter usually has kettle, and toaster (which is new, have no cupboard space for it)
Other half is covered with DP’s crap that can’t go in his entire cupboard, for some reason beyond my comprehension

[FreshfieldsGal]

We have
Kettle
Toaster
Glass chopping boards
Stand mixer
Cast iron scales
Goldfish tank (small) in the corner

Everything else is stored away. Currently looking at new kitchens though but still undecided. DH likes the gloss handle less units but I'm not sure if I do.

[Roystonv]

Kettle on glass trivet thing (autocorrect gave me Maastricht!), 3 canisters and large fruit bowl we got from a local potter so it looks fancy and charming! At bad times loads of clutter/paperwork that sit around to the left of the hob until I have a blitz or dh finally puts things away. I find it stops me procrastinating if I leave them on show.

[SidVisk]

Where do you guys put your kettles?
My only options due to plug sockets seem to be on a counter top that is underneath an overhead cupboard.

It fits fine but when it boils the steam goes up the front of the cupboard doors and makes them wet. Can't be good long term!

[ToastedEnglishMuffin]

Kettle, toaster, bread bin, knife block and a bread board. Oh and aluminium foil, cling film, rack for cooling bread and sachets of cat food.

[Lemonsyellow]

My kettle is on the countertop. I don’t have room for any overhead/wall cupboards.

[EasilyDeleted]

I aim for mid-clutter too, partly because we don't have huge amounts of storage, partly because I like a kitchen to look lived in and not like a showroom. I also dislike integrated appliances.

Cooking side of kitchen

Toaster
Kettle
coffee grinder
holder for aeropress and accessories
tea strainer set (in use constantly)
Eggs in a rack
Butter dish

Sink side of kitchen

Bottles of handsoap and washing up liquid, holder for sponge and brush
Microwave
Fruit bowl
Tub with vitamin packets in
Pot of pens
Stack of placemats
Bluetooth speaker
Small dish for random coins, hairbands etc