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!

[LunaNorth]

And two fruit bowls!!

Yeah, it’s cluttered. Use everything all the time though.

[Iwouldbecomplex]

Toaster, food processor, kettle, scales, microwave, George Foreman grill, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, a chicken shaped thing that holds eggs, a coffee machine. We do have storage space but not tons.

[lazylinguist]

Toaster, kettle, microwave. And soon to be bean to cup coffee machine .

[NerrSnerr]

We have scales, kettle, hand wash, washing up liquid, toaster, slow cooker, rice cooker. We have hangers for utensles and a magnetic knife rack on the wall. Cookbooks and herbs are on shelves.

[ZuzuMyLittleGingersnap]

@Katinski,

[BearSoFair]

Kettle
Knife block
Tea coffee and sugar caddies
Bread bin
Chopping boards
Mug tree
2 wicker drawers with batteries, torch, tea lights, matches etc (a few years ago we had a run of power cuts and it saves poking around in the cupboard under the sink!)

[SmellsLikeFeet]

A kettle and toaster
I hate clutter

[40somethingJBJ]

Kettle, toaster, slow cooker, steamer, George Forman, cereal boxes, tea/coffee/sugar caddies, recycling box, kitchen roll. Basically far too much stuff as I’m limited on storage for bigger items. I’m planning a refit next year and having open shelves to store appliances on, plus a big full height larder with shelves and drawers.

[Cavagirl]

Kettle, microwave and kitchen roll holder.
And for a while I've been debating if the kitchen roll holder can successfully go in a cupboard.
DP wants a fruit bowl but I refuse.
This thread with all the talk of utensil holders and toasters out all the time has made me feel very unsettled....how do you clean???

[Ninkanink]

We’ve got lots of counter space but I don’t like clutter so everything that’s out is either functional and used often, or carefully chosen & displayed as ornamentation.

Going from L to R:

Vase + matching candlestick
Small honey jar
Teak & glass preserve jar
Butter dish
Biscuit tin
Tea tin
Coffee machine
Microwave oven
Toaster
Utensil holder
Pestle & mortar
Knife holder
Spice jars on ceramic tray
Bamboo Basket for onions/veg
Ceramic garlic keeper
Glass fruit bowl
Glass cheese/cake plate with dome
Ceramic cheese plate with dome

[Ninkanink]

Forgot the window sill...

Three pots on a tray for storing living herb plants
One rose plant in a pot

Also forgot soap dispenser on counter by the sink.

[RiveterRosie]

@SidVisk I know what you mean about the steam from the kettle. I try to be positive about it and think, as I wipe the condensation off the cupboard door for the umpteenth time, "this door gets a good clean every day", lol.

My kitchen is quite small and my counters are quite cluttered - I have to move things out of the way if I'm rolling pastry etc. Moving along from left to right:
Microwave - toaster is kept on top of microwave as is roll of paper towel and plastic box of soap powder.
Small bread bin, perched on top is a box where crackers are kept
Ranged along the wall are jars of various nuts & seeds, tea caddy, ginger jar of sugar, my vitamins, DH's vitamins
Knife block
Kettle
Next there's hob and sink. On the back of the sink is handwash & caddy of washing up brushes etc.
On the other side of sink are chopping boards, trays, weighing scales, radio.

When I see kitchens in tv programs I am almost always attracted to the cluttery ones rather than the pristine "nothing in plain sight" ones. If I had a bigger kitchen I think there'd just be more stuff about so it's probably a good thing it's small.

[PattyPan]

Kettle, mug tree, tea/coffee/sugar caddies
Washing up paraphernalia
Steamer - could probably put this away tbh
Instant pot - too heavy to move in and out of cupboards
Pot of utensils, spoon rest and bottle of oil next to the hob
Oven timer
Microwave
Glass jars containing pasta, rice, pulses, oats - I think this is kind of decorative as well as functional 😂
Knife block
Toaster
Bread bin

[Ninkanink]

Oh and one more thing! Butcher’s block.

[Aroundtheworldin80moves]

On one we have fruit bowl, squash bottles, knife blocks, microwave. One the second there is the bread bin, toaster and box containing juice cartons. (And olive oil). Then the third one has tea cannisters etc, the kettle, and the box with pens, keys, and other odd bits). The utility has shelves for the other big things like mixer, slow cooker etc that aren't used everyday.

This probably makes the kitchen sound massive... It hasn't much floor but quite a few cupboards and counter space.

[PattyPan]

@Cavagirl

Kettle, microwave and kitchen roll holder.
And for a while I've been debating if the kitchen roll holder can successfully go in a cupboard.
DP wants a fruit bowl but I refuse.
This thread with all the talk of utensil holders and toasters out all the time has made me feel very unsettled....how do you clean???

move the stuff out of the way, clean that bit and then put the stuff back

[Swimminginroses]

I have hardly anything out, I can’t stand clutter or ‘busyness’

I have my butter out in a butter dish - best purchase ever!
And a kettle.
And a Bread bin.
That’s it

[H1978]

Toaster, kettle, microwave, bread bin, fruit bowl and small chopper in 1st part of kitchen
2nd part has washing caddy, Brita jug, wire chicken for eggs, chopping board stand
3rd part has charging dock, steam diffuser with bluetooth speaker, glass bowl with various essential oils and a small service bell that says ‘ring for love’.

[Usernameisgone]

Kettle, Deep fat fryer, kitchen Roll, Washing up liquid, sponge.

[Cavagirl]

Thread derail but @Usernameisgone what do you use your fryer for? Would you recommend one? Have been deliberating....

[Usernameisgone]

@Cavagirl chips, fishfingers, my husband uses it for fried bread a lot 😂

[TheLightGetsIn]

Kettle, toaster, microwave (with a pile of chopping boards and cheeseboards on top), fruit bowl, two utensil pots, huge pepper grinder, drying rack, washing up liquid, hand soap, and caddy with washing up brush and sponge. Windowsill has growing herbs, spaghetti jar, and kitchen roll dispenser.