Keeping your kitchen organized is essential for any home chef or anyone who spends time in the kitchen. One of the biggest culprits of kitchen clutter is the countertop. From small appliances to stacks of mail and grocery bags, kitchen countertops can quickly become a catch-all for all sorts of items. If you find that your counters are always cluttered, it’s time to take action. Here are some tips on how to declutter your kitchen countertops.

Welcome to the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series! We will be starting in the kitchen this month. Each day is dedicated to spending only 30 minutes decluttering your specific daily task. We will be working 5 days a week, so you can take 2 days to enjoy time with your loved ones.

Ignore the dates within this post. Each year we do the declutter series, so the dates won’t coincide from year to year. If you wish to subscribe and join us as we Declutter a Room in 30 minutes a Day, leave a comment below. You can also find the video below and subscribe via youtube. Follow me as we explore How to Declutter Kitchen Counters.

How to Declutter Kitchen Counters (6 easy steps)

1. Start with a clean slate

The first step to decluttering your kitchen countertops is to start with a clean slate. Remove everything from your counters and give them a good wipe down. This will help you see how much space you have to work with and give you a fresh start.

2. Sort and Purge

Once you have a clean slate, it’s time to sort through everything that was previously on your counters. Make piles of items that belong elsewhere, items that you want to keep on the counter, and items that you’re not sure about. Be ruthless with your purge. If you haven’t used an item in the past six months, it’s probably safe to say that you don’t need it on your counters.

3. Keep it Simple

One of the best ways to keep your kitchen countertops clutter-free is to keep it simple. Only keep the items that you use on a daily basis on your counters. This may include your coffee maker, toaster, and a few cooking utensils. Anything else should be stored away in cabinets or drawers.

4. Utilize Vertical Space

If you’re short on counter space, consider utilizing vertical space. Install shelves or a pegboard above your counters to store items that would normally take up counter space. This can include your pots and pans, cooking utensils, and even your spices.

5. Designate a Space for Everything

One of the keys to a clutter-free kitchen is to have a designated space for everything. Create a home for each item in your kitchen and make sure it’s easily accessible. This can include creating a baking station or a coffee station, so everything you need for those activities is in one place.

6. Create a Mail Station

Mail and paperwork can quickly pile up on kitchen counters. Create a designated mail station for all of your paperwork. This can include a basket or tray near the entrance of your home or in a home office. Make it a habit to sort through your mail as soon as it comes in and toss any unnecessary items.

Decluttering your kitchen countertops can be a daunting task, but it’s worth the effort. By keeping your counters clear, you’ll have more space to cook and prepare meals. Plus, it will be easier to keep your kitchen clean and organized. Remember to start with a clean slate, sort and purge, keep it simple, utilize vertical space, designate a space for everything, and create a mail station. With these tips, you’ll have a clutter-free kitchen in no time.

Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can sign up here.

Struggling with the daily housekeeping chores? Check out my ebook on this topic, entitled Make Over Your Homemaking. Use this link to get it at a discounted price.

Struggling with the daily housekeeping chores and wondering: What Housework Should Be Done Daily? Grab my free ebook to walk you through the process. What Does a Deep Clean Include? One of my best Deep Cleaning Home Tips is to use a House Cleaning Planner. Check out my ebook on this topic, entitled Make Over Your Homemaking. Use this link to get it at a discounted price. Better yet… get it FREE when you subscribe to my site. Also, you can find my room by room Declutter Guide at the end of this post designed to help you learn tips and Decluttering Ideas For Your Home.

Maybe your house is clean but cluttered. If so, you need to know a few Declutter Tips and Ideas before you start using the Step By Step Decluttering plan I use. Does a Cluttered House Cause Stress? You Bet! Let’s look at a reputable, mental health site to answer that question and see exactly How Clutter Affects You. Then you can learn Why and How To Start to Purge Your Entire Home.They have given us 8 ways mess leads to stress and exactly How Clutter Affects You. According to Psychology Today:

How Clutter Affects You: Clutter can play a significant role in how we feel about our homes, our workplaces, and ourselves. Can a Messy House Affect Your Mood? You bet! How Does Clutter Affect Your Life? Messy homes and work spaces leave us feeling anxious, helpless, and overwhelmed. Yet, rarely is clutter recognized as a significant source of stress in our lives. (source) But, unnecessary stress is one aspect of How Clutter Affects You.

How Clutter Affects You Mentally can help provide the motivation you need to know How to Clear Clutter and Get Organized. Why does mess lead to so much stress? (source)Getting rid of all of that stress can be one of the best declutter motivation tips you need for some instant Declutter Inspiration.

1. Clutter bombards our minds with excessive stimuli (visual, olfactory, tactile), causing our senses to work overtime on stimuli that aren’t necessary or important. (source)
2. Clutter distracts us by drawing our attention away from what our focus should be on. (source)
3. Clutter makes it more difficult to relax, both physically and mentally.(source)
4. Clutter constantly signals to our brains that our work is never done.(source)
5. Clutter makes us anxious because we’re never sure what it’s going to take to get through to the bottom of the pile. (source)
6. Clutter creates feelings of guilt (“I should be more organized”) and embarrassment, especially when others unexpectedly drop by our homes or work spaces. (source)
7. Clutter inhibits creativity and productivity by invading the open spaces that allow most people to think, brainstorm, and problem solve.(source)
8. Clutter frustrates us by preventing us from locating what we need quickly (e.g. files and paperwork lost in the “pile” or keys swallowed up by the clutter). (source) So, experiencing constant frustration is another aspect to How Clutter Affects You.

Overwhelmed by a Messy House? It can really affect you negatively. How Do You Deal With a Cluttered Mess? One way is to have a plan, set aside a specific time, and learn the steps to declutter your home. What Cleaning Should Be Done Daily? I have a room by room specific Printable House Cleaning Checklist linked above. Also, you can find my room by room Declutter Guide at the end of this post. Also, find more tips for How to Declutter Kitchen Counters below.

For a clean, simplistic look, one of the best Deep Cleaning Home Tips is to declutter a room before cleaning and then use an Easy House Cleaning Schedule to maintain it. Declutter Checklists can help you learn How to begin to Purge Your Entire Home.

How Does Clutter Affect Your Life? As you can already see, there are at least 8 ways we become negatively affected by clutter. Also, I though it might be thought provoking to look at some statistics on clutter to learn more about How Clutter Affects You.

1. US consumers buy 40% of the world’s toys, but bear only 3% of the world’s children.
2. Most people wear 20% of their clothing 80% of the time. (source )
3. 9.4% of U.S. households rent a storage unit. (source)
4. People do not look at 80% of the papers and information they keep.(source)
5. The average American house is double the size it was in the 1950s–and getting bigger. (source.)

• The U.S. Department of Energy reports that one-quarter of people with two-car garages have so much stuff in there that they can’t park a car. (https://www.becomingminimalist.com/the-statistics-of-clutter/)
• According to the National Soap and Detergent Association, getting rid of clutter would eliminate 40 percent of housework in the average home.(https://www.becomingminimalist.com/the-statistics-of-clutter/) Wouldn’t eliminating a lot of housework provide some declutter inspiration? Read on for more Decluttering Ideas For Your Home.

Today, we’ll lay out the solutions for the steps to declutter using my tips on Why and How to Declutter a House. Plus, we’ll look at a few ways to answer the concern of How Clutter Affects You and what you can do about it.

Today, we’ll lay out the solutions for the steps to declutter using my tips on Why and How to Declutter a House. Plus, we’ll look at a few ways to answer the concern of How Clutter Affects You and what you can do about it.

How to Declutter Kitchen Counters

A few guidelines to keep you on task: 

1.Only spend time on your specific daily task. 

2.Do not get side-tracked or distracted. 

3.Work within a time of day that you have the most energy and stamina. 

4.Avoid thinking too long about whether to keep or discard an item. Recruit help if you are stuck in the decision process. 

5.Avoid cleaning during your declutter. Getting rid of the clutter is your priority. Cleaning can be accomplished later.

Your task today for today, September 6th is to: Declutter your calendars and papers.

Use my Step by Step Easy Decluttering Guide for How to Declutter Kitchen Counters: Start with these tasks below.

  Steps for How to Start to Declutter One Room at a Time:

Supplies Needed:

1. boxes -preferably ones you can donate (Declutter Tips and Ideas: Avoid plastic storage bins because you may be tempted to just store the items and not part with them.)

2. sturdy trash bags

3. marker/pen to label boxes

5 Easy Home Declutter Rules for How to Declutter Kitchen Counters

Do you feel like your home is full of Organized Clutter and you could use a Declutter Day? How Does a Messy Room Affect You? One way clutter and messes affect us is creating the constant feeling of being overwhelmed and overtaken.Try using my Declutter Calendar & Printable Checklist for learning How to Declutter When Overwhelmed, How to Clean a Messy House Step by Step, and How to Keep Your Home Clean and Organized using my How to Declutter Kitchen Counters Checklist below:

1. Start by eliminating trash first- use a sturdy trash bag

2. Sort items by category if needed so you can see what you have

3.Get rid of duplicate items, broken items, anything you’ll never use again.

4. Box up the donations and trash/recycle the rest

5.Select a charity to donate your items and schedule the pick-up if that is an option

Do you feel like your home is full of Clutter? Tips for How to Declutter Kitchen Counters: Take a methodical in your approach to organizing. We recommend these four steps to help you as you organize.(source)

1. Take everything out.

Don’t skip this step. Using the example of cooking utensils, empty that drawer or canister completely. Wipe it clean while you have the chance.(source)

2. Select your favorites.

Start with what you use, what you like, and what supports you now. Don’t get wrapped up in what used to work, or what might help in the future. What “sparks joy”? Set those items aside.(source)

3. Express gratitude for what doesn’t make the cut.

If you have six wooden spoons and only choose three, keep those three and take a mindful moment of thanks for the others, setting them aside for donation.(source)

4. Store, keeping easy access in mind.

Store like with like, returning the items you keep and displaying them in a way that makes them easy to access.(source)

Need to deep clean? I have lists for you to guide you along.

My How to Deep Clean Your Kitchen list can be found here.

My How to Deep Clean Your Bathroom list can be found here.

My How to Deep Clean Your Kids’ Rooms list can be found here.

My How to Deep Clean Your Living Room list can be found here.

My How to Deep Clean Your Bedroom list can be found here.

You can get your printable Daily Housekeeping Routine and Deep Cleaning Your House Schedule here. This 15 page printable kit is delivered digitally to your email for you to print and personalize. What Does a Deep Clean Include? It includes a daily schedule, calendar pages, and deep cleaning checklists for every room and area of your home. Below is a sample page of what you’ll get in my Housekeeping Schedule for Home printables.

Also, to keep up the general housework, you may need to create a daily housekeeping schedule that suits your specific needs. To do so, I have created a helpful series you can read here.

Happy Decluttering!

To Subscribe to this Declutter Series, drop me a comment below. Your email will be sent to me but will not be posted publicly. You’ll receive a daily declutter task via email for the daily task we are working on. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Need to Declutter Every room? I have declutter checklists for every room and every space in your home to guide you along below.

Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can sign up here.

Struggling to decide if an item is clutter? Use these questions below to help you determine whether to keep or toss any item. This process can help you learn How to Declutter Kitchen Counters with ease.

How to Declutter the Guest Room or Your Kid’s Room checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Laundry Room and Patio checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Coat Closet/Hall Closet/Linen Closet checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Home Office checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Attic checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Garage checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Living Room checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Kitchen Checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Entry/Foyer/Mudroom checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Clothing checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Bedroom checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Bathroom checklist can be found here.

Need some Inspiration to Declutter? Join us for the Year Long Through Declutter Series by subscribing by email below. We declutter 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Subscribe below to receive your daily task. To subscribe, leave a comment below.

Happy Decluttering!

To Subscribe to this Declutter Series, drop me a comment below. Your email will be sent to me but will not be posted publicly. You’ll receive a daily declutter task via email for the daily task we are working on. You can unsubscribe at any time.

New to deemiddleton.com and don’t know where to start? I recommend going in this order:

Step 1: Check out this post on the 1st step you should take to get organized. If you don’t have a calendar, you can grab my free weekly printable calendar page here. It is in my shopify store, but it is totally free, so you won’t be prompted to put in any payment information. It is a free download and will be delivered straight to your email.

Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can sign up here.

Step 2: Create a daily Housekeeping Schedule. You can use this series to start to set up your own schedule. You can also use this simplified weekly schedule.If you often ask: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Or, if you struggle to get organized and have tried and failed time and again, you can likely find out which of these 11 reasons cause you to fail to get organized.

Step 3:   How do you remove clutter?.…Sign up for the Declutter Series and get your entire home decluttered in just 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.”Declutter Your Home” checklists are provided in each email.

Step 4: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Use a timer and use the Deep Cleaning Checklists above. They will help you get your home sparkling after you’ve decluttered. 

Interested in becoming a full-time blogger like me? Check out my blogging series. At the top of every page on my blog, you’ll find a drop down menu. Just select the BLOGGING category.

Check out the most popular posts on deemiddleton.com: 

14 Things That Make Your Home Look Cluttered

How to Do A 1 Day Declutter

How to Create a Daily Housekeeping Schedule

How to Clean House When You Are Completely Overwhelmed By Clutter

What is Preventing You From Getting Organized?

Also, check out a great post on decluttering over here from becomingminimalist.com. Joshua Becker has some great tips on decluttering and minimalism.

For further reading, check out the fly lady here. She has some great cleaning and kitchen decluttering ideas plus excellent organization tips to get you started.