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7 SMART STEPS TO DECLUTTER YOUR KITCHEN WORKTOPS

It’s time to liberate your worktops. You’ve spent thousands on your new kitchen. It’s your pride and joy. Only recently, you’ve noticed an accumulation of new kitchen gadgets and more limited edition olive oils than you know what to do with. The fact is all manner of things are getting tossed onto your kitchen worktop from keys to coins and unopened post. The kitchen clutter is starting to get you down and you’ve realised that it’s hampering your highly regarded cooking skills. Preparing a meal has turned from a pleasure into a nightmare with everything in the kitchen conspiring against you.

It’s time for a shake-up. You want your cooking mojo back. Yes, it’s time to rediscover those sleek worktops and showcase your kitchen again. Here are 7 smart steps as advised by Mike James, working with Chandler Stoneworks to help you claim back your worktops and get your kitchen in order.

1. Purge the pantry

You’ll be surprised at how much out-of-date food you have accumulated in the back of your food cupboards. It’s time to let go of it all. You’re never going to use it and it’s taking up too much wanted space. It’s also time to use up food products that are still in date, but fall into the ‘random purchase’ category. Give yourself a deadline to use up the Maraschino cherries, the dried porcini mushrooms and the tin of ‘wild sardines in extra virgin olive oil’.

Clearing out your pantry will create space for the mounting collection of limited edition olive oils (it’s high time you used those up too). To keep things tidy and accessible you may want to consider a pantry door organiser. An over-the-door organiser can be a handy solution for smaller food items. Also, think about menu planning and only buy what is necessary. While the Maraschino cherries seemed like a good idea at the time, come on are they really a necessity?

2. Organise your kitchen cupboards

Knowing where everything is in the kitchen makes cooking much more pleasurable. If you are constantly faced with untidy cupboards and drawers, with everything spilling out, much of your prep time will be wasted locating the kitchen items you need. Tidying your kitchen shelves and cupboards is also an ideal opportunity to cull those never-used kitchen accessories. If you don’t use it, then you really don’t need it. Specialised gizmos are seldom used and take up too much space.

3. Wall mounting

There are lots of cool, wall-mounted storage solutions. Hanging cooking utensils gets them off the work surface, but still allows you to keep them right where you need them. Hang aprons, tea towels and oven gloves on pegs. A hanging rack above the cooker is a handy way to show off your expensive pans, and it frees up cupboard space for other big items. Hanging wire baskets can be used to store food, fruit or other high-use kitchen accessories. A retractable bookstand is a nice touch instead of a freestanding one, and can be neatly folded away after use without using up much needed cupboard space.

4. Shelves

Adding shelves in your kitchen is an easy way to free up premium space for the items cluttering your kitchen work surfaces. Keep open shelves tidy by storing items in rattan baskets. Floating shelves look neat and give your kitchen accessories an easily reachable home. You’ll be amazed at how much difference a couple of shelves can make, and you can turn them into a feature by displaying your favourite, pretty kitchen items.

5. Appliance cupboard

Dedicate a cabinet for appliances. Keeping the coffeepot, toaster and food mixer out of sight really helps to declutter your counters. Unless it’s an item that adds bling to your kitchen, give it a designated home.

6. Cabinets above work surfaces

Cabinets above work spaces create efficient places to hide the kitchen clutter, yet allow easy access. Lighting fitted underneath wall cabinets can make a feature of your beautiful, clutter-free work tops.

7. Make the dishes you love the ones you use every day

Unless you are the dinner party queen (or king), use your best dishes every day. Don’t save crockery and glasses for special occasions. Pass on your everyday crockery and glassware to a charity shop, and live each day as a special occasion. You’ll be amazed at how much less cramped your cupboard or kitchen dresser becomes, and you can enjoy eating and drinking in style. Throw out any chipped crockery. Only the best is good enough now!

Enjoy your newly organised and streamlined kitchen. You have to admit, there’s something incredibly satisfying about a clutter-free, kitchen worktop. Let the marble, granite or quartz dazzle.

 

Mike James- The Kitchen Think