7 Ideas for a Clutter-Free Kitchen

Do you swoon over those images all over social media and on home design tv shows of those beautifully organized kitchens? Do you shake your head and sigh that “real life” is too cluttered and could never look like that?

While you may not have a professional design team on hand to make your kitchen picture perfect, you can create a clutter-free, aesthetically enticing kitchen space, maybe by even just spending a few minutes every day for a week.

Here are 7 ideas to try in your kitchen to make it more of an ideal environment for cooking, eating, and enjoying your home life:

1. Create a Designated Place for Everything

The key to clearing away clutter permanently is to make sure there is a designated spot for everything you want to keep in your kitchen.

In order to achieve this, you may first need to take inventory of everything currently in the kitchen and streamline your belongings so there’s less to store. You may also need to take advantage of space in other rooms or closets to use for additional storage.

You may even want to add extra cabinets or shelves to your kitchen so there is storage for everything you want to keep on hand.

2. Develop Daily Rituals

One of the best ways to keep your kitchen clean for the long-term is to build daily habits and rituals – this way tidying up can become second nature.

Maybe there are certain tasks you will do first thing every morning, like putting away clean dishes and watering herbs and plants that add design (and spice!) to your kitchen. Similarly, maybe every evening, you will be sure to wash any dirty dishes and put away anything that had been left out during the day.

You can start by picking just one thing to do every morning and evening and gradually adding to the list until you have a 15-minute daily routine. Even just 15 minutes a day can go a long way to keeping a kitchen organized and clean.

3. Clear Off Your Countertops

Do you know what one thing every beautiful, well-organized kitchen has in common? A thoughtfully laid out – and clutter-free! – countertop.

So, now is the time to plan what will stay on your countertop. Yes, there are a few appliances you may want to keep on the countertop for easy access, but, ideally, you want to keep your countertop space wide open and clear.

Once your countertop is clutter-free, consider what few aesthetic elements you might want to introduce – like a bowl of fruit or a few herbs in containers – to make your kitchen look always fresh and inviting.

4. Keep Your Fridge Front Blank

While you may understandably want to keep the inside of your refrigerator fully stocked, try keeping the front of the fridge blank and clear.

Yes, if you have young children, you may be used to using your refrigerator as “gallery space” to hang their latest artistic creations. Or maybe your fridge has become a showplace for magnets or a bulletin board for local take-out menus.

While it can be tempting to make use of an otherwise empty refrigerator front, the simple truth is that your kitchen will look much cleaner if you keep those art projects, magnets, and menus stored someplace else.

5. Make Use of Your Available Space for Storage

While it’s a good idea to keep the front of your refrigerator clear, you do want to make use of other empty space in your kitchen to help with storage.

For example, you can use a hanging pot rack for all your pots and pans and a magnetic strip on an otherwise empty wall to store knives and other utensils. You may even want to add open shelves to currently blank walls to create more storage opportunities.

6. Utilize Closed Cabinets

While open shelves can be an excellent way to use wall space for storage – you’ll want to keep a minimalist aesthetic for what you store (and essentially showcase) there if you want to keep your kitchen looking clean. Otherwise, you do want to make use of closed cabinetry and drawers to keep your kitchen items out of sight.

For a compromise solution, you could try cabinetry with frosted glass panes - though even then you’ll still want to be choosy about what’s stored inside.

7. Keep One “Junk Drawer”

While all these above tips should help you maintain a more clutter-free look and lifestyle, let’s be realistic and acknowledge there will always be a temptation to let clutter collect.

One catch-all solution is to reserve one drawer or cabinet as the “junk drawer” where any item can be thrown, at least temporarily, so you can at least otherwise keep your kitchen visibly clean and clutter-free.

If you’re interested to find out more about cabinets and other storage solutions for your kitchen, our team at RTA Wood Cabinets will be glad to help. You can give our team a call to find out more at: 800-788-7575.