If you’re looking for ideas on how to keep the kitchen bench clear then look no further. I can tell you exactly why it’s a mess and how you can fix it quickly & easily.
How to keep the kitchen bench clear
Why is it that the kitchen bench ends up being the dumping ground of the house? Let me help you with how to keep the kitchen bench clear.
The kids come home from school and all their random bits of artwork and paperwork lands there. Then there are the keys, the mail, the contents of your husband’s pockets and all manner of random bits and pieces.
Why the kitchen bench gets messy
If things are ending up on the kitchen bench then it’s likely because of one of two reasons:
- They either don’t have a specified home.
- They do have a specified home isn’t easily accessible for everyone (or they haven’t been trained to put the stuff away in the home).
How to find a home for kitchen bench ‘junk’
- Have a good look at what it is that’s ending up on the kitchen bench.
- Separate it into categories for example - paperwork, kids artwork, school communication, keys, spare change etc
- Find a space somewhere else for it.
Ideas for storing the most common kitchen bench clutter items
Paperwork
Paperwork and mail is probably the number one item that collects on the bench so find a space elsewhere for it.
Even having a magazine holder on a shelf in the kitchen that all the paper can go in is a good idea. Or you could have a simple hanging basket somewhere near the kitchen to collect mail and paperwork as it comes in.
There are a million and one ideas on Pinterest if you search ‘family command center.’
Car keys
The last thing you want to do in the morning when you’re racing to get everyone out the door is look for the car keys so having a designated spot that they go the minute you walk in the door can be pretty life changing (well at least time saving!).
Looking for more ideas for a calm morning? You might enjoy my 5-step before bed routine for a calmer morning.
Something as simple as a nail in the wall inside a cupboard near the front door is all you need.
A little canister/decorative item can be the perfect key jar on an entrance table. Personally I don’t recommend having open dishes or a key bowl.
One it’s too easy for the kids to find and remove and two, I know the chances are slim but if someone does break into my house, I don’t want to hand them my car keys on a literal platter.
Random toys
This is a tricky one only because it’s usually harder to train the kids to put their stuff away. My favourite is having a little ‘lost and found’ box or basket near the kitchen where little bits and pieces are placed.
Have a time and day each week where you clean out the lost and found box and put everything in its home.
You might also be interested in how to declutter kids toys.
If you want to take it to the next level and your kids are a little older, you could make a throw out day. Whatever is still in the lost and found on eg Fridays at 4pm will be donated or thrown in the bin. This teaches them a bit of responsibility for putting their things away.
Homework
In our house, when we renovated our kitchen I had them put two little cupboards under the bench on the stool side. One is the kids, one is mine. In the kids cupboard they have things like colouring, pencils, glue and scissors so all the homework/drawing things are easy to access and easy for them to put away.
If you don’t have spare cupboard or drawer, things like this homework station on wheels can be great. Have them out during the week then stash them away when you don’t need it.
So to recap - the key for how to keep the kitchen bench clear is having a home for everything (really that’s the rule for having a tidy house) but you also need to make sure you keep up with putting everything away.
It does take practice but it’s worth it.
My best tip is each night after dinner clear up I do a quick sweep of the bench and make sure there are no random items lurking and put them away in their homes. Keeping on top of it regularly ensures the clutter doesn’t slowly creep up on you.
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Jan Malcolm says
Would love to have a uncluttered kitchen. Unfortunately mine is very small with limited storage space, so appliances sit on the benches. I do try to keep it as tidy as I can. My dinning table seems to collect all our junk items.
Claire says
Ahh that can be a challenge too Jan. What sort of items collect on the dining table?