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Auntie M and I were texting recently about baking-related things (fine, the flour + Greek yogurt kind of baking) and she mentioned that she found the dough easier to mix with her KitchenAid mixer. WHOA, I said — I have often been curious about getting one based on reader conversations here, but I've never felt like I could commit the counter space to it — and it seems rather unwieldy to put away and take out only when you're using it. So: we don't have a KitchenAid mixer.
I was thinking it might be a more interesting discussion at large, though (and possibly yet another source of gift ideas): What do you keep on your kitchen counter? What has earned the space, what gets used the most? Do you have any regrets?
Here at Casa Griffin we keep:
- convection toaster oven — This was my huge game changer years ago; I love how it makes toast but also is a broiler and regular oven — we've made casseroles in it. We've never gotten an air fryer because all of the reviews say the best air fryer is a convection toaster oven. (Here are my further thoughts on why I love convection toaster ovens…)
- coffee maker — I think our current one is a 12-cup Cuisinart with a thermal carafe. We keep our huge canister of Folgers right next to it because, obviously, we're fancy.
- dish rack for clean dishes — I wish there were a fancy option for this, but not only have I never seen a sleek/interesting version, but the one I have from post-college era has like 2x as much space as anything else I've seen.
- a cooking utensil holder for spatulas and things (like these)
- a large pretty bowl for potatoes and onions (and on a different counter) one of those wire bowls for fruit
- a charging station (which could be much fancier, honestly)
- a little cake stand with some often-used spices on it (the smaller of these two that I got in one of the big Nordstrom sales)
- A Sodastream maker (here's my Sodastream review; Target has lots of them on sale today)
- a WiFi “friendship lamp” from Uncommon Goods (pictured below) — we touch it and it lights up at the grandparents' house 300 miles away (Amazon also has them)
- knife block — I don't have regrets but I would also be open to moving that to a drawer or something
- digital scale on top of the knife block
If our kitchen were 100% clean, all of those things would still be on the counter because that's where they “belong.” Of course, our counters are never clean and we inevitably have kids' artwork supplies and spices from like three meals ago and various non-refrigerated syrups and bags of dried cherries and things on the counters… but in theory they “live” somewhere else.
How about you, readers — what's on your kitchen counters? What's earned a spot; what do you use really often?
Stock photo (teal Kitchen-Aid mixer) via Stencil.
Alison
I’m a huge minimalist so all I have is 1) air fryer 2) small ceramic bowl for fruits and veggies and 3) open bottle of wine (if applicable).
Alara
I love this question. We live in the suburbs, so we have a lot of counterspace. We have:
1. A small nespresso machine
2. A small coffee pot
3. Salt/pepper shakers
4. Spoonrest
5. Toaster
6. Kitchenaid mixer
7. Jar of candy (We’re potty training the oldest)
8. Bottle warmer
9. Paper towels
10. Wine rack
11. Hot water kettle
If it were up to me, we’d get rid of 1, 2, 7, and 8, but we’ll get there soon enough.
Anon
Pinterest answer: Toaster oven, toaster, coffee maker, dish rack, paper towel holder, knife block.
Real answer: all of the above, plus all the junk mail that I have not yet shredded because I hate the noise, the cat’s thyroid meds and pill shooter because keeping them in the medicine cabinet is weird, and eight yards of CVS coupons I will endlessly pretend that I plan to use before they expire in thirty seconds.
Cat
I always thought potatoes and onions were supposed to be stored in a dark area? Though I guess if you use them up fast enough it wouldn’t matter.
Our always-out items (i.e., daily use) are:
-Toaster oven
-Coffee maker
-Knife block
-Spatula canister
-Sodastream
-Paper towel holder
-Dish rack for air drying
Anon
Our current kitchen isn’t THAT small (there’s a lot of storage space), but has very limited counter space, so we only have the toaster oven, dish rack, and coffee maker/grinder/electric tea kettle. I do have a kitchen aid mixer, but it lives in the garage and I almost never bother hauling it in since it takes up pretty much all remaining counter space and it’s just too much hassle. I bake a lot, but don’t think it’s that necessary.
anon
Always out:
Fruit bowl
Spoon rest
Decorative crock filled with my most-used cooking tools
Toaster
Coffee pot
3-piece canister set
Usually a container of homemade cookies
It’s a little much for my tastes — I’d love for the counters to be as empty as possible — but this is all stuff that is used once, if not several times per day. The exception is the canister set, but it fills a dead corner and I don’t have room in our small pantry.
anon
Shoot, the knife block, too.
I have too much stuff.
Anon
Toaster oven
fruit bowl
bread container
olive oil, avocado oil, salt, pepper mill
Espresso machine
Canisters of sugar, tea and coffee
LaurenB
Knife block, George Foreman grill, KitchenAid mixmaster, toaster, and also Wifi box. I would have loved to have designed a kitchen with an appliance garage so I wouldn’t have to see all these things.
NY CPA
Ideally: rotating crock of cooking utensils, knife block, KitchenAid stand mixer, toaster, coffee machine, sponge and dish soap, bowl of onions/potatoes/garlic, paper towel holder, salt and pepper mills
However, I live in an apartment with a stereotypically tiny NYC kitchen, so in reality, we have some more stuff on the counters including dish rack, stack of kitchen towels and potholders that don’t fit in a drawer, bags of chips and other snacks
Anon
Love this question. I have been thinking a lot about this since I just bought my husband an air fryer and Instant Pot for Christmas. We have very little on our counters but are running out of space to stash the stuff we use frequently. I’m thinking of putting in shelving in our basement storage area or garage for lesser used kitchen appliances.
On the counter we have fruit bowl, ring holder, paper towels, a couple of decorative often used mugs (changed out for seasons), coffee maker, soap, mortar/pestle (not often used and could be put away somewhere), olive oil, treat jar w/ the dish soap things in it, food scale, knife block, vase full of spatulas/spoons and on the stove we have the kettle and spoon holder.
Stashed in cabinets we have the toaster, blender, electric skillet, rice maker, crock pot and the never used anymore George Foreman.
In the basement we have a food processor, a three pot crock pot / soup station gadget, a vegetable steamer and god knows what else.
Rachel
I made two pandemic changes to my kitchen counters, and I love them both. I got a bread box for the bread, so now the loaf of bread, marmite, peanut butter, and toast tongs all live in a pretty white hinged box next to the toaster. It looks MUCH nicer. I also cleared out a lesser-used cabinet shelf and moved all the other breakfast things (oats, the measuring cup we use for the oats, various kinds of dried fruit, the occasional pop tart box, etc) up into there to clear up the countertop. I’m pleased every time I look at either one.
Marie
Coffee pot
Nespresso machine
Microwave oven
Fruit bowl
Banana tree
Dish mat
Knife block
Large cannister with cooking utensils
Olive oil, balsamic, salt & pepper mills
Anon
Small kitchen so it’s just the fruit rack (I hate that we have this, we have a dishwasher!), toaster, paper towel holder, and electric kettle (used for tea and pour over coffee). Even that feels crowded. My roommate is the kind of person who has a different kitchen gadget for every single purpose (drives me nuts) but those are kept on a shelf
We keep a fruit bowl on the table, but only my roommate keeps things there (we get a lot of critters so I keep my produce in the fridge)
Anon
Ugh drying Rack not fruit rack!!!
Anon
You can get rid of the drying rack and just use a dishtowel to put things on that are hand wash.
Anon
I guess it really is just a dish towel that is used to hold drying things. Either way, it drives me nuts! We have approximately two things in our kitchen that are hand wash only, but yet there’s always stuff on it
CountC
This is a fun question. I have a small kitchen for the suburbs, but not NYC 1 bedroom apartment small. I keep a lot on the counter because I have run out of cabinet space. I have no pantry, so lots of food items are stored in the cabinets.
– air fryer
– cooking large utensil holder next to the range
– coffee maker
– coffee grinder
– blender
– microwave
– dish drying holder/rack
– food scale
– cute wooden rectangular crate which holds garlic, potatoes, etc.
Not on the counter, but on a small shelving unit in a corner:
– KitchenAid Mixer
– set of mixing bowls
– a few pots and pans
– food processor
– protein and other supplements which are in large containers
ejd3
Our dish rack for hand washed dishes is in one side of the side (we have a two basin sink if that makes sense). Oh and our Kitchen Aid mixer is in the cabinet below the kitchen sink. It’s the only one tall enough to accommodate the mixer (1957 ranch house with an updated kitchen, cabinets are original).
Anon
This is fun! I live in the south and have a much larger kitchen than you’d have in an apartment, so that’s my disclaimer. Also, I’d love for my countertops to be more clear, but my SO is a chef and prepares most of our food, so I don’t want to argue with him about this.
1. Coffe pot
2. Coffee grinder
3. Various vinegars and oils
4. Salt
5. Pepper grinder
6. Knife block
7. Cutting board
8. His mandolin, which is small, but still why?
9. Soap dispenser
10. Sponge holder
11. 2 small kitchen cloths spread out for drying dishes instead of a dish rack (and usually whatever pans or dishes are drying
12. Ceramic bowl with onions, potatoes, butternut squash
13. 2 bottles of gourmet ketchup unopened
14. My vitamins
15. 2 canisters of spatulas, ladles, etc.
16. Bread
A large cast iron pan also lives on the stovetop, as does a cast iron dutch oven filled with frying oil.
Anonymous
I totally started cracking up. Does he leave a mandoline out or does he also play blue grass?
Lori L.
So relieved to see the answers. My sister’s husband insists that the counters must be completely clear of everything including the toaster! I have a Kitchenaid Mixer (a regret because I rarely use it even though I bake a lot), a toaster, a decorative ceramic cannister set that match plates hanging on the wall but also store extra flour, sugar and gourmet loose teas, a coffeemaker, a spatula cannister, a knife block, a Bose wave radio, a cookie barrel, inlaid-wood cutting board propped against a wall on the counter and a wicker basket for paper recycling.
bellatrix
You all are making me feel much better. Shelter mags/Instagram make me feel like there should be only one decorative cutting board and a bowl of lemons on my counter, but that has never been, never will be me.
Here’s what we have, broken up by section of counter (big suburban counters):
* Coffee nook with Keurig, electric kettle, canisters of coffee supplies
* Toaster, pencil cup, pencil sharpener, blender (which really should be put away because no one’s made a smoothie in months …), paper towel holder, basket with dish sponges/etc.
* Slow cooker, which is bulky so it lives on the counter
* Knife block, canister of utensils, bread basket, Aero herb garden
* Cookbooks, water distiller (we used to need distilled water for kiddo’s humidifier)
Not mentioned: dishes waiting to go in the dishwater, spices that need to be put away, a metric ton of random nonsense.
Doodles
Coffee/cappuccino/latte Keurig machine
Kitchen cloths spread out for drying dishes (plus whatever pans or dishes are drying)
Olive oil
Fruit bowl
Hand sanitizer and soap
Mail
Whatever packages need to be taken to the garage for recycling
Daily forms from daycare
Two of the lawn drying racks for bottles and baby/toddler stuff
Dish for miscellaneous stuff that’s now mostly masks and pens
Toaster
Knife block
Paper town holder
Bread/muffin holder
Alexa
Kid’s lunch box (used to be mine and DH’s lunch boxes too when we were going to office)
Small dog food container
And a bunch of random stuff. I have a relatively large kitchen but it can look a bit cluttered even when most of the above are used daily.
I put away the Kitchen Aid to make room for the bottle lawns. And other kitchen machines (slow cooker, Instant Pot) are in the pantry closet.
Small kitchen
I have a small kitchen area, and very little countertop. (Like 5 feet little). Because the rest of the kitchen also is small, some things need to live on the counter.
In order or priority:
– electric kettle
– basket of dish soap, hand soap, sponge etc
– salt pot
– olive oil in daily use
– crock with cooking utensils
– container of oats (daily use)
– microwave
– chopping board
—
Can go in the cupboard:
– container of tea
– coffee
– container of rice
– pepper mill
– daily randoms (today: extra oil, magnesium tablet, a pen and a coffee maker I’m testing).
– pot holders
HangryJo
I love kitchen stuff! and seeing how other people organize their kitchens. So this post is right up my alley.
On the counters at all times: 1) A spoon rest next to the stove, 2) Coffee grinder, 3) Coffee pot, 4) Boos block, 5) Small Wusthof knife block that holds 3 knives, 6) paper towel holder. We unfortunately have a double-basin sink so we recently switched to an in-sink drying rack to get rid of ours that was on the counter. It’s smaller but actually better because it keeps us honest and forces us to put the clean dishes away more quickly than we used to when we had more space to leave them in the drying rack.
On the stainless steel kitchen baker’s rack we added on one side of the kicthen since we don’t have enough counter space: 1) Microwave, 2) Toaster/convection oven, 3) Berkey water purifier, 4) the wok because it’s too big to hang or fit in a cabinet and 5) on the bottom shelf 4 baskets, 1 each for: clean cloth napkins and placemats, clean kitchen towels, dirty kitchen towels and napkins, and dirty cleaning rags. The baskets for the dirty stuff are woven plastic which is great because I can bleach them if need be, and they’re big enough I can just bring them straight to my washing machine when they get full.
We hang all our pots and pans on one wall. Keep the KitchenAid mixer, pressure cooker, food processor, Vitamix, Sodastream etc. in the pantry and have no problem lifting them out whenever needed. I bake probably once a week but I just don’t like things on the regular counter for long if I can help it.
Also have a silicone tray thing that holds dish soap & hand soap dispenser, although this is on the sink lip and not technically on the counter, I think it counts since you see it out.
I put my fresh fruit bowl on my dining table and store potatoes/onions in a basket on a shelf in the pantry.
Anonymous
In a small urban kitchen, usually only my microwave. During the winter, I add a humidifier. A third new item is a coffeemaker for my boyfriend when he’s here (although it bugs me because we spend more time as his place and I don’t use it for myself).
Jeffiner
I like having things not on counters, and actually worked to find cabinet homes for most of the appliances. Things I’m ok having on my counters:
Kitchen Aid Mixer
Salt and Pepper Set
Drying Rack
Compost Bowl
Charging Station
Paper Towels
Cutting Boards in a Rack (the knives are on a magnet on the backsplash)
Things on my counters that I wish could find a new home:
Extra beverages that won’t fit in the pantry (sparkling water, sports drinks, beer, soda)
DH’s protein powders
Packs of cherry tomatoes (they are my 5yo’s favorite snack, we stock up from Costco)
For those of you who bake a lot but don’t use the Kitchen Aid, what do you do? My cabinets are too small for my Kitchen Aid to fit inside, hence its home on the counter.
My hand mixer is buried deep in a cabinet, and its kind of a pain to get out. I find it easier to just flip a switch on the Kitchen Aid than to stand there holding a hand mixer.
I’m now wanting to research textures of baked goods with hand vs stand mixers.
The Kitchen Aid mixer is probably my second-most-used appliance, because I do bake a lot. Only the toaster is used more, for the 5yo’s morning waffles, but it has a very accessible spot in a cabinet that makes it easy to take out and put away.
Anon
I think it depends a lot on what you make. For muffins, quick breads, brownies, or blondies, no need for a mixer at all. Depending on the cake, I either use a hand mixer (when beating eggs or creaming is important) or mix by hand. I admit that cookies can be easier if you use a mixer to cream the butter, but mixing by hand is fine if the butter is at room temperature. Same for bread- it can be easier to knead with the mixer, but I kind of like kneading by hand. I used to always use my mixer for this when I had counter space for it, but now that I have to haul it out (I’m the one who said mine is in the garage), I’m more inclined to skip it for pizza or anything with a long ferment where it doesn’t seem to matter as much.
Anonymous
Coffee maker, espresso maker, Kitchen Aid mixer, dish rack, market basket of random fruits or veggies that won’t fit in the fridge, garlic keeper, oil and vinegar cruets, salt and pepper. A small notepad with meals listed, and a folder of recipes for the week, printed so I don’t get oil on my iPad. Hey, not bad, I thought this list was going to be longer!
Anonymous
smallish kitchen and i am forever trying to get things off of the counter so it does not look so cluttered!!
we usually have (and to me this is too much, but i can’t figure out which one gets cut at this point):
– coffee machine
– fruit bowl
– dishmat + drying rack
– knife block
– toaster
– breadbox
– salt + pepper mill
– utensil holder thing for cooking utensils
– electric kettle
i do find that putting dishes away as soon as they are dry, for instance, helps it look less cluttered. i really wish we could get rid of the toaster or fruit bowl but we use them too much.
Mondays
I bake and cook a lot and do not have a stand mixer. No regrets!
On counter –
Acrylic tray with often used items – olive oil, pepper mill, small container of oatmeal and scoop, cinnamon
Salt pig
Small spice rack
Utensil bin with some utensils
Toaster oven
Decorative tile (on top of toaster oven) to use as a trivet
Medium tupperware with open snacks (crackers, dried fruit) and honey
Small dish drying rack
Fruit bowl
Bowl with potatoes, onion, garlic
Hot water boiler
Elysian
I love this question, though I’m late coming to it!
We have a very small amount of counter space in an awkwardly laid out kitchen, but even if it were perfectly clean the counters would still have a lot on them. Because of our awkward layout we also have two movable carts which I will count as counter space:
– Stackable shelving unit which has canisters with sugar, coffee, flax seeds, popcorn kernals, garlic
– stackable spice racks. I would love to get these off the counter, but we have a lot of spices and my husband refuses to move them
– coffee machine
– olive oil
– knife block
– soap, sponges
– cleaning brush
– canister of spatulas
– spoon rest
– microwave and toaster oven (stacked on top of one another)
– holder/bowl for fruit and potatoes
KateM
For our KitchenAid Mixer, we have a special cabinet where you store it on a shelf that pops up to counter height level when you want to use it. We renovated our kitchen when we moved in and it was the only thing on my must-have list when I learned it existed. We actually had 2 identical KitchenAid Mixers (same color even!) since we got married in our mid-30s and gave one away to a friend when combining households. We use it very frequently, several times a month.
On the counter, we have a Nespresso, an electric kettle, a toaster, a vase (in the back corner), a knife block, a utensil container, a spoon rest next to the stove, a baby bottle drying rack, a bottle warmer, baby bottles, paper towel holder, fruit bowl, and a bunch of baby food items (formula containers, rice cereal, puff snacks, etc.). Then since we have a peninsula with seating, placemats and cloth napkins for where we eat.
Little Red
I have the following:
1) electric kettle
2) rice maker
3) Cuisinart stand mixer
4) Breville toaster oven
5) two utensil holders
6) lazy susan with all my vitamins
7) catchall bowl
8) paper towel holder
9) dish rack
Pompom
Small kitchen with little counterspace, but a decent pantry closet. So, on the counters:
2 bowls of fruit and veg
coffeemaker and slender glass pitcher to refill reserve
1 cannister? jar? with cooking utensils in it
small tray (6″x12″) with assorted olive oils, vinegars
salt pig and pepper grinder
Rebecca in Dallas
We have a pretty good amount of counter space (this kitchen feels enormous compared to previous places we’ve lived, it was really a huge factor in us choosing this house!). For some reason it has a tiny pantry, though, so more stuff lives on the counter by the stove than I would love but we keep it organized and keep any other clutter off of it as best as we can.
Microwave
Coffee maker
Cream/sugar containers
Paper towel holder
Toaster oven
Toaster
Rice cooker
Stand mixer
On our island (which has the range top):
A spinning spice rack
Cooking oils and vinegars (olive, avocado, sesame oil; balsamic and rice vinegar)
Salt and pepper
Garlic holder
A set of stacking measuring cups
Chgo MGO
Late to this, but I want to type this out for an exercise in showing my husband we may have a bit too much out…
1. Microwave
1.5 The bread goods that live on top of the microwave
2. 4-slot toaster
3. Dish drying rack
4. Knife block
5. Large utensil holder
6. Interdesign turntable for spices and oils
7. Spoon rest, though technically on the stovetop
8. Dog treat jar
9. Amazon Echo
10. Fruit bowl
11. 2 tier wire basket that holds an abundance of garden squash
12. Air fryer
13. Instant pot
14. Toaster oven
15. Keurig
16. Small trays to hold coffee scoop, reusable Keurig trays, and Yeti mugs
17. Coffee cannister
18. Digital scale
19. More canisters of various drink mixes (powdered Gatorade, collagen, pre-workout mix)
Holy moly. In our defense… our kitchen was designed with little to no expertise by a novice house flipper. There is shockingly little storage for a large room, and the little storage available is god awful high for two short Irish people. The microwave on the counter is a second microwave, because I can’t reach the built-in…
Ashley
I just cringed a little inside. NOTHING! We do have two coffee makers on a separate counter that is part of a wet bar type area, but I make my husband put the capsules or pods in a cabinet.