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10 Things You Shouldn’t Be Storing on Your Kitchen Countertop

If you're like most people, you probably use your kitchen counter as a catch-all for various odds and ends, food-related and otherwise. But there are some things you might not want to keep there.

Interior of a modern kitchen
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The kitchen counter

Do you keep your spice jars on your kitchen counter? How about your knives and olive oil? While it might look like the most convenient place to store things, your kitchen countertop is actually a bad storage place for some items. Kitchen counter organization helps eliminate clutter-related stress and make the most of your space, here are the 10 things you shouldn’t be storing on your kitchen countertop.

blender and wooden table in kitchen
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Appliances you rarely use

In a survey from MasterBrand Cabinets, the majority of Americans (60 percent) cited cluttered counter space as their biggest cause of stress in the kitchen. Too often, kitchen counters become a prime spot to stash things you’re not sure where else to put, which clutters them up real quick! And, on top of that, there are also plenty of kitchen items that you’re actually better off not keeping on your counter.

For instance, your kitchen counter may seem like the obvious place to keep toasters, blenders, mixers, and other appliances—they’re kitchen tools, after all. But if you only use them every once in a while, there really is no sense in having them take up space on your countertops! Indeed, more than half of survey respondents said that appliances were the biggest culprits of their stress-inducing counter clutter. A good rule of thumb to give yourself is: If you don’t use it every day (or every time you cook), it shouldn’t be taking up space on your counter.

pile of documents
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Papers

And the number two cause of counter clutter-related stress, according to the survey? Stacks of papers. This one’s easy to understand; it’s a lot easier to just toss day-to-day papers onto your counter than to read through and sort all of them. Whether it’s magazines, newspapers, junk mail, or not-so-junky mail like bills, papers can accumulate fast, and the more they do, the more of a hassle it is to organize them. And a messy look isn’t the only reason to keep papers out of your cooking space. If papers, especially magazines, get wet while sitting on your countertop, “the ink can easily get transferred onto your countertop’s surface,” cautions Stephanie Cooper of Energy Cleaning. “After that, it is a nightmare to clean.” If you never have any time, here’s how to clean your kitchen in basically five minutes.

beautiful old vintage retro style porcelain ceramics bone china tableware luxury tea set with golden colour rim on round dish for asian style tea time
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Serveware

As with appliances, there’s no need for the fancy china and dinnerware that you only use on holidays to sit on your counter day in and day out. “From a cleaner’s point of view, it is a nightmare to properly wipe each thing every week,” Cooper says. “From a health perspective, it is not advisable to keep dusty objects near the place you prepare your food or eat.” Instead of keeping fancy dishware on your counter to literally collect dust, consider storing it in a glass-front cabinet, or, if you’re feeling particularly decorative, even hanging it on a wall. The same goes for decorative trinkets and other non-functional items; especially if they’re small, there are probably plenty of places you can store them that don’t take away from your cooking space.

Modern white tea sugar coffee canisters set of three. Ceramic containers.
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Canisters

We won’t fault you for wanting to keep the often quite decorative canisters containing your sugar, flour, and other such ingredients in plain view on your counter. But you can’t deny that they can sometimes be bulky and take up a good deal of room. This one’s really a matter of personal preference, but it’s still pretty easy and convenient to keep them in a cabinet just above your counter. Or, as thekitchn.com points out, they are called  “pantry staples,” so you could keep them out of the way in your pantry as well, especially if you don’t find yourself using them very often. Just make sure you’re not storing any of these 16 items you should never keep in your pantry with them.

Glass jars with some spices on an old wooden stand.
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Spices

It may come as a surprise, but your counter probably isn’t the best place to keep your spice collection! In particular, make sure you’re not storing spices near your oven or stove top, where accumulated heat can weaken their flavors over time. Stephanie Bostic, PhD, a registered dietician and food safety expert explains that “light, and heat from sunlight or cooking surfaces, can degrade the flavors faster than if you store them in a cool, dark place.”

set of knives for kitchen
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Knives

Fancy knife blocks do look nice, and as such, you may want to keep them in a prominent spot. And there’s nothing wrong with doing that, of course. But just be aware that it’s not the safest place to store your knives, especially if you have young children in the house—Bostic recommends keeping your sharp knives in a drawer with a lock to keep them out of sight (and reach) of little ones. And, safety aside, you may just rather not have a large knife block taking up lots of room on your counter, especially if you don’t regularly use most of those knives. In addition to being heavy and bulky, many knife blocks can be “very difficult to clean properly,” Bostic points out. In fact, how you wash your knives could be one of the ways you’re cleaning your kitchen wrong.

Olive Oil
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Olive oil

Here’s another food that you’ve probably been storing on your counter and inadvertently lessening its quality. Just like spices, olive oil can go bad more quickly if it’s stored in direct light and heat. The same is true for other types of oil as well; they will keep better in a cool, dark place. “Inside a cabinet or pantry works well for most oils,” Bostic suggests.

sweet food, junk-food and eating concept - close up of glazed donuts, candies and muffins on wooden board
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Junk food

You had to know this was coming. The more visible and accessible your guilty-pleasure snacks are, the more likely you are to grab them, start eating, and not stop. Keeping desserts and snacks in less convenient, less accessible places will allow you to be less tempted by them. The same goes for anyone else in your household, too (looking at you, kiddos). And, on top of that, baked goods and candy can leave stickiness and crumbs on your counter, which, well, isn’t the best, most sanitary kitchen aesthetic. Find out some more kitchen organization tips.

macro shot of dish soap being squeezed onto green sponge in aluminum sink
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Cleaning products

Put simply, food and chemical-packed cleaning products don’t mix! You don’t want to risk spilling any of these inedible substances onto your food or the areas where you prep it. Even more kitchen-friendly products, like dish soap and disinfectant, should be stored in a closet or a cabinet, such as one underneath the sink, especially once they’re open. This way, they’ll have a much lower chance of spilling into your kitchen prep space, which, in addition to potentially being dangerous, also just makes a big mess.

Personal assistant connected loudspeaker on a wooden table in a Smart Home in a kitchen. Next, some utensils, food and fruit. Empty copy space for Editor's text.
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Electronics

With the increasing popularity of home devices that can be very helpful while cooking, such as the Amazon Alexa, it’s tempting to keep them handy on your kitchen counter. But considering the amount of water-pouring, dishwashing, and accidental spillage that happens during meal preparation, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Keep your phones, laptops, virtual assistants, and speakers off your counter and out of range of any potential water damage. Now that you know what not to keep on your counter, find out how to fix more of the common kitchen mistakes you’re probably making.

Sources:

  • PRNewswire: “Can’t Relax? It May Be Your Messy Kitchen”
  • The Kitchn: “8 Things You Should Never Store on Your Countertops”

Meghan Jones
Meghan Jones is a word nerd who has been writing for RD.com since 2017. You can find her byline on pieces about grammar, fun facts, the meanings of various head-scratching words and phrases, and more. Meghan graduated from Marist College with a Bachelor of Arts in English in 2017; her creative nonfiction piece “Anticipation” was published in the Spring 2017 issue of Angles literary magazine.