The Quick Kitchen Counter Reset: 5 Piles in 15 minutes
Your kitchen counter tells a story…
Permission slips buried under yesterdays mail, coffee cups and your latest Amazon delivery box living its best life right next to tonights dinner prep space.
I can hear you say “I will sort that later” because I have said that and meant it but,
Spoiler alert: later never comes.
Instead, we push things around to make space for dinner prep, and the clutter starts to crowd us out.
What if I told you there is a simple 5-pile solution that takes the overwhelm out of tackling your kitchen counter chaos?
No complicated rules.
No expensive organizing tools. Just 15 minutes to sort the chaos into 5 easy-to-manage piles.
Read on to learn more…
The Toss it Pile
Start here for quick actions and quick results.
Pile up anything lying around that is garbage or recycling. Think useless receipts, old homework sheets, shipping boxes, broken gadgets, chipped mugs and expired snacks.
Make swift decisions to give you the breathing room you crave in your kitchen, and be done with this pile.
2. The Move it Pile
Aka the '“What are you even doing here?”
Your daughter's hair ties, an overdue library book, and that face cream you picked up last week are not kitchen property, yet they have been stealing valuable real estate space on your kitchen island for days or maybe weeks…
So, let’s gather all the wandering things into a move pile.
At the end of your reset you can move these items to their final homes to reclaim some dinner prep space.
3. The Store it Pile
The ‘store it’ pile is for those “sometimes” items currently out for display but not in use regularly.
Perhaps you have a juicer you rarely use or a waffle maker you only bring out for special brunches. These items deserve a proper home inside a cabinet so you have the space and breathing room on your counters for your everyday items.
The store-it pile is also for those items that belong in your kitchen but never quite made it back to their home. Pile these up and return them to their home after your sort is done.
4. The Pass it on Pile
If you have any kitchen appliances or gadgets that take up valuable space but rarely use them, consider passing them on.
Think of the space you will gain if you let go of that smoothie maker that has been pushed to the corner and is collecting dust or that second air fryer you thought was a must-have but never use.
Box these counter-crowding items and take them to your local donation centre, or snap some quick photos to sell locally.
5. The Paper pile
That mountain of paper on your counter—bills, school forms, flyers, and who knows what else—doesn’t belong in your food prep space.
Quickly toss any obvious junk mail or expired papers into the recycling (toss it pile). For what’s left, create two simple sub-piles: action (bills to pay, forms to sign, etc.) and file (insurance papers, receipts you need, and references you’ll use later).
Keep your actionable items to address and file the reference/keep in a paper management system after your sort is done.
Think of the 5 pile kitchen counter solution as less of a chore and more of a challenge that will get you the breathing room for your morning coffee routine, weekend baking adventures, or a weeknight dinner prep session.
A little action can go a long way…
If you feel ready to reach out and get the support, guidance, and accountability partner you need to declutter and organize your home for good, click on the button below, and let’s get it done!
as always, thanks for reading
~Andrea