Containing counter clutter

[twinmomma]

We have a huge counter peninsula that separates our kitchen from the living room. It's our only seating area for eating - no kitchen table or dining room or anything. It has 7 barstools around it. It's big. I try to keep it relatively cleaned off with some kind of centerpiece in the middle since it's a huge part of our living space. 

But, I am struggling with how to container all the junk and clutter that ends up dumped on the counter over the course of the week. Piles of mail, school papers, random stuff just always ends up piled there. My boyfriend is admittedly terrible about clutter, so most of it is his random stuff that he just accumulates there. Usually once a week I scoop it all up and throw the toys in the kids' rooms, boyfriend's stuff on his dresser, my stuff into my office. But I feel like I need some sort of container to kind of mask all the junk in the interim days.

Any ideas for containing that kind of clutter? I'm thinking a basket of some kind that can sit up against the wall on the far end of the peninsula so it's out of the way and just hides the junk. 

[dancingirl21]

We have something like this:

www.target.com/p/desktop-storage-unit-wood-threshold-8482/-/A-15023558?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tgtao&DFA=71700000012806747&CPNG=PLA_Seasonal%2BShopping_Local%7CSeasonal_Ecomm_Home&adgroup=SC_Seasonal_School/Office+Supplies&LID=700000001170770pgs&LNM=PRODUCT_GROUP&network=g&device=c&location=9021557&targetid=aud-1055952645547:pla-794640807315&ds_rl=1246978&ds_rl=1248099&ds_rl=1247068&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqp-LBhDQARIsAO0a6aKItZ1yrKyzc8jjGAlykFw7J-crHECPWiTatB4LHm1Enst5PEvEyfsaAioVEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

I got it at HomeGoods. We put mail and school papers in there throughout the week and I try to go through it every weekend. It gets the job done to not have everything all over the counters.

[Susie]

I tend to find that the junk that piles up, does so because it doesn't have a good designated place to go.  So creating designated spots for the 'types' of junk are my best tactic.

When mail comes in the house, junk mail goes straight in the trash, and important mail goes in an organizer in my office.  Kid school work goes to specific spots in their rooms.  Notes home from school go with the mail.  Keys go on hooks.  Coats and backpacks go on specific hooks.  Reusable grocery bags are supposed to go back out to the car, although we struggle with this one because it isn't convenient enough.  Dog leashes go on hooks.  

So it's not a one-size fits all solution, but it does help.

The other thing is not letting it pile up.  Picking it up needs to happen daily so the mess doesn't get so bad.  We are trying to enforce a rule that anything left downstairs at bedtime goes into timeout.  The biggest problem is socks & shoes, which DD is constantly leaving around.  The problem is nobody cares if their socks go in timeout, and DD has enough shoes that she doesn't care enough about that either.  

[dr.girlfriend]

I agree with having other designated places for things, but at worst I think get the basket and then have a "time to sort the basket" every night where you both go through and put things away. Otherwise, things will go in the basket and disappear forever.

We are still bad about mail, but at least when I bring in the mail I immediately sort the junk into the trash, so we have a smaller pile of "good mail" that I file away every x weeks. Very little of it actually has to be dealt with in a timely manner, so that's an issue too. I woke up at 5 am the other day and realized I never sent a check to the tree guys!

[tiki]

When we had a table that was also my office and our only general home workspace, we would often just need to clear the things on it into a basket or bin, put that into some nearby Kallax shelves, and then re-set whatever was in progress later on.

[konapoppy]

Box for mail and a 5 minute pickup each night.

[twinmomma]

Susie, You're not wrong! It's definitely random stuff that doesn't have a good home that ends up there. My boyfriend works at the counter some days, so some of it is work stuff. A lot of it is random kid stuff that gets abandoned. I try to clean it all off each weekend and have a fresh start, but it drives me nuts to look at it all week.

[konapoppy]

Oct 15, 2021 7:23:52 GMT -5 twinmomma said:

Susie, You're not wrong! It's definitely random stuff that doesn't have a good home that ends up there. My boyfriend works at the counter some days, so some of it is work stuff. A lot of it is random kid stuff that gets abandoned. I try to clean it all off each weekend and have a fresh start, but it drives me nuts to look at it all week.

Dana White has this concept of “dishes math”. That doing the dishes each night takes 10 minutes, but if you leave them and do a few days’ worth at a time takes much longer. A five minute pick up daily would probably be faster and not drive you crazy! And if you ask yourself (or your boyfriend for kids ask themselves) “where would I look for this”, you will have the home. Or to your point a new home will need to be created.

[expectantsteelerfan]

If anyone has had a clutter problem and successfully solved it, I would like to meet them and shake their hand.

I honestly believe clutter is a personality trait. You are either a clutter person, or you are not. And if you are a clutter person, no matter how much you try to not be and how many 'homes' you create for the clutter, it will always come back.

I've literally tried to 'declutter' a specific kitchen countertop in each of the 7 homes dh and I have lived in together over the years.

In our current home that we just moved into this summer, we have the biggest kitchen we've ever had. We have a counter along one wall that has one of those outdated 'desk' areas and a raised counter next to it, and I even designated that to be the area where I would allow clutter. And then we have another area that I have my keurig, crock pot, and stand mixer with glass door cabinets above, an island, and a counter with the toaster/cutting board where I actually prep food. And it was my goal to not let clutter accumulate on any other kitchen counter. The island was covered with clutter during move in, but I made it a priority to clean it off, plop a decorative item in the middle, and swear it would never be cluttered again. And it's currently almost covered with clutter. There is also still clutter on the counter with the keurig that was placed that during the move temporarily until I could find a place for it (really random stuff, like the shower curtains that came with bath mats that I bought that I don't plan to use but haven't gotten rid of yet, toys the kids wanted to get rid of that I wanted to make sure they didn't want, reminders from the dentist about scheduling an appt. for dh, bottles of hand sanitizer and bug spray ds took to camp, etc.). I do clean the island off whenever I have a chance and repeatedly swear I will not let it get cluttered again, yet every week the clutter comes back.

[konapoppy]

Oct 15, 2021 9:16:31 GMT -5 expectantsteelerfan said:

If anyone has had a clutter problem and successfully solved it, I would like to meet them and shake their hand.

I honestly believe clutter is a personality trait. You are either a clutter person, or you are not. And if you are a clutter person, no matter how much you try to not be and how many 'homes' you create for the clutter, it will always come back.

I've literally tried to 'declutter' a specific kitchen countertop in each of the 7 homes dh and I have lived in together over the years.

In our current home that we just moved into this summer, we have the biggest kitchen we've ever had. We have a counter along one wall that has one of those outdated 'desk' areas and a raised counter next to it, and I even designated that to be the area where I would allow clutter. And then we have another area that I have my keurig, crock pot, and stand mixer with glass door cabinets above, an island, and a counter with the toaster/cutting board where I actually prep food. And it was my goal to not let clutter accumulate on any other kitchen counter. The island was covered with clutter during move in, but I made it a priority to clean it off, plop a decorative item in the middle, and swear it would never be cluttered again. And it's currently almost covered with clutter. There is also still clutter on the counter with the keurig that was placed that during the move temporarily until I could find a place for it (really random stuff, like the shower curtains that came with bath mats that I bought that I don't plan to use but haven't gotten rid of yet, toys the kids wanted to get rid of that I wanted to make sure they didn't want, reminders from the dentist about scheduling an appt. for dh, bottles of hand sanitizer and bug spray ds took to camp, etc.). I do clean the island off whenever I have a chance and repeatedly swear I will not let it get cluttered again, yet every week the clutter comes back.

Have you followed any of Dana Whites books, podcasts, etc. it is called “a slob comes clean”. It has really helped me. She also has a course with a few people - take your house back - with lots of great tips.

[Deleted]

I hate clutter. For years we had those stackable letter trays that were labeled for like incoming mail, to be filed, a bin for each me and H, but even though the stuff was "organized" in to trays, I still hated looking at the organized mess. I recently got this at Home Goods and I freaking love it. It contains the mess, I can keep things like pens, my checkbook, etc in the drawer, and I don't have to look at any of it. It does force me to deal with the mail more often, but I'm okay with that. I have an H who walks in the door from work and just likes to put his crap everywhere, after 10 years, I still have not figured out how to fix that.

[boiler717]

Oct 15, 2021 9:16:31 GMT -5 expectantsteelerfan said:

If anyone has had a clutter problem and successfully solved it, I would like to meet them and shake their hand.

I honestly believe clutter is a personality trait. You are either a clutter person, or you are not. And if you are a clutter person, no matter how much you try to not be and how many 'homes' you create for the clutter, it will always come back.

I've literally tried to 'declutter' a specific kitchen countertop in each of the 7 homes dh and I have lived in together over the years.

In our current home that we just moved into this summer, we have the biggest kitchen we've ever had. We have a counter along one wall that has one of those outdated 'desk' areas and a raised counter next to it, and I even designated that to be the area where I would allow clutter. And then we have another area that I have my keurig, crock pot, and stand mixer with glass door cabinets above, an island, and a counter with the toaster/cutting board where I actually prep food. And it was my goal to not let clutter accumulate on any other kitchen counter. The island was covered with clutter during move in, but I made it a priority to clean it off, plop a decorative item in the middle, and swear it would never be cluttered again. And it's currently almost covered with clutter. There is also still clutter on the counter with the keurig that was placed that during the move temporarily until I could find a place for it (really random stuff, like the shower curtains that came with bath mats that I bought that I don't plan to use but haven't gotten rid of yet, toys the kids wanted to get rid of that I wanted to make sure they didn't want, reminders from the dentist about scheduling an appt. for dh, bottles of hand sanitizer and bug spray ds took to camp, etc.). I do clean the island off whenever I have a chance and repeatedly swear I will not let it get cluttered again, yet every week the clutter comes back.

I do think clutter is a personality trait! I was trying to think of helpful answers to this as someone who never has counter clutter and couldn’t come up with any — it’s just that no one in my family would ever think to leave something on the counter that didn’t go there. I think it’s really hard to switch the mindset.
I do think a lot of it comes down to too much stuff and not having a place for everything. I am not a minimalist but really try to not have extra stuff. The first organizing tip I give friends is to purge 50% of their stuff and then purge another 50%. I would try to work on that first, then you will have space to identify proper locations for things.

[wavepool]

Oct 15, 2021 10:27:52 GMT -5 @sameoldstory said:

I hate clutter. For years we had those stackable letter trays that were labeled for like incoming mail, to be filed, a bin for each me and H, but even though the stuff was "organized" in to trays, I still hated looking at the organized mess. I recently got this at Home Goods and I freaking love it. It contains the mess, I can keep things like pens, my checkbook, etc in the drawer, and I don't have to look at any of it. It does force me to deal with the mail more often, but I'm okay with that. I have an H who walks in the door from work and just likes to put his crap everywhere, after 10 years, I still have not figured out how to fix that.

I want one! Any idea brand? I assume the top opens?

[SusanBAnthony]

I will agree with the previous comments that it does seem to be a personality trait, and it also is just a thing you have to do daily.

We have various clutter places in our house. It really does just require daily maintenance for the more high traffic areas. In the kitchen we clear it daily but we have other spots that we let pile up and deal with weekly.

Kitchen (daily) as part of dinner cooking I pile the crap on one end of the counter and shout at everyone to come get their crap or it is going in the trash. They know I mean it because I throw their shit away all the time if they don't care enough about it to be bothered to take care of it. We have a small galley kitchen and no one gets to treat it as their dumping ground, the space is needed for cooking.

Dining room table, family room, other weekly spots: On the weekends as part of general tidying up everyone goes around and collects their stuff.

The kids keep most of their general clutter on their rooms. H is a total clutter bug and our method is to clear out a drawer in the kitchen and bedroom for him to dump his random crap in. When it gets full he cleans it out.

[Deleted]

Oct 15, 2021 16:05:13 GMT -5 wavepool said:

Oct 15, 2021 10:27:52 GMT -5 @sameoldstory said:

I hate clutter. For years we had those stackable letter trays that were labeled for like incoming mail, to be filed, a bin for each me and H, but even though the stuff was "organized" in to trays, I still hated looking at the organized mess. I recently got this at Home Goods and I freaking love it. It contains the mess, I can keep things like pens, my checkbook, etc in the drawer, and I don't have to look at any of it. It does force me to deal with the mail more often, but I'm okay with that. I have an H who walks in the door from work and just likes to put his crap everywhere, after 10 years, I still have not figured out how to fix that.

I want one! Any idea brand? I assume the top opens?

The sticker on the back says “The Relation Frame Company” but it seems to be oversees. I googled it and got a lot of random hits, including the organizer I have but with a different manufacturer name. I only paid $40 for mine but it likes like online prices are all over the place.

[wavepool]

Oct 17, 2021 14:32:16 GMT -5 @sameoldstory said:

Oct 15, 2021 16:05:13 GMT -5 wavepool said:

I want one! Any idea brand? I assume the top opens?

The sticker on the back says “The Relation Frame Company” but it seems to be oversees. I googled it and got a lot of random hits, including the organizer I have but with a different manufacturer name. I only paid $40 for mine but it likes like online prices are all over the place.

Thanks! None at our HomeGoods when I went after seeing this, but I'll be checking back!

[krystee]

I am a counter clutter person too, and I hate it. A lot is paper, so yesterday I created my own version of the Sunday Basket concept from Organize 365. I have a little file folder bin with files for bills, receipts, coupon, school stuff, recipes, checkbook and stamps, greeting cards, invitations and upcoming events, etc., so now any paper that comes in immediately has a home, and I go through it weekly to pay bills, toss expired coupons, toss receipts I don’t need anymore, and so on.

[twinmomma]

I got a few things at HomeGoods this weekend and feel a little better!

I found a wooden paper holder with a couple slots, so that takes care of the mail/paper clutter. I also found a rotating pen caddy with lots of space, so all the pends/pencils/scissors are in that now. And I got a little basket to pile the extra "junk" in until it's dealt with.

I definitely didn't solve the clutter problem completely, but at least now it's contained to very specific space on the counter instead of spread everywhere.

SusanBAnthony, my boyfriend totally has the junk drawer situation! The top drawer of the dresser is for all of his crap to accumulate in. I'm just glad I don't have to see it!

I'm strongly considering some kind of little baskets for the kids, so I can throw their junk in baskets on the first floor and make them carry it upstairs to put away regularly. I think that's my next move. The baskets could live on the shelf under our coffee table so they're out of the way and corral all the tiny stuff they abandon on the counters.

[ktw]

I have two tips, 1 that has been completely covered already, and one that is a little more unconventional, but has been the biggest game changer for me in reducing clutter.

1). Designate places for types of clutter to go, so that you (and your family) know where to move things to.
2). I listen to podcasts on my airpods while I do things around the house. This has completely changed my ability to stay on top of house stuff. Since I look forward to listening, things don't feel so much like a chore anymore, and sometimes I'm even looking for things I can tackle so that I can listen while I do it. 5-10 mins a day would probably be enough to tame the counter clutter, if there was some kind of incentive to get you to actually do it.

[twinmomma]

ktw, I do the same thing with dishes and podcasts! I used to get to listen to podcasts during my commute but now I work at home. We don't have dishwasher, so washing dishes is my podcast time now.

[gt7301b]

I feel like I spend my entire life chasing my son and husband around the house trying to contain their clutter. I know I am not perfect, but my husband will have 5 different piles of clothing. I would be happy if I could get him to contain it to just one pile. Our closet isn't perfect, but there is plenty of space to contain ones clothing.