Martha Stewart's Easy Trick For Keeping Kitchen Counters Clean & Organized

Having an organized kitchen space makes a big difference if you prepare meals regularly. Scientifically speaking, a cluttered environment may not only overwhelm your brain, but it can also increase your stress and anxiety levels. More than the mental and emotional toll, an unorganized kitchen can affect your productivity. If you want to maintain a fully functional and orderly meal prep area, then you might want to hear Martha Stewart's secret to keeping her kitchen counters clean and organized. Despite owning multiple homes, the lifestyle expert doesn't have a hard time keeping her kitchens pristine, thanks to her simple mantra of storing items close to where you use them most.

"The kitchen is one place in your home that truly needs to be organized, so that you can spend less time looking for things and more time enjoying the moment. One of the simplest ways to get and stay organized is to keep the things you use most frequently nearby and to store things where you use them," Stewart says in a video on her YouTube channel. She goes on to show how this is done by citing examples, such as keeping pots and pans close to the stove, storing mixing bowls within close proximity to baking prep areas, and placing essential cooking utensils within easy reach of the stove. By assigning everything a designated spot based on how frequently you use it, you'll save time when you're cooking. Storing all your cleaning products in the same spot will also make it easier to keep your expertly organized, clutter-free counters spotless. 

What's good about Martha Stewart's counter-organizing trick is that it's quite practical for all kitchen sizes. Even those with large kitchen spaces struggle with countertop clutter, since migrating items from time to time is inevitable when running a busy food preparation area. You address this issue by storing everything where it is commonly used. For instance, when you keep coffee mugs and essentials together, your coffee routine can run much more smoothly, since you won't have to move around the kitchen that much to prepare your caffeine fix. The same thing happens when you stash the knives, cutting boards, and prep bowls near your main working area. This will speed up your workflow and help maintain cleanliness in your kitchen.

Another issue Stewart's tip solves is visual clutter. Your kitchen may feel messy despite being technically clean because so much stuff is lying around on your countertops. It doesn't help if they are not sorted by category, or if they are not stored in matching containers. FYI: For uniformity, Stewart likes using glass jars and canisters as storage containers to keep her home tidy. Finally, Stewart's hack makes it easy for everyone to follow an intuitive system that promotes order. Beyond all of this, it also lets you enjoy your time in the kitchen. As the celebrity homemaker puts it in her YouTube video, "The more organized your kitchen is, the more you will enjoy everything you do there."