4 Things Making Your Kitchen Look Cluttered

Reviewed by Dietitian Katey Davidson, M.Sc.FN, RD, CPT

Key Points

• Countertop clutter, excess decor and misplaced items often make a clean kitchen look messy.

• Decluttering cabinets and creating designated storage zones help keep counters clear.

• Simple design updates and a nightly reset can make your kitchen feel more organized and inviting.

Walking into a cluttered kitchen is anything but relaxing. You may wipe down the counters, wash the dishes and keep everything clean, yet the space still never seems to have that calm, put-together look you’re going for.

The problem might have less to do with your cleaning habits and more to do with what’s taking up visual and physical space. We spoke with organizing and design experts about some of the most common things making your kitchen look cluttered and simple ways to fix them.

1. Too Much Stuff on the Countertops

Even a clean kitchen can look cluttered when the counters are crowded with appliances and cooking tools. “One of the most common things that makes a kitchen look cluttered is having multiple small appliances on the counter,” says Tatanisha Worthey, a lifestyle expert and co-founder of This Worthey Life. She also points to oversize spice racks, utensil containers, multiple oil dispensers, seasonal decor and stacks of cutting boards.

Professional organizer and founder of Visibly Neat, Nathan Alexander, agrees that everyday items can quickly pile up. “Stuff always has a way of accumulating in the kitchen and on the counters,” he says.

The fix is to scale back and be intentional about what stays out. Store items you don’t use every day in a cabinet or pantry, and group frequently used items into defined zones, such as a coffee station.

2. Mail, Bags & Other Non-Kitchen Items

Kitchen counters often become a landing zone for anything that enters the house, including mail, school papers, keys, packages, shopping bags and items that need to go somewhere else. Alexander recommends breaking that habit with a simple rule: “Don’t put it down, put it away.”

“So instead of putting the dishes in the sink, put them directly in the dishwasher,” Alexander says. “Instead of putting the chip bags by the fruit basket, create another bowl for snacks, or see if there is a better space in the pantry.”

Mail is another common culprit. Alexander recommends dealing with it as soon as possible rather than allowing it to become a permanent pile on the counter. Many pieces can be recycled, filed or placed where they actually belong. Creating designated drop zones elsewhere in the home, such as a basket for mail, hooks for keys or a spot for items that need to leave the house, can help prevent the kitchen from becoming the default storage area.

3. Too Much Decorative Clutter

A cozy kitchen doesn’t need to be a bare kitchen, but too many decorative items can compete for attention. Seasonal signs, stacks of decorative cutting boards, candles, plants and countertop accessories can quickly make the room feel busy rather than inviting.

Worthey recommends editing the space until it feels both organized and spacious. “You can still create a cozy vibe without going overboard with decorative items and cutting boards,” she says.

Rather than displaying several small objects, try choosing a few pieces that have visual impact. A vase of flowers, a favorite candle or one beautiful serving bowl may be all you need. Keeping your color palette relatively consistent can also help create a cohesive look without overwhelming the space.

4. Overstuffed Cabinets & Pantries

Sometimes, clutter isn’t always visible at first glance. When your cabinets and pantry are packed with expired food, duplicate products or items you rarely use, it becomes harder to put everyday items away, and they eventually end up on the counter.

Alexander recommends going beyond the traditional once-a-year spring-clean. “There’s always been the ‘spring-cleaning’ saying, but I prefer a summer, autumn and winter cleaning as well.” Use these seasonal check-ins to look through pantry staples, spices and other foods you may have forgotten about. “Check your items’ expiration,” he says. “Time slips away from us so easily, so who would remember that can of green beans is expired?”

Removing expired and unused items not only creates more storage space, but it can also make it easier to see what you already have before buying more.

Kitchen Design Tips

Once you’ve cleared some of the clutter, a few simple styling updates can help your kitchen feel even more polished.

• Create Intentional Zones. Group coffee supplies, cooking oils or other frequently used items together so they look purposeful rather than scattered.

• Simplify Your Decor. A vase of fresh or faux flowers, a candle or one attractive bowl can add warmth without overcrowding the space.

• Coordinate Everyday Items. Worthey suggests using matching or coordinated soap dispensers, olive oil bottles and other items that need to remain visible to create a cohesive look.

• Update Your Hardware. Swapping dated cabinet knobs and pulls can give the kitchen a quick refresh without a major renovation.

• Consider Lighting. Updated light fixtures can instantly make the room feel more polished.

• Keep Your Palette Cohesive. Worthey recommends maintaining a consistent color palette while layering different metals and textures for warmth.

• Reset the Counters at Night. Alexander says some of his clients make a habit of clearing their countertops each evening. A quick nightly reset can prevent small piles from turning into major clutter.

Our Expert Take

If your kitchen never seems to look as tidy as you’d like, the issue may have less to do with how often you clean and more to do with what’s left out in plain sight. Countertop appliances, decorative pieces, mail, food packages and other random items can quickly make the space feel busy and cluttered.

Start by being more selective about what stays on display, creating designated homes for everyday items, and building simple habits that prevent clutter from piling up. As Worthey puts it, “Be intentional. Everything should have a purpose.”

Your kitchen doesn’t have to look like a showroom, it just needs to feel organized, functional and inviting.

Read the original article on EatingWell