I’m continuing the “Where Do You Keep That?” series with some insight into my kitchen counters. Elisabeth talked about her kitchen counters on one of her WDYKT posts, so I figured I’d just be a copycat and do the same! I have a typical apartment kitchen: it’s a galley-style and space is at a premium. I try to keep my counters as clean as possible because clutter makes me anxious. Here’s what they should look like when everything is in its proper place:
This is the left side of my kitchen when you’re facing the back wall. There’s my oven with the microwave and a small counter area. Beyond this counter space is my pantry and then my stackable washer/dryer. I use this small space to house my knife block; a utensil holder for spatulas, big spoons, an ice cream scoop, a pizza cutter, and some other utensils; and the girls’ wet food. I just received a new shipment of food so I keep it all stacked up on the counter because that’s the best place for it right now. I also have a jug of spring water that normally wouldn’t be there. I bought it in October when we were under a boil water advisory after the hurricane and wasn’t sure how long that would last. Now I’m using it to fill up the girls’ water bowl.
(You may notice some steak knives are missing from my knife block. I do not know where they went and I am the only person in this apartment. It’s one of the great mysteries of the world.)
Now onto the right side of my kitchen! We’ll start with the sink area, since that’s the area closest to me if I’m standing at the front of my kitchen.
(You can tell that I scrubbed down the left side of the sink but not the right side. Sigh. This is real life, I guess? Water lines and all.)
I have a double sink (very common in apartments!) and I use the left side for stacking dishes before they go into the dishwasher and the right side for my dish drainer, which isn’t used as frequently as it used to be. But I keep it around for those non-dishwasher friendly items. The little silver tray with a sponge should be suctioned to the side of my sink, but the suction has stopped working (I have a new organizer coming today, and I’m very excited about it!). I also have some dish soap, hand soap, and odds and ends like a sink stopper, pan scrapers, and a special sponge for my glasstop stove. There’s a random water bottle on the corner that hasn’t moved in years. Should we see how long I can leave it there without moving it?!
And here’s the other side of this counter, which is the most counter space I have in this kitchen so I try to put it to good use. I love the two-shelf organizer that I bought from Amazon a while ago. Here’s what on each shelf:
- Top shelf: sugar packets for coffee, melatonin, bupropion prescription (that I stopped taking because it makes me sleepy but I have it on hand for emergencies), gabapentin prescription for the girls, and a butter crock (to keep butter fresh and at room temp)
- Bottom shelf: glass jar with k-cups, vitamin D, Advil, magnesium glycinate, Lexapro, multivitamin, and probiotic. The green item in the front is my day-of-the-week pill organizer
Next to this organizer, I have a Starbucks reusable cup that is too tall to fit on my shelf in the cabinet (even without the straw!), treat jars for the girls (Temptations and Greenies), and then my Keurig. I also have two half-eaten bags of chips, which aren’t always there. You can also see all my fun magnets from vacation destinations, postcards for sweet bloggers, and some fun photo magnets from Kim. The front of my fridge is not magnetic, which is annoying, because it means I have limited space for all the postcards you guys send me! Maybe I need to just add them to the fridge with tape.
I also have this raised counter that is also used as a landing zone for all sorts of things; typically I use it to place things I need to bring with me the next time I’m leaving my apartment (library books, reusable bags, mail, etc). I also have a small organizer that houses a few things: a pair of scissors, a lighter, a pet hair removal brush, my passport (which is usually in another location but I needed it to check in for my cruise and I decided to keep it nearby so I can pack it when it’s time), and sometimes mail I need to deal with. My pet camera is also set up here—it’s the perfect location as I can see all of the living room from this spot.
And that’s my kitchen! Thanks for coming along for the ride today. 🙂
Curious about where I keep anything else in my kitchen (or my home as a whole)?
I love how neat and tidy this is! We have a ton of space, which means a TON of junk. Ugh. Maybe I will do this post this week as well…
Yes, it’s neat and tidy, but you really have to be with limited counter space. Our kitchen is very small with limited counter space as well. When we re-did the kitchen (two summers ago) we were able to get a little more counter space- but we end up letting it get cluttered, so we end up with with about the same amount of space as before, ha. This actually makes my husband crazy, so we really should be better about that.
I like the things you have out on the counter- things you use all the time, like cat food and vitamins. It’s very neat and functional!
You actually do not have too much on your counters for such a small space. I had more counter space, but also had some appliances that I used enough to not want to put them too far away (Instantpot, Ninja) that took up space. I usually (used to) keep my half eaten chips in my “pantry” but now they stay in my food bag, but really I rarely have half eaten ones because I just can’t leave a bag half full! It is a sickness.
We lose spoons. Where do they go??!!!
Also, we have an old apartment-sized fridge that I sorta hate. It’s starting to fall apart and I suspect it’s from the 90s. BUT, it is magnetic and I love that. I would really, really miss the opportunity to easily hang things on a fridge. I suspect when we eventually have to go fridge shopping, I’ll be on the lookout for one that has a magnetic front.
What’s a butter crock?
I’d need to clean my entire kutchen better to dare to share any close up photos of it, hah.
A butter crock keeps butter at room temperature (and safe to eat!). That way you can easily butter bread and stuff!
You are amazingly tidy and I can see why, a total lack of space. Your kitchen is postage sized. I too have a galley kitchen but do at least have a little more space than you do and probably keep way too much out on the counters than is necessary.
If I left cat food on the counter, my cat would be on the counter all the time! Your girls must be so much better behaved than Zelda.
Oh that’s so interesting! Even canned food? Eloise will jump up on the counter from time to time but she doesn’t even care about the food!
Oh god this is like porn to me. Organization! Kitchens! Countertops! By the way I love your countertops. Your kitchen is so pretty! I have a double sink and you will pry that double sink out of my cold dead hands. When we were renovating/ building this house the designer told my husband that we should just get a single, large sink and although I am an easy to get along with person for most design details, I FLIPPED THE FUCK OUT. Double sink or die, I say. I like to have a side for rinsing and a side for putting dirty dishes in, and NO FUCKING WAY AM I GOING SINGLE. Whew. Stephany. I had to do some deep breathing there. Possibly I blacked out. Anyway, love my sink and I love yours too. That organizer! I’m dead. DEAD. It’s so cute. I want to do this kind of post for myself, you are inspiring me!
Your counters are very tidy! We have a bigger sort of L-shaped kitchen. We have a lot of stuff on our counters and it can feel cluttered at times. We also have a kitchen island. That is where the boys eat all of their meals and then we have some things like napkins, Kleenex, etc on there. The things that take up the most space are our combo air fryer + toaster oven and then my coffee pot and bean grinder!
OMG we have a missing steak knife too. WHERE IS IT.
Interesting that buproprion (not checking spelling, you know what I am talking about) makes you sleepy! We all interact so differently with these drugs, you know, since we are all unique individuals.
Love seeing the magnets I sent you! <3
It is so interesting how you utilize the space you git to fit your needs.
I want to know where those knifes went… I am with Elisabeth… I keep loosing the (tea) spoons.
One drawback to living alone….you can’t blame anyone else for the missing knives. Unless it happened when someone came over…my BIL blames missing things on guests. HA! I have no idea where our teaspoons go. Frustrating.
I loved that glimpse into your kitchen! 🙂 I am always curious how others live and how they utilize their space! Our new kitchen has these new granite countertops – they’re not my favorite but so much better than what we had before (tiles that matched the ones of the bathroom floor LOL)
Dude, WHERE ARE THE KNIVES? It’s not like plasticware – you’re not going to throw out a steak knife.
I love this. I have a huge island but, I think, less counter space than you (the island is, shall we say, not a place where one can store appliances… sigh). I do have “things” on my counter but try desperately to minimize it. Limited cabinet space – and no pantry, sigh again – means that I just can’t store everything in cabinets. Anyway, I sympathize with the small kitchen challenge – you have risen to the occasion, for sure! 🙂