9 Kitchen Appliances That Just Sit on the Counter Taking Up Space

There’s always a tug of war between convenience and aesthetics in our homes. We don’t like clutter or crowded visual spaces, but we also want things within easy reach when we need them. Many people lean towards convenience because it’s easy to gradually accumulate things on your kitchen countertops without realizing just how many you have.

To practice a simpler lifestyle, I’ve found that only intentional choices will get you there. Without boundaries, our natural tendency is to keep everything “just in case” we might need it someday. One of the areas in our home that builds up clutter faster than anywhere else is the kitchen.

While some people might be able to function just fine in a bit of chaos, I can’t. I can’t clear my head or focus when all I see around me are reminders of things I need to clean or organize. If you’re like me and you need some visual breathing room, then you might want to start with an easy project— clearing off your kitchen counters. I’ll share some of the most common kitchen tools and appliances that are probably taking up space in your home.

Instant Pot

This multi-cooker is meant to replace several kitchen appliances, but we hardly use it. At first, it seemed like a good idea, but my wife and I found that in most cases, the recipes we used were less-fussy on the stovetop and not much faster. It’s just a hassle to clean and put away. Don’t feel bad if you don’t like using your instant pot— many people find it useful, but it’s not for everyone.

Keurig or Nespresso machine

These machines offer super quick and convenient ways to make coffee at the cost of some quality and higher prices. If you use it daily, it definitely makes sense to keep it out, but in our house it’s used as more of a novelty for when guests visit. All of us prefer freshly ground coffee and the ritual of making a pour over. For those of you who need your coffee every morning, this might not make sense, but for us it’s a way to keep the clutter down.

Stand mixer

These mixers are a real game-changer for anyone who loves to cook and bake. They’re large and heavy which make them a candidate for leaving on the counter full-time, but I think there are only a few scenarios where that makes sense. If you bake a few days a week or more, then I think you could justify leaving it out, otherwise I’d say clear that bad boy off your counter. You can always find a lower cabinet to tuck it, or in our case, we just keep it in the base of our handy kitchen island.

Blender

Even though we have young kids right now, we’re still in that glorious phase of parenting where they’ll eat almost anything. My wife and I will plop a bowl of taco filling or stir fry or soup on the table, and they’ll gobble it up— especially if they’re hungry. And they always have big appetites. I know that some parents will blend up food to make it easier for their kids to eat, or perhaps you’re really into smoothies for breakfast. Either way, it makes no sense to have your blender on your counter unless you’re using it constantly. And for the record, blended vegetables like in a butternut squash soup can be quite delicious, but we don’t find ourselves going through the hassle very often.

Hand mixer

My wife recently pulled out our hand mixer to whip up some heavy cream to make a chocolate mousse for dessert. It’s an underrated appliance because it’s quite powerful, yet small enough to be easily tucked away. While not something we keep out all the time, this is one I’m happy to make an exception for jumping in and out of our cabinets as needed. So far, I’ve mostly listed things we keep stored away. Hand mixers are great because they’re portable and can be pulled out for baking projects at a moment’s notice.

Toaster or toaster oven

Toasters are another item on our list that we don’t keep out, but I can understand why many people do. If your breakfast consists of toast or bagels several times a week, you don’t want to be hopping up on the counter to pull your toaster out of the cabinet each morning. In that case, I’d say your toaster is a good candidate for counter space. We have a fairly predictable breakfast lineup in our home, but not really any toast. We’re a mixed bag of scrambled eggs, granola & yogurt, or some kind of oatmeal.

Food processor

We don’t use our food processor very often, but we’ve had to come up with a more practical storage solution than our top cabinets. I haven’t had to worry about counter space since my wife and I invested in a kitchen island. It’s not connected to anything by a power cord, so it’s quite convenient to move around. But in real life, ours gets pushed against a set of cabinets with lots of great storage for things we occasionally need to access. If you’re not using a food processor on a weekly basis, you shouldn’t be keeping it on your counter.

Electric kettle

I love coffee more than the next guy, but I don’t drink it all day long. If I did, I could certainly justify keeping my electric kettle out all the time. Brewing a fresh cup of coffee for breakfast and cleaning up the dishes afterwards has become a sacred ritual in my daily schedule. Most of the time our electric kettle stays out, but if we have friends over or want to do a deep clean of the kitchen, we’ll just put it away for now.

Slow cooker

Unlike the Instant Pot which never caught on in our home, the slow cooker is another small appliance that gets used regularly. More than anything, I love the way using a slow cooker makes your whole house smell delicious all day long. This past summer, my wife and I made a big pot of meatballs for a pool party we were hosting. We left the slow cooker running in the backyard outlet all day so they’d be fresh when it was time to eat. On a regular basis, we store ours in the bottom of the island because even though we use it fairly often, it’s hard to justify a permanent spot on the counter with so much else going on.