What do you have on your kitchen worktop?

Bumblebear

I used to have a studio flat with about 1 meter of worktop... I got pretty good at being strict! There was a small microwave (the fridge was just "next to" the worktops rather than under, I got a matching offcut of worktop from a kitchen fitter and put it on that - free space!). I then had a kettle, and that was it. Fitted a shelf wherever a shelf would fit, tea/coffee/oil/salt and pepper lived in cupboards, small spice rack on the wall. No toaster, used the grill in the oven. In another small kitchen I bought the hanging things you get in Ikea, they're rails you put on the wall (or I successfully attached to the bottom of the wall cupboards) and you can mix and match storage accessories, from oil bottle holders, hooks for utensils/mug handles, buckets and square containers for sauces/herbs/anything you like. They were a god send.

Now I have a huge kitchen but I'm trying not to let clutter build. I have a tray (our living/dining room is upstairs so this is in use daily), kettle, coffee machine (but I'm not buying more capsules!), compost bin, microwave, toaster, spice rack, oil rack, electric scale, food processor and slow cooker! Thankfully we still have loads of space left.

Oh, and the cat. And me, I like to sit up there

katkin

I have a fairly small galley like kitchen where the end wall has the sinks under the window and work place either side, the left is the boiler cupboard with a good amount of space for brushes, shelves etc. Then there's floor space for the 3-compartment recycle bin (thing takes up loads of space but works well). The galley remainder has lots of wall cupboards and the usual appliances down below with only 2 large cupboards and set of drawers.

After that boring paragraph haha! I could just have said I have no excuses to leave anything on the work tops! So they are mostly clear.

The thing that annoys me is the coffee machine, one of those duck shaped ones that takes up a lot of space with its pod bowls - one for the leaky used ones that can't be recycled. I have my kettle there too.

Apart from that we have a toaster that hardly gets used, so thinking of storing that and not a lot else.

It's easy to keep clean. I cannot bare to start cooking in a cluttered kitchen and hate the sink getting piled up (see husband..).

My last kitchen was huge with open dinning and sitting space and I used to keep all sorts out since there was space for it. It took so much more time to prepare food and keep clean. There's a lot to be said for compact and bijou!

*apologies for prattling on*