Kitchen counters, drawers and cabinets often become your unintentional storage spaces, instead of giving you a place to cook and entertain guests.

When you come home, the kitchen is often the first place you stop, making it tempting to leave mail, keys and whatever else you have with you on the counters.

Instead of letting your kitchen pile up with clutter, use these four hacks to keep it clean and inviting.

Give Everything a Place

If you don’t have a set place to put everything, things will slowly accumulate around your kitchen.

One of the biggest causes of clutter, mail and other paperwork can overwhelm the space if you don’t have a place to put them. Get a decorative basket or tray that matches your kitchen, and store your mail there.

You can then create a drawer or other area to organize the mail once you’ve gone through it. For example, you could have a coupon drawer or a folder for important documents.

Make a point of clearing out the mail basket once a week so it doesn’t pile up. No matter what system you come up with, make sure everyone in your house understands and follows it.

But mail isn’t the only thing that can cause clutter and needs a place to be stored: Even items you use every day should have a home — including appliances like toasters and blenders.

They should have a place in your cabinets or pantry for when you aren’t using them. And if you run out of places to put everything, it’s time to get rid of some stuff.

Magnets are Your Friends

Spice racks and knife blocks can take up a lot of space on your counters and cabinets. So, get them out of the way with magnets.

You can put the spices in jars, with their labels on the side. Then, place magnets on the bottom of cabinets, shelves or another out-of-the-way spot and connect the jar lids.

Do the same thing with knives, putting the blades on the magnets.

 

Hang It Up

You can only stack so many cooking and cleaning items on top of another in your kitchen and cabinets.

One of the more difficult items to store is a pot or pan lid. Try connecting a shower rod to the inside of a cabinet and then slide the lids in against the side of the cabinet (handles facing out).

For cleaning supplies under the sink, add a tension rod and hang the spray bottles from it. That will give you more space on the bottom.

To help get mugs or other items with handles out of the way, you can install hooks on the bottom of the shelves within the cabinet and hang them. You can also add hooks for pots and pans — from the ceiling, light fixtures or cabinets.

Simplify Shelves

Do you brace for impact every time you open your cabinets? You can keep things from falling out and adding clutter with these tips.

Start by putting the items you use regularly on the bottom shelves, with less-needed items on the top. It’s especially important to declutter your shelves if you have see-through or open cabinets.

You can also use metal risers to create shelves within shelves. That way, you can separate things like plates and bowls so you don’t have to pick up one to reach the other.

While you’re decluttering your kitchen, if you come across items you haven’t used in month, put them in a box. You can donate, sell or throw them out.

Author bio: Bin There Dump That provides residential-friendly rental dumpsters for homeowners across the United States and Canada working on projects from home remodels and relocation to decluttering and natural disaster clean-up. To rent a bin today, find your local franchise operator on our website. For more helpful home decluttering and junk removal tips, check out our blog.