About a week and a half ago, some big news rolled into Columbia (big, at least, by 24-year-old girl standards). Our new Marshalls store opened! Woop woop! I’ve been a Marshalls fan ever since a shopping trip six years ago when I scored a pair of Uggs there for only $13. Sure, I’ve never seen a pair that cheap since, but Marshalls made me a believer in the power of sales. And when you’re strapped for cash or working with a budget, sales are the oil that keeps the decorating wheels a turnin’.
Jared and I actually attempted a first visit to Marshalls on the day of the store’s grand opening, but we didn’t even last 10 minutes. Yes, I’m a fan of the store, but I’m not a fan of cluttered aisles. Or fluorescent lights. Or crowds. It was a madhouse, and we had to scoot before someone knocked us down Tickle-Me-Elmo style. A week later, however, the crowds had cleared, and we were able to browse the aisles in peace. And here’s what we snagged:
A lovely Le Creuset pitcher (I’ve been on the hunt for a good pitcher for a while; this one can go from oven to freezer. Woot!) and a matching utensil crock, for less than $15 a piece (Don’t you just love seeing those “original price” tags that remind you what a savvy shopper you’ve become?). So that’s the good news. Now here’s the problem:
My intense love of cooking paraphernalia is turning my smidge of a kitchen into a showroom for gadgets and gizmos — leaving very little space for actually using said gizmos. Surely I’m not the only one with lack-of-counter space woes, right? Maybe that’s why all those Property Virgins on HGTV are gaga for kitchens with sprawling counters and loads of cabinetry. Live in a tiny apartment too long, and you’ll soon be bursting from the seams. But alas, we’re not house hunting tomorrow — or anytime soon for that matter — so I’m tackling the problem head on. Still, it’s hard to decide what stays out and what gets stashed, so here are a few tips I’m trying to stick to:
Prioritize your pieces: Right now, my counters are overflowing with pieces I love but frankly just don’t have the space for. Something’s got to give, and the only way to decide what gets stashed is to first establish what must stay out. For me, that’s the standing KitchenAid mixer (because I’m a cookie-baking fool), the block of knives and the coffee maker. After that, I’m a lot more flexible. Prioritizing is actually what sent our fat little toaster under the counter a few months ago. We use it on average one or two times a week, but it’s light and easy to move, so it’s not a big deal to pull it out when we need it.
Frequent use trumps snazzy exterior (usually): Once you’ve established what has to stay out, start looking at the next level of knick knacks. Frequency of use should be the next indicator of what must stay. Jared and I are both coffee fiends, so our white ceramic coffee canister should be easily accessible. But the matching tea canister gets much less love and thus has been demoted to the pantry. And the same goes for my new pitcher, unfortunately. It’s cute as all get-out, but I’m not serving drinks from a pitcher on a regular basis. Bummer.
Allow a few frivolous freebies: I’m all for practicality, but there’s something to be said for keeping certain things in sight just because you love them. Pick one or two pieces that you absolutely love, and give them a designated space. It might be a great bowl for fruit or a vase of flowers. So many kitchen items come in neutrals; this is a great chance to add a splash of color.
Keep it hidden, not forgotten: Out of sight doesn’t have to mean out of mind. The task is to de-clutter your counters so you have room to use all of those great pieces. The toaster can still gets toasty, and the Dutch oven can still gets roasty — even if they spend most of their time behind closed (cabinet) doors.
Although it was a bit painful in the beginning, I’m well on my way to streamlining my counter space. Now if only my cabinets could be so clean and uncluttered. Humph. That’s another post altogether. Baby steps, pals.
So how do you keep your counters from overflowing with gadgety goodness? What are your must-stay-out items? How do you decide what to stash? And how do you keep it all organized? So many questions, so little space. Do I sense a theme emerging?
XO,
Katrina