- With cooking, eating, and hosting guests, kitchens tend to get cluttered quickly.
- We asked
interior designers about mistakes people make in their kitchens that add to the mess. - They highlighted five common errors, like storing things on countertops and overdecorating.
If you're anything like me, the kitchen gets messier than any other room in the house - especially after spending a year cooking, baking, and eating at
Insider asked interior designers and organizers to highlight common mistakes that make a kitchen look cluttered and how to fix them.
1. Using too many decorations
One clutter culprit is having too much decor on display around the kitchen, interior stylist and HomeGoods Style Expert Jenny Reimold told Insider.
"Decorating a kitchen can often create clutter if not done the right way," she said.
Instead of planting knick-knacks all over the kitchen, place all your decor in one area, like on a serving board with a handle.
"Not only does this contain everything to one area, but you can also easily move the décor out of the way when you need the counter space," Reimold said.
2. Having open shelves without style
Beth Diana Smith, also a HomeGoods style expert and interior designer, said having open shelves in the kitchen can cause clutter if the shelves don't have a cohesive style.
"With open shelving in a kitchen, you have to be mindful that everything is on display," Smith said.
To avoid clutter on open shelves, Smith recommends putting all your most functional pieces on the bottom two shelves.
"Think about what you use the most often like plates, bowls, and drinking glasses," she said. "This helps to remove some of the clutter."
As for the top shelves, Smith suggests containing the items you use less often, such as large ceramic serving bowls, pitchers, or fancy glassware, like champagne flutes. If there's more space, Smith recommends adding vases, sculptures, or other decorative objects.
Another solution is to have unique, pretty dishware.
"Having a collection of eye-catching dishware evokes the feeling of a thoughtful and well-curated kitchen - perfect for any 'shelfie' moment," Smith added.
3. Over-stacking dishes
Ashley LaFond, an
"There is so much space lost between shelves that people don't consider and could be put to use by adding a shelf riser," she said. "Prioritize easy-to-reach spaces for the most frequently used items."
4. Wasting fridge space
LaFond said if you haven't adjusted your fridge drawers and shelves to meet your storage needs, you're probably wasting a lot of space.
"Most people stock the same foods again and again, and yet every time they grocery shop, it's like Tetris to get things to fit," she said. "Door compartments, shelves, and drawers were made to be adjustable for a reason!"
LaFond recommends considering which foods you stock regularly and adjusting your shelves to give you the storage space you need.
5. Using countertops as storage space
"The biggest culprit for clutter in a kitchen is when countertops are used for storage," Reimold told Insider.
While leaving foods like cereal or bread on the counter makes those items easily accessible, it also overcrowds the kitchen, according to Reimold.
Reimold recommends transferring the countertop clutter to clear, airtight storage containers and putting them into a cabinet or pantry to combat this.
LaFond added that appliances also add clutter to countertops.
"Unless you bake cakes daily, or make a smoothie every morning, there is no reason your mixer or blender needs to live on the counter," she said.
Another way to combat counter clutter is to keep a tray in your kitchen to contain small items, LaFond said.
Lastly, LaFond suggests creating an evening routine that involves putting everything in its place to prevent clutter from piling up.
"By doing this every evening, it will feel much more manageable and less overwhelming," she said.