How to arrange kitchen countertop appliances

Arranging a kitchen countertop is often the first step in moving into a new house, but it often takes several attempts before it feels right and works for you. How you organise kitchen appliances depends on what type of cook you are. If you’re a raw food lover, your blender will be front-and-center. Busy singles might have their slow cooker at the forefront, and big meat-eaters have their indoor grills on hand. 

But no matter what type of cook you are, there are three easy steps to organising your kitchen appliances:

1. Group appliances by how much you use them
2. Cut down on appliances and cabinet clutter
3. Arrange your countertops!

Here’s how you do it:

Group by use

The first step to organising your kitchen appliances – and indeed every single thing in your kitchen! – is to group them by how much you use them. You should have a “frequently used” collection, a “rarely used” collection, and a “never used” collection. 

If you’re short on countertop and cupboard space, it’s a good idea to make sure you don’t have any “one and done” appliances. Do you really need a toaster if you already have a toastie maker? Do you need a crepe maker when you have decent frying pans and the ability to flip a pancake? Sure, these things are nice, but when you’re low on space these “rarely used” pieces may have to be sacrificed. Buying items that can do multiple jobs is the best way to cut down on bulky, one use appliances. For instance, buying a high quality blender means you don’t need a blender and a food processor and a smoothie maker. Buying a stock pot or slow cooker, can help you whip up a perfect batch of rice, so you can bid the rice cooker bye-bye. 

Cut down on countertop appliances

Got your appliances in order? Hesitantly eyeing the expensive stand mixer in the “never used” collection? Well, it’s a no brainer but it’s time for the hardest step: get rid of the appliances you never use. 

If you don’t use an appliance, no matter how much you’d like to use it, it’s time to let it go. Think about rice cookers, juicers, and egg poachers. If you use those appliances, great, keep them. But if you have never poached an egg or made yourself a green juice, chances are you’re not going to in the future. Use your kitchen cabinet storage space for appliances you really use.

If you’re having difficulty getting rid of a beloved but never used appliance, make a promise to keep it for 30 days. Keep it on the countertop so it’s constantly in your mind, and try to use it as much as possible. If you get good use out of it and think it’ll become a habit, go ahead and keep it.

The good news is that if appliances are in good condition, you can sell them online, so you’re not losing the appliance and the chunk of change you paid for it. If you don’t think you’ll get enough money from them to be worth selling, you can donate them to a charity shop or gift them to friends. 

If the appliance isn’t working anymore, you can recycle them instead of sending them to landfill. 

Cut cabinet clutter

You’ve pared down your appliances to the bare minimum, congratulations! Now it’s important to make your cabinets as easy to navigate as possible. 

Here are some quick tips: 

• Throw away appliance manuals. You know how to use them! You can find the manuals online! 
• Store pesky, annoyingly shaped smaller parts (like stand mixer attachments) in zip-loc bags and label them.
• Wrap cables! Lose tangled cables in cupboards make the appliances harder to get to – trying to disentangle things on a high shelf in a warm kitchen is a recipe for a sweaty disaster. 
• Utilise that top shelf! Yes, the one no one can reach. This is where your “rarely used” appliances can go. Buy a step stool if you can’t reach them easily.

Arrange your countertop

The hard work is over, and now you have the delightful job of actually getting to lay out your appliances. There is no one right way to store kitchen appliances. Your organising and storage scheme will depend on what type of cook you are, which appliances you use regularly, and the size of your kitchen cabinet storage space.

So now you’re left with the appliances used regularly in your kitchen. You should store them where you use them. Sure, a clean and clear and beautifully minimal kitchen countertop is a lovely goal, but it’s not practical. Kitchen organisation is all about making your cabinets, pantry, refrigerator, and appliances functional. 

These frequently used appliances, like toasters and coffee makers, can actually live on your countertop. It’s a good idea to keep them away from your stove top to avoid oil and food splatters from cooking, but you also want them to be easily accessible for daily use. 

These may need moving seasonally though. For instance, if you’ve got an ice cream maker and a soup maker, they might need to switch places in the summers and winters.  It can seem like a lot of work, but rotating appliances in storage can help you have a more accessible kitchen, which is the ultimate goal! 

If these three steps haven’t worked for you, it might be time to re-do your kitchen to serve you better. Take a look at what we do here at Bellagio Stone. We’re a stone surface specialist who can help you design and create your dream kitchen – with space for any and all of your appliances! Contact us today to find out how we can help you.