Maid Simple: Close At Hand

I spend at least 50% of each day in the kitchen. Making coffee, breakfast, packing the kid's lunch, preparing the adults' lunches, washing dishes, prepping dinner, baking cookies for school, baking bread for friends, washing more dishes. So one thing that has become immensely important to me is the proximity of my most used kitchen tools, namely measuring cups and spoons, colanders for rinsing produce and berries, and cutting boards.
I'm a very 'clean space' type of person. I grew up in households where tchotchke was the name of the game. Knickknacks covered every surface, sometimes to the detriment of being able to set a glass down on an end table. I didn't know it then, but I would grow up to reject the idea of filling my home with tons of tiny trinkets. I have been very careful when selecting things for the rooms in my home, but no where is this more true than the counter space in my kitchen. I respect wide open spaces in a kitchen. I need that. So I only leave out exactly what I need on my counters. Food processor, coffee maker, and these little cuties.


Having measuring cups and spoons within reach makes everything so much easier, and with cups as cute as these you kind of want to leave them out.

My suggestion is to scour the internet for the kitchen things you use most often and try to find charming versions of them so that you can leave them out on the counter. Then clear all the other unused clutter off of your counter tops! Even if that means you have to jam your favorite cookie jar into your cereal cupboard when there are no cookies in it.
Keep your counters clear and you'll feel less mind clutter when you're working in your kitchen.

Ahh, now that's a counter top fit for making a pie!