The kitchen is no doubt the hardest working space in your home and quite possibly feels like the one area where you’re losing the battle against clutter.

I’m not for a minimalist home; I live with a husband and three young children, regularly hosting friends and family in our busy family home where life is more important than the art on the walls or the rugs on the floor. Our homes never need be perfect but, and diagnose me at your will here, I do feel more stressed when there is a lot of clutter around.

Stuff on surfaces, stuff on the floor, stuff falling out of cupboards when the doors are opened. It’s not conducive to me enjoying the space I spend so much of my life in.

We do have a decent sized kitchen and combining the old kitchen cabinets with freestanding units does give us a good amount of storage, but it’s also not one of those mega kitchens you see online or in the magazines that have cupboards for days.

That being said, I think these tips are universally helpful whether your kitchen is big or small, and will help you make the most of the space you have, reducing visual clutter on the surfaces and walls to help you keep your kitchen a more peaceful and tidy space.

Easy Ideas to Reduce Clutter in the Kitchen

Make the Most of Your Cupboard Space

I love to have everything hidden in cupboards as much as possible. Call me shallow, but if isn’t aesthetically pleasing, it’ll be visually jarring on the worktop and I want it gone!

As I don’t have an infinite amount of cupboard space, I love to maximise every inch of space I have by being clever with cupboard organisers like shelves and kitchen roll holders.

Cupboard Shelf Organiser, Amazon; Basket, similar at Amazon; Kickboards, handmade using fluted boards, Orac Decor; Cupboard Handles, Amazon.

2. Reduce Visual Clutter with a Cork Board Behind a Cupboard Door

Another tip for reducing visual clutter in the kitchen, is to get organised but keep it tidy with a cork board on the back of a cupboard door. I use these easy cork tiles which have self-adhesive on the back for easy installation. We use it for school letters, timetables, the wifi code and other useful info we need close to hand. I’ve blurred out the cork boards for our privacy.

3. Use a Hook and Rail to Hang Oven Gloves and Towels

I spent years getting annoyed with oven gloves and towels hanging off the cooker, getting in the way every time I wanted to open the grill or oven doors so I have no idea how this took me so long to get done, but this hook and rail from Rowen and Wren has really been a game changer.

It also helps to keep the kitchen looking tidy and makes the most of some dead space at the end our cupboard units.

Antique Brass Hook and Rail, Rowen and Wren; Hand Towel, La Redoute; Oven Glove, Hello Plewsy

4. Use Glass Soap Dispensers for a Cohesive Counter Top

There are some things you need close to hand so for those basics, I like to pop them in glass amber bottles which look more cohesive on the worktop rather than different plastic bottles.

This also means you can buy larger refill packs (if you have the storage space) to reduce single use plastic.

Amber Glass Bottle Soap Dispensers, Amazon; Butter Dish, Orla Kiely; Chopping Board, H&M Home.

5. Organise your Kitchen Waste with a Dual Bin

With food waste, recycling and general waste, our kitchen rubbish can become difficult to organise so I love our dual bin which helps to keep it all simple and tidy.

We also have a small under the counter bin in the cupboard next to the dishwasher which makes loading more efficient.

Bo Pedal Recycling Bin, Brabantia; Clock, John Lewis; Art Print, The Lovely Drawer.

6. Use Free Standing Furniture to Increase the Storage in Your Kitchen

We moved a dining table out to provide more storage with a freestanding larder cupboard as an easy solution without reconfiguring the whole kitchen.

If you want to see my affordable larder storage options, have a read of the blog post here.

Larder, The Cotswold Company; Art Work, Roomy Town; Shoe Bench, Amazon.

Potato Bag, Amazon; Cereal Containers, Amazon; Recycled Plastic Basket with Handle, Alice in Scandiland.

Of course, a kitchen doesn’t need to look perfect, It’s a hardworking space that gets heaps of use which is why having systems in place can help keep the mess at bay a little bit, so you can prepare food easily without having worktops covered in mess.

If, like me, you find clutter stresses you out, I hope some of these tips will help you to create a less visually cluttered space that feels calmer, more workable, and a more enjoyable space to be in.