5 things people with tidy kitchens never do – avoid 'kicking the can down the road' and stay on top of the mess

Keeping a kitchen tidy can feel like an endless battle. In the blink of an eye, the sink is full of dishes again, the trash needs to be taken out, and crumbs have started making their way into the next room.

It’s not enough to simply know how to organize a kitchen; even well-organized spaces need regular upkeep to stay neat.

Here are six things professional organizers say people with tidy kitchens avoid doing – from neglecting to declutter a kitchen to leaving dishes – to maintain order and functionality.

5 things people with tidy kitchens never do

1. Leave their dishes overnight

Dishes are a common enemy of a tidy kitchen space. It's so tempting and easy to see a stack of dishes at the end of the day and push them over to being a "tomorrow" task. Then, once tomorrow comes and a busy morning passes, you find yourself with double the amount of dishes come dinnertime.

Washing dishes immediately or at least getting in the habit of loading them in the dishwasher straight after eating, is a great way to prevent dishes from cluttering up the tidiness of your kitchen.

Jennifer Truesdale, certified professional organizer and owner of STR8N UP professional organizing services in Charleston, recommends the following two different approaches and sources of motivation to get your dishes done efficiently instead of letting them pile up:

• 'If you wash your dishes by hand, it shouldn't take longer than 15 minutes to clean up before bed and it will relieve the stress that you might hold onto while you try to rest knowing the task still has to be done. Waking up to a clean kitchen can also feel very satisfying for starting out your day.'
• 'If you put your dishes in the dishwasher and can start it before going to bed you will also be more energy conscious as you will be using energy in non-prime hours which is more efficient.'

2. Leave infrequently-used appliances on their counters

Unless you're really into gadgets, you can likely count the amount of appliances you use daily on one hand. Crowded countertops can look incredibly untidy and become difficult to use if they are home to every appliance we own, so people with tidy kitchens delegate their countertop space to only house the appliances they use often.

Jennifer continues, 'If you rarely use your toaster, blender, KitchenAid mixer, instant pot, crock pot, chopper, etc. tuck them away in cabinets and pull them back out when needed. I recommend only keeping appliances that are used daily out on the counters to make your kitchen look and feel as tidy as possible.'

A common place for people to store their unused kitchen appliances is in the pantry, with heavier items sitting on lower shelves and items that make a yearly appearance living tucked away up high.

If you don't have a pantry space, it's a great idea to store your surplus gadgets in a large plastic container like the 103 qt. Weathertight Tote with Wheels from The Container Store, which is spacious, airtight, and easy to maneuver with its wheels and handle.

This container can then be placed in a basement, garage, or under-stair storage area out of the way until lesser-used appliances are needed.

3. Leave their pots and pans sat on the stove

I used to be someone who was guilty of placing their pots and pans directly onto my electric stovetop.

In my head it made sense: there was available space and the stove was where I would go to use those items, so why shouldn't they just live there instead of in the cupboard? But one day the way it looked started to bug me. It reminded me of how it looked when dishes were piled up by the sink.

Jamie Hord, founder of Horderly Professional Organizing, explains how leaving pots and pans on the stove invites an unfinished, untidy visual into a kitchen, so even kitchens that are otherwise perfectly tidy look less tidy than they actually are.

'Everything has a home, and if you don't return your items to them in the kitchen, your space is going to feel untidy,' says Jamie.

Kimberly Corey, certified professional organizer®, certified virtual organizing professional™️, and owner of Finely Sorted Organizing, LLC, agrees with this notion, adding, 'Those who keep a tidy kitchen never leave the last part of organization undone; returning things to their “homes”. So often people fall short of this final step because they know when they open the cabinet where the item came from there will be an additional piece of effort to put the item back in. The effort is worth it in the long run, for those extra few moments to have a tidier space.'

If you don't have cupboard space or still wish to see your pots, pans, and utensils in a kitchen on display, consider investing in a set of pan hooks like the Vdomus Hanging Pot Rack Organizer from Amazon, with pan storage to store 15 hanging items as well as shelf space. The Cooks Standard NC-00269 Standard Single Bar Wooden Pot Rack, also from Amazon, is a good choice too if you're looking for something smaller and more minimalist.

4. Neglect expired food in their fridge

Expired food can smell bad, pose health issues, and make your fridge and pantry look untidy. People with organized kitchens make sure to frequently clean out their stored food and keep items that are open or close to their expiry date at the front for easy access. When these items are in easy access, they are less likely to get lost and expire.

Millie Naor of Bella Organizers, says, 'It's important to regularly check for leftovers or food that may have spoiled and throw away. This not only keeps your fridge tidy but also prevents unpleasant odors and makes room for fresh groceries.'

If you struggle with refrigerator organizing and expiry dates, the best thing to do is write them on each of your grocery items and meal prep containers using a pen or self-adhesive label. This way, you'll always know when it's time to give items the toss.

Using a combination of the Sharpie Permanent Markers, and Freezer Labels Food Storage Stickers from Walmart, you will have a neat system going forward. These labels are a good choice as they're designed for the freezer, meaning they shouldn't peel off due to any moisture in your fridge.

5. Leave small tidying tasks to accumulate

As you make your morning coffee you may spill grounds on the counter but tell yourself you'll come back to it later that night when you plan to clean the whole kitchen. But you then perhaps return from an exhausted day, too tired to tackle any of it, and the enormity of the mess in your kitchen deters you from tidying at all.

People with tidy kitchens pride themselves on tidying as they go, believing in the power of tackling tasks immediately to make navigating their kitchen space easier for their future selves. Rather than giving your kitchen a reset, you would strive to clean it daily and as you go.

Ben Soreff, professional organizer and partner of House to Home Organizing, says, 'Clutter is created when we kick the can down the road, delaying tasks and instead postponing them to become a future problem. Most tidying up in the kitchen, like putting away the coffee container or wiping the counter of coffee grounds, are quick fixes. Sometimes people lump all these little tasks together into a big cleaning project but that just allows everything to build up.

'By using the two-minute rule (if something takes two minutes or less to do, just do it, don’t write it down on a checklist) a huge tidying job will never accumulate.'

Meet the experts

Jennifer Truesdale

Jennifer Truesdale, CPO®, is a Golden Circle member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (NAPO) and served eleven years on the Board of the Charleston Chapter of NAPO (three as Membership Director, one as V. President, four as President and four as IPP (Past President).

Jamie Hord

Jamie is a certified home organizer and a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers, specializing in decluttering and organizing. Alongside Horderly’s success, Jamie has become one of the world’s most recognizable professional organizers, having been recognized in the likes of Homes & Gardens, Architectural Digest, NY Times, Good Housekeeping, The Today Show, Forbes, and more.

Ben Soreff

Ben has significant experience with level five hoarders, which has given him a unique insight into which items are difficult to let go of, and which items need replacing far more often than they usually are.

Kim Corey

Kim Corey, CPO®, CVOP™️, has over 25 years experience in decluttering and organizing homes.

Millie Naor

Millie is a member of the National Association of Productivity & Organizing (NAPO) and has been a professional organizer for over seven years, specializing in decluttering for a stress-free life.

If you avoid doing these things, you're bound to have a tidier kitchen at all times. Next, try combining these ideas with these 10 rapid methods to cut kitchen cleaning times in half to create the most efficient space possible in your home.