ripening fruit: If it needs sun, it goes in a basket on the counter

bread: Cupboard

open bottle of wine: Butler's pantry on a tray on the counter

kitchen towel: That is what Towel Pigs are for ((grin)). Alternatively, on a towel rod (like bathrooms have) on the end of a counter or island.

dish rag: Wrung out, in sink during day, laundry room at night until enough for a load accumulates

paper towels: Under sinks

kitchen scissors: In knife drawer or in knife block dedicated space

toaster oven: I don't have one, but on counter would be best, if I did.

Salt and pepper: Wherever you stash most frequently used spices

I just realized that I should not have answered this thread. I'm not a clean counter person. Well, I clean them every day, but then I replace stuff on them. I like everything at hand, if possible.

My counters aren't totally clear, but I wish they were!

- ripening fruit - I have giant glass bowl that moves around but it's mostly on the sideboard in the dining area.

- bread - in a drawer

- open bottle of wine - bar cart in the dining room or in the wine fridge

- kitchen towel* - hanging from one of my long drawer pulls, in a drawer or, if it's wet, over the faucet.

- dish rag - in a sponge holder in my sink, tossed in the laundry if it's soiled.

- paper towels* - these are on my counter

- kitchen scissors - In a drawer

- toaster oven - I don't have one. I do have a toaster and it's on the counter by my coffee station.

- salt and pepper - In a cabinet but I do keep an assortment of sea salts near my cooktop.

Fruit: in a bowl on the island

Bread: bread box in pantry

Open bottle of wine: pantry shelf although on the counter would be okay

Kitchen towel: pull out drying rack under sink

Dish rag: in sink on low divide (Kohler IronTones Low Divide Sink)

Paper towels: Crate & Barrel white marble paper towel holder ($20) on counter

Toaster (no toaster oven): Lazy Susan corner cabinet

Kitchen Scissors: drawer in prep island

Salt & Pepper: on decorative tray next to range with a bottle of oil

My countertops are pretty clear except for a few decorative items & a coffee pot.

- ripening fruit: 3-tiers hanging basket

- bread: freezer (we don't eat a loaf very fast)

- open bottle of wine: cabinet in pantry with a stopper in it

- kitchen towel: towel rod inside sink cabinet

- dish rag: draped over the separation between the two bowls in my sink. After my reno, I will have a single sink so unsure of what I'll do then. Maybe it will have to join the towel under the sink? Maybe on a hook?

- paper towels: I rarely use them so they are fine in the pantry. Just use for the really gross stuff that I don't want to launder.

- kitchen scissors: Mine came with a wall hanger so it's on the inside door of a cabinet next to prep area. If I didn't have that, I'd store them in my knife drawer.

- toaster oven: Rarely use so it's fine in a cabinet right above where I use it. In my reno, it might join a few other items in an appliance garage. If I used it a lot and didn't have space in a cupboard or garage for it, I'd at least try to find a really nice looking stainless or colored one to have on the counters. I don't mind things on counters if they're visually appealing. For example, a KA mixer.

- salt and pepper: With my other seasonings, in cabinet next to stove

I do have a few items out now that I don't have good storage for. And it drives me crazy. The only saving grace is they are somewhat hidden in a corner that my current fridge placement blocks the view to. When planning my new kitchen, I'm making sure that I have adequate storage for everything, in convenient locations, so everything can be off the counters.

Although I can see myself still having my pretty crock with just my most used cooking items next to the stove. Although I'm planning on having less in there afterwards. It's kinda crowded now but I need the drawers there for gadget storage. I'm planning on more gadget storage elsewhere in the kitchen so I can move the graters and such next to the prep area and then have more draw space for the cooking gadgets. Hope that makes sense.

One of the goals of my kitchen remodel was to eliminate a lot of clutter from the counters. To that end, I put in a knife drawer (got rid of 2 knife blocks); made a drawer for canisters; made enough small appliance storage to get the toaster off the counter; put a charging station in a cabinet.

I still have a counter MW - but I got a little one that fits in the corner. After I remodeled, I got my first toaster oven, and that does sit out - I could probably find an away home for it, but haven't bothered. I added counter space, and freed up enough that I don't mind the things that are out now.

As for your specifics:
- ripening fruit - in a nice bowl on the counter

- bread - in a cabinet

- open bottle of wine - on the counter

- kitchen towel - I hang mine over the oven handle

- dish rag - see the link below. I have the same setup as fouramblues, almost at the bottom. I love it!

- paper towels - I have a vertical paper towel holder that could go under the sink, but I don't mind having it out. Usually it's between the sink and stove, but I can move it to wherever the mess is.

- kitchen scissors - knife drawer

- toaster oven - counter

- salt and pepper - spice cabinet next to stove

Here is a link that might be useful: dish rag thread

What is this "open bottle of wine" of which you speak?

I'll answer this for what I do now in my underwhelmingly small kitchen, and my ideal when I move.

- ripening fruit - sideboard in dining area (now) probably in dedicated bowl on back counter when I move.

- bread - in the microwave when not in use. But I don't eat bread often.

- open bottle of wine - in fridge (if white). Back corner if red.

- kitchen towel* - currently hangs off of a drawer pull.

- dish rag - well, I use sponges, but just behind sink, and gotten rid of when deemed slightly skanky.

- paper towels* - On counter on an upright dowel. Spare ones will be in the pantry when I move. I don't have a good spot for spare rolls right now.

- kitchen scissors - In a drawer in the future; right now in the container holding spatulas and wooden spoons and the like.

- toaster oven - On the counter.

- salt and pepper - Next to range top. Other spices are mostly in wall racks and will be better arranged when I move.

Paper towels go on a ratcheting paper towel holder that is attached to the wall. I think I got mine at BB&B.

Fruit is on a tiered tray stand in the dining room.

Scissors are in the knife drawer. That is, I HOPE they are in the knife drawer, unless some child has taken them for the latest really cool art project in the making. Because, certainly *I* couldn't have taken them from the drawer and not put them back where they belong. Nope, not me, nut-uh.

I don't drink wine, but if I did, and if was like other yummy treats around here, then...there probably wouldn't be any left to sit around!

Here is a link that might be useful: Ratcheting paper towel holder at Amazon

DIY2Much took the words right out of my mouth. I know not of open bottles of wine unless they are empty - then to glass recycle bin.

Alas, I am not of the uncluttered counter school. I clear off the counters when entertaining or expecting royal guests.

All other times the counters display:

Salt and pepper grinders and EVOO cruet near the range

Toaster oven in corner near the range

Coffee grinder and coffee maker out at the beverage station

Knives and scissors in the knife block

Ripening fruit in wooden basket

Paper towels on counter near sink

Soap dispenser near the sink; waiting for installation of BI one on sink deck

Not on counter:
Bread in refrigerator (gasp)
No dish rag
Towels hung on DW handle

I keep bread in the refrigerator, it lasts for a long time that way. It won' get moldy. Take it out ahead of time to bring it to room temp, but only what you need.

I am also not in the clear counters club. I think a kitchen is a kitchen and can look like one. So, on the counters - soda stream (which is used daily), Nespresso and milk frother, soap bottle, bowls for fruit, couple of cork trivets that I love and utensils crock. We used to keep the paper towels on the counter too but it was too crowded so we hung them under the upper cabinet.

Fruit - bowl on counter
Bread - in a drawer
Open bottle of wine - fridge
Dish towel- telescoping towel bar next to the sink in a cabinet shared with cutting boards
Dish rag - don't use one, but sponges live in the deep sink in a little thingie that sticks to the side
Scissors - in the utensils crock
Toaster oven - don't have one, but the toaster lives in a drawer (only used on weekends)
Salt & Pepper - nice salt and pepper live on the dining table. Others live in the spice drawer.

Just feel a need to respond to the following as it sounds judgmental to me: "I am also not in the clear counters club. I think a kitchen is a kitchen and can look like one." [Edited to add: If this was intended to be judgmental, my apologies.]

I am not a clean-counters person because I'm super-picky or because I'm a clean-freak or whatever. I'm a clean-counters person because, as I've gotten older, clutter on the counter or elsewhere in my house clutters my brain. I have a hard time concentrating on the task at hand when I have clutter around me.

I personally don't care if other people have clutter. If clutter works for them, great. I'm not working in their kitchen or living in their house.

Clutter doesn't work for me. My purse can be on a counter full of clutter and I can't see it. I see clutter and it all melds together. It can be stressful for me.

So I'm clutter-free as much as possible, although I live with Mr. Clutter, because it is less stressful for me.

This post was edited by funkycamper on Sun, Jan 25, 15 at 0:52

I like your explanation, funkycamper. You sound like my sister.

I'm also a clear counters person. I didn't realize anybody wouldn't choose to be if they had enough storage. It's not at all because I'm a neat freak or want my kitchen to be a show piece. It's because if I'm cooking, I need my counter space for cooking. If there's a bunch of junk on it already, where do I cook? I find it really annoying to have to shift a bunch of junk in order to cook. Or if I don't move it all to the dining room table or whatever so I can cook and just cook around the junk, when I am cleaning up after, wiping oil/batter/flour off a whole bunch of random clutter is ten times more difficult (and often a futile exercise) than just wiping down an empty counter with a few swipes.

I also find clutter visually stressful, but this is far more of a practical habit. I want counter space because I need it to work on. Not because I need counter-high storage.

- ripening fruit
In a colander that moves around. I don't have a solution for this one in my kitchen. I move it to the kitchen table when I am about to start a big cooking project, and otherwise, it moves around the kitchen counters. We eat a LOT of fruit.

- bread
Pantry and/or freezer.

- open bottle of wine
Fridge or pantry.

- kitchen towel*
Hangs on the oven handle.

- dish rag
We don't use these; we use sponges that I keep in a little suction up basket thing on the inside wall of the sink. But my mom has her dish rags hanging to dry on the faucet or on a little towel bar she screwed into the side of a cabinet (actually a wide door pull, but it's like a mini towel bar).

- paper towels*
These are on a paper towel holder that is screwed to the bottom of an upper cabinet.

- kitchen scissors
Drawer with other kitchen tools -- tongs, ladle, etc.

- toaster oven
Don't have one. I don't toast things often enough for it to make sense to have one -- I just toast things in a pan or in the oven if I really need to.

- salt and pepper
On a shelf by the stove.

I am also clutter-free, not because I am an anal, type-A, crazy person...but simply because I love my kitchen, it is beautiful to me, and I don't want a bunch of mundane stuff covering up my counters! I am very visually-oriented, I like looking at pretty things all the time.
So...
Ripening fruit- I have one large crystal bowl that usually has tomatoes in it. I don't mind this because it is pretty...like a flower arrangement. :) In peach season, I keep peaches on a small crystal tray. Most of our other fruit goes in fridge....apples, oranges, blueberries, strawberries.

Bread-shelf in pantry

Open bottle of wine- I don't like red (gasp!) so if we are hanging out w/friends...I send leftovers home. White in fridge

Kitchen towel- I use a lot of these. I keep clean, dry ones in a drawer and when I am done using one I put it in the laundry.

Dish rag- I have the suctiony-basket thing in my super deep sink!

Paper towels - in cab under the sink...I try not to use them too much.

Kitchen scissors- in knife drawer

Toaster oven- in cabinet...we don't use it often, but even if we did I would keep it hidden away....I find them unattractive!

Salt & Pepper- in cab next to stove

We also like uncluttered countertops. I stole an idea off this site for getting paper towels off the counter. We took one of the false fronts off a cabinet and installed an inexpensive paper towel roller. Works like a charm and is convenient. Attached pic is before our kitchen was finished, but I think it gives the idea. We also stole an idea here and created niches in the walls near work areas. I'll follow that up next with a picture....

Niche by cooktop.

We keep our bread in the fridge.

No bottle of wine, no toaster oven.

Sponge next to the sink - although I'm also hoping to get one of those little holders that attaches to the inside of the sink.

Dish towel - on a hook near the sink. It is on a lower cabinet so it can't be seen unless you are in the kitchen.

Paper towel - on the counter. I've looked for a unique, fun one on ebay or etsy, but haven't settled on one yet.

Scissors - in the knife block on the counter.

I really keep the counter clear and clean as much as possible. I am a bit obsessive about that.

Fruit is in a bowl. Everything else is in a drawer/door except for the toaster oven, which is a breville so it acts as my third oven and frankly I use it to cook more than my double ovens!

Wow. I thought I was in the clean counter group, but after reading this, I realize I would like to be, but not enough to get rid of everything I like to use.
I actually have a big fat ceramic chicken sitting in the corner of my kitchen along with canisters that I use.

- ripening fruit - In a bowl on perimeter counter

- bread--in drawer with snacks

- open bottle of wine- we usually drink it all. We like red wine in particular and keep a box wine on the side in our garage ):

- kitchen towel* I try to keep it nicely on the towel holder, but my husband doesn't hang it back up nicely. I think the holder was supposed to hold bananas and I actually put the holder away for a few days and my husband wanted it back.

- dish rag- hate stinky rags and I use a dobie stored in a holder in the sink

- paper towels* - don't like my holder or the towels stored on my island next to the sink, but I don't have a good easy solution

- kitchen scissors -in the drawer

- toaster oven- none, but I do have a toaster on the perimeter counter that I use every day

- salt and pepper- I have a set on the counter next to the stove and a set on the kitchen table.
I also keep my olive oil on the counter along with a sugar bowl and tea caddy.
I also have a coffee pot and grinder.
I guess I have more on the counter than I thought!

sorry if it sounded judgmental - it probably was, but wasn't intended that way

I'm a member of the clear countertop club currently, but I haven't always been so. At one time I lived in house that had a stretch of 12' or so of un-broken counter. Microwave, toaster oven, blender, electric can opener, etc. lined the walls under the upper cabs. Didn't seem cluttered at all to me at the time, but it was a mild annoyance to have to clean all those appliances, and move them to clean behind consistently.

These days I have smaller, chopped up counter space and a corner appliance garage so the only things on my counter are a coffee maker and two candy cannisters for color.

As much as I like the "minimal clutter" look personally, I also believe counter space is to be used, not just looked at. Whatever someone uses daily should be placed conveniently for them. So what if it takes up counter space? A "kitchen that looks like a kitchen" can be more fun, colorful and interesting to look at than the kitchens that belong to those of us in the CCC. Grin.

Funny reading all these. I'm not a CCC member, although I like the idea. I'm also one of those people that can write up a beautiful schedule, but not stick to it. Off topic, okay, back to CCC . . . I love when my kitchen is all clean and only the minimum on the counters, but this isn't often. But, I hate my toaster out. Why? We use it every day, why does it bug me? Who knows. I put it in a extra deep drawer I have snacks in and everything seems neater instantly.

So, that's my input, my toaster oven use to be kept in the drawer and now my replacement 4 slot toaster is kept in a drawer. I vacuum the crumbs once a week.