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My food saver, which I can't live without, stays in a drawer when I'm not using it. The only things that are permanently on my counters are my knife block, as dish rack and a vase with a few kitchen utensils next to my stove. I got rid of my toaster because it wasn't worth it. My juicer, blender and french press have homes but are often either on the counter or out because parts are drying. I use each more than 3 times a week. My crock pot stays in a cabinet when not in use as well.
I'm on the hunt for a good price on a stand mixer, which will stay on my counter when I get it.
Oh, and I found a collapsible salad spinner at Kohl's which is awesome for those looking for one.
I keep on the counter the electric tea kettle, toaster-oven/broiler, the microwave and the food processor. Everything else lives in cupboards and pantries. The electric griddle slides very nicely under the china closet in the dining room.
There are a few appliances I don't need that I should get rid of: the iced tea maker (my late husband's; he loved it but I prefer to make sun tea), the rice cooker (a gift from my mother-in-law), the coffee grinder (the food processor is better at this, and is easier to clean), the Foreman grill (PITA to clean).
The bread maker I should get rid of because bread is sooooo addicting!
I'm on the hunt for a good price on a stand mixer, which will stay on my counter when I get it.
Best prices I've seen on these are the "refurb" units sold directly by KitchenAid. Most of them have never even been out of the box, but by Federal law, if they've been sold by mail or online and returned, even if it was just for a color exchange, they can't be sold as New. So they check them out thoroughly, make any necessary repairs, and sell them for a lot less. The only downside is that they might have a few scratches, and the warranty is shorter than a new-new unit. But they are such a steller company there's nothing to worry about from them.
My stand mixer lives on my counter, and gets used several times a week. Hubby's toaster lives on the counter, although I don't encourage toasting because the things he toasts stink. I have a blue beehive blender that also lives on my counter.
I put a tall stainless steel rack in my kitchen so I'd have room for all the kitchen things that I have. I have two crock pots (one to make the BBQ, one to make the beans), a roaster oven (tamales, anyone?), my backup Kitchen Aid mixer because I really can't live without it, a small deep fryer for naughty cooking days (when I make donuts), griddle, etc. I also store the huge roll of foil and boxes of plastic spoons and forks that won't fit in a cupboard on the shelf.
I've had a couple of waffle irons, but it takes longer to cook waffles than pancakes, and by the time I get to eat, the waffles are soggy.
We have a tiny, tiny kitchen: minimal cabinets, minimal counter space, no pantry, not even a broom closet. So most of our kitchen toys live on shelves in the basement. Means a lot of trips up and down the stairs, especially for a big festive meal, but in this place, there really isn't any alternative.
On our kitchen counters, you'll find the toaster, the coffee grinder and the coffee maker. All three get daily use.
Kitchen cabinets contain the plates, bowls, cups and glasses, basic pots and pans, food processor, mixing bowls, measuring cups, and the stand mixer in the cupboard under the sink.
Everything else is in the basement. That includes but is not limited to: two crockpots (one large, one small), two rice cookers (one large and one small), Nesco roaster, immersion blender, regular blender, the large stock pots, casserole dishes, pie pans, rolling pin, pasta roller, roasting pans, large serving bowls and platters, cookie sheets, bread baking stones, muffin tins, cake pans, spring-form pan, tart pans, and other items that escape my memory. They all get used often enough that we don't want to dispose of them, but there simply is not room for them on the main floor of the house.
In my dreams, I imagine having one of those gigantic kitchens with acres of countertops, caverns of cabinets, and enough floor space to rollerskate across. It would be so lovely to have all our kitchen toys in the same room where we use them, and not to have to run downstairs eleventy-dozen times every time we want to host a nice meal. But that'll never happen, so we do our best to keep the tiny counters clear, and just count all those trips downstairs as part of our daily exercise.
I think my kitchen would really annoy you guys... My counters are full.
I don't like microwaves, but our boys use one quite a bit to heat themselves up breakfast and snacks and such before and after school on days when I'm working or at school. So we have the microwave, which I don't like, but there it is.
We have the toaster, the electric hot water kettle (I love tea and drink it all day and got tired of constantly having to "put the kettle on"):
... the rice cooker... (hubby is half-Asian and grew up overseas where you pretty much have rice with every meal, every day, regardless of what the meal is... he has to have his rice.)
... also a large oval-shaped Crock Pot, a blender, a mortar and pestle, a large basket full of snacks, a basket full of bread, a large bowl of fruit, a basket full of onions and garlic, another basket full of potatoes, various cutting boards stashed here and there, a nice mandolin slicer, and other various bits of cookery paraphernalia. Oh, and right now I have 6 large butternut squash on my counters, too, waiting to be turned into soup...
The waffle maker I actually keep in a cupboard even though we use it several times a week. I'd keep it out - but there's no more room on the counters.
When I stop to think about it, I don't really much like it either, I'd much prefer clean lines and plenty of open space... but we have a small'ish kitchen and the way our family works it just is what it is right now. Our kitchen definitely looks like a cook with a family of boys to feed lives here!
(P.S.: I just realized there's one thing I actually don't have in my kitchen cluttering up the counters that most other people have: a coffee maker. But I guess my electric hot water kettle makes up for it! )
(P.S.: I just realized there's one thing I actually don't have in my kitchen cluttering up the counters that most other people have: a coffee maker. But I guess my electric hot water kettle makes up for it! )
I don't have a coffee maker either. I bought a nice one that I didn't mind having in my kitchen, for my mom's occasional visits. She brought her ratty, ugly old one-cup machine over and traded, since I "hardly ever use it". So the ugly one lives under the sink and I drag it out and dust off the cobwebs when she comes over.
I don't have a coffee maker either. I bought a nice one that I didn't mind having in my kitchen, for my mom's occasional visits. She brought her ratty, ugly old one-cup machine over and traded, since I "hardly ever use it". So the ugly one lives under the sink and I drag it out and dust off the cobwebs when she comes over.
Dude! I don't think that's a fair trade. But it makes sense. I have a french press that I use to make coffee when people come over that want some. I heat milk up on the stove and serve it cafe au lait style if they don't like it black. But I've also converted quite a few friends into tea drinkers. Once you have really good tea, it's hard to go back to coffee!
Location: San Diego via Orange County via Toronto via Rome Italy
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When I first moved out on my own 23 years ago, IKEA had this thing called kitchen-in-a-box which is exactly what it sounds like - all the necessities for a young bachelor. The Swedish Gods of Space-Efficiency saw fit to include a salad-spinner as indispensable.
From bachelor to husband to father - I've never questioned that wisdom, and a salad-spinner has always been part of our household. Towel-dried lettuce is icky. As to space - it nests quite nicely in our big stainless steel salad bowl . . .which I think is the only actually-surviving member of the original kitchen-in-a-box . . . pull 'em both out when we want salad . . .
Waffle iron . . . I think we have one . . . in a cabinet . . . in the garage . . . I think . . .
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My counters are full.
But it makes sense. I have a french press that I use to make coffee when people come over that want some. I heat milk up on the stove and serve it cafe au lait style if they don't like it black. But I've also converted quite a few friends into tea drinkers. Once you have really good tea, it's hard to go back to coffee! 
