I’m a Mom of 5, and My “Stash Basket” Trick Keeps My Counters Clutter-Free (It’s So Easy!)

I once shared a picture of my kids cooking with one of my best friends (who happens to be a chef), and after her exclamations over how cute they were, she asked, incredulously: “How do you keep your kitchen counters so clear?!”

One thing about me is that cluttered counters (don’t even get me started on dirty counters) send me into an overstimulation spiral — they instantly stress me out and send my anxiety soaring. As a mom of five, I do my best to put things away as I’m using them, and when family members leave things scattered all over the place, I often need to take a beat to pull myself together, and sometimes even leave the room. This is what happens when my husband does breakfast and lunch prep duty on school day mornings — I just don’t participate if things are left out all over the counter. We have a mutual understanding because, truly, it’s better for the whole family if mom’s not overwhelmed by the mess (especially before she’s had her coffee!). 

But we’re just like any other family that sets things down on the kitchen counters because so much of life happens in this room. In addition to all the morning mess, the afternoon brings its own set of clutter, such as papers, lunch boxes, water bottles, trinkets, and treasures from school, etc. Plus, there’s all the other stuff that gets set down mid-project that (wish as I might) doesn’t always get put back in its place right away (like the mini screwdriver or the LEGO piece we found on the floor). I can’t always just walk out and wait for the mess to magically disappear, so we had to figure out something else to keep the counters clear — and mama’s nervous system stable. 

Our solution is what we call the Stash Basket. It’s a medium-size plastic bin that holds all the little odds and ends that would languish on the kitchen countertops otherwise. Right now, it’s holding my daughter’s school diorama that we aren’t ready to toss yet (don’t worry, we took pictures), some toys that need to get put away upstairs, a medal from a 5K my son ran a couple weeks ago, a bunch of various papers that need to be dealt with, and some craft supplies for projects the younger kids have been working on. 

When I need to cook, or if I’d rather go outside and do sidewalk chalk than put everything away, I clear the counters off and put everything in the Stash Basket. Of course, the bin needs to be emptied periodically, but I’m a huge proponent of taking care of something while it’s in your hand. In a perfect world, we would put everything where it belongs in the moment, but that’s not always possible. Obviously, things pile up in the bin and need to be addressed eventually, about once a week (but you can do it more often!). 

Emptying the Stash Basket has actually become a household task that needs to be checked off. It’s an up-for-grabs chore on our Skylight Calendar, or sometimes I have one of the kids do it. It’s a perfect reset task when they’re getting themselves into trouble from boredom. 

We use this plastic version from Target for our Stash Basket, but depending on your space, family size, and sheer amount of stuff, it can be as big or as small as you like. You might also break this hack into several smaller bins to keep things even more organized (papers, toys, parent items, etc.). 

Even before it’s emptied, the Stash Basket gets clutter off the counters, keeping the kitchen as visually calm and clutter-free as possible, which helps keep me from flying off the handle. It’s not too much to say that this simple little trick has dramatically increased the peace in our home — which is the precise goal of any and all homekeeping routines I implement.

This post originally ran on The Kitchn. See it there: I’m a Mom of 5 and My “Stash Basket” Trick Keeps My Counters Clutter-Free (It’s So Easy!)