{Organized} Kitchen Counters

You guys sure know how to give a girl the big-head! Thank you so much for your sweet comments about my new haircut...they totally made my week. Many of you liked it so much you pinned it...that was kind of weird seeing my head pop up all over Pinterest!

Last week I sang the praises of our new Keurig, and showed you how we keep it all organized. But once that area was nice and tidy, I realized just how cluttered the corner next to the stove had become. Not for long though...this was the easiest, fastest organizing job I've done yet!

Like most of you probably do, I like to keep the frequently used utensils, oils and spices out for easy access. I started by using a small platter to contain the oils, and cute containers for the utensils.

But that collection continued to grow (especially after this trip, which I still haven't finished blogging about, by the way!), and pretty soon it was a cluttered mess.

I stumbled across this basket, and knew it'd be perfect. The bottles wouldn't sit straight because of the woven bottom (TWSS), so I lined it with a piece of $2 plexiglass from the craft store. You can have the picture-framing department cut it, or simply use a sharp Xacto knife and ruler to score, then snap it.

Captivating photo, I know.

Now everything is nicely corralled inside the basket, but still at my fingertips when I'm cooking.

This basket works great because it's wide enough to hold everything, but not tall so I can easily see what's inside. And the handles make it easy to move if I need extra counter space.

I love the woven texture next to the sleek glass tiles and granite.

It's a simple update, but a big improvement! How do you keep your counters from getting cluttered?