My expectation is that I will look in control of my surroundings. The telling piece is the discrepancy between the ideal and the reality.
Often, it’s easier to locate things in some intelligent chaos.
QM- if its a bag of trash, it doesn’t belong on the counter., does it?
Did I list a trash bag as being on the counter? Don’t think so, and don’t have one. The container of rocks is a long story.
I took the comment about all the stuff on the counter to be a bag of stuff waiting to go out. In fact, that makes the amount of stuff more palatable.
Fair enough, I did refer to the Bag a Week club! I have been to Goodwill quite a few times in the past three weeks. 
But I am not donating the Keurig coffee maker, the Mr. Coffee, the ice shaver, or any of the other things I use frequently.
I am not even donating the rocks, just relocating them.
Just to drive the minimalists crazy: Also a plastic bin of dog treats with a lock-on lid, a non-built-in microwave, a box of food coloring (goes with unassembled barometer), and the piece de resistance: The Random House Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language! The OED is in the living room.
Late to this party…
I don’t even own a lot of the appliances mentioned on this thread, LOL. I have a pretty good amount of counter space.
Appliances that are on the counter are basic coffee maker (I have never had a cup of coffee in my life), blender (it is now 39 years old), and small toaster oven. The coffee maker and blender really do not use any usable counter space because they are in a back corner of the counter behind the corner sink. That’s it for appliances on the counter.
I have other things on the counter tops: dish drainer, nice canisters, knife block, wine rack, very small spice rack just for basics like salt and pepper (rest are in cabinets), plus decorative creamer and sugar set and little stand of decorative dessert plates, and oh, yes, a small basket of snacks or for bananas or bagels. But there is an entire length of counter that has nothing on it at all. And while the next thing is not truly technically the counter, but actually the bar counter that is taller than the attached kitchen counter and is long, at the end of that is a huge antique scale.
Other things mentioned here…I mostly use cloth dish towels (I keep most hanging inside the cabinet door under sink, but keep two hanging over the oven handle. My microwave hangs above the stove. I have a paper towel holder that is mounted under a cabinet. I occasionally use paper towels for something, like cleaning glass or mirrors or wood. My kitchen window sill has potted flowering plants and a couple of decorative type items. There is a nice looking tea kettle on the stove (though I have never had a cup of tea in my life).
PS, oops, I just went into the kitchen and I forgot that I keep a wooden cutting board out on the counter by the stove and use that a lot.
How often do you and your family make/eat shaved ice, @QuantMech? For some reason I found that more surprising to me than the rocks.
I used to have a crushed ice maker that was given as a wedding gift. It was stored in a cabinet and we didn’t use it.
I like snow cones, and the crushed ice maker was a birthday gift. I use it moderately often.
Someone is having a bit of fun with the posters in this thread…
How do you clean, QM? Do you take all of those things off, wipe the counter down, wipe them down if needed and replace? Or do you just clean around them? Or do you not clean at all?
Are all/most of the surfaces in your house like this, such as dressers or tables?
Two thoughts after reading the last couple pages of responses…
- I must be the only one who DOES use a lot of paper towels - don’t mean to ruin the planet, but I like to squirt down/wash the counters after any cooking/meal prep activity - gosh, how many hand towels do you all go through! Also, I tend to like and use paper towels in place of napkins - more hearty!
- I don't recall anyone mentioning mail on their counters. No one else has a small pile of "things to be read or filed"???
Um, mainly I am making fun of myself. (Also, nothing on the list is made up–I just looked over at the counters.) Re Pizzagirl #130: None of these items is that heavy, so it is easy to lift them up and clean.
Re abasket #131: The incoming mail is in a decorative box. That’s the equivalent of an empty counter in the spot where it is, right?
Still, I have to add that I am reliably informed that my third-grade teacher will not be dropping by to check whether my counters are totally clear. And doesn’t anyone else worry about the entropy generated by constantly moving small appliances in and out of the cupboards?
The age old conundrum, what it takes to manufacture paper towels, processing, bleaching, etc, vs the same for fabric towels and any enviro impact from what it takes to clean them. Not to rain on anyone’s parade. I use paper towels for sanitary reasons, too.
I think the message in this thread is just that many of us are laid back.
@abasket I probably go through anywhere from 2-6 towels/rags per day for my kitchen. I use kitchen towels for drying dishes, in lieu of pot holders (don’t use them), small spills, under a cutting board, for washed fruits and veggies to dry on, etc. I use rags for wiping down counters, stovetop, messier cleaning jobs. I do not like to use even slightly soiled things so will change out often. Easy to toss a small load into the washer a few times a week. To be honest, I prefer cloth over paper less for environmental reasons and more because I think they do a better cleanup job than wimpy paper. Cloth as so many uses in the kitchen, I just find it very practical.
A small load a few times a week?! That’s a lot of towels - and laundry!
I have started using a cloth towel during meal prep (dinner - I’m at work for breakfast and lunch) - I use it throughout meal prep and toss it afterwards. That saves a LITTLE paper towel usage!
Laundry is right next to kitchen so easy to do. We could let it pile up but my husband is a little bit of a clean freak so we do laundry frequently anyway.
I have only done laundry once/week. However, I use dish towels much more than paper towels. I also use cloth napkins, and not paper ones. I just think it is nicer all around. I don’t wash a dish towel after every single use though!
We do lots of laundry here as we also churn through my spouse’s office laundry, which is probably an additional 8-10 loads a week above our everyday laundry. So throwing in a few extra towels is no big deal - it’s not creating an incremental load.
I remember my mother cleaning everything in the kitchen with the same sponge. Wash dishes, scrub the stove top, wipe down the counters. Now that seems seriously unsanitary although I don’t remember that we got sick from it ever. I use microfiber shop cloths in the kitchen and toss them in the regular laundry. I have paper towels for cleaning up floor spills, etc.