Day 311- Do I Really Use That Item?

Today I was working on my big painting project and I happened to be working in the kitchen. I emptied off all of the countertops and began working. At the end of the day, I walked into the kitchen and thought to myself, "I kind of like the countertops like this." In other words, I liked the fact that I didn't have all of this stuff stored on the countertops. It actually makes the kitchen seem bigger and less cluttered.

I'd like to keep the countertops like this, so I need to ask myself the question, concerning all the items that were stored on the counters, "Do I really use that item?" If the answer is no than it needs to go. Remember a few days ago I had the post where I gave myself the challenge to store as little as possible .  So I need to avoid storing anything if possible. I am not going to store anything or get rid of anything that it is used 90% of the time; like the microwave. Some items in the kitchen I don't use all the time but I do use; items such as the toaster and bread machine. I will find a space for those items in the cabinets.

I think I'll apply this rule to other places in the house too. I have already gotten rid of quite a bit, and have done a lot of organizing to the extreme, so there's really not too much that can be put away in other rooms, but I will double check on those other rooms anyway.

I think I put a lot of focus on the kitchen because I think it is this common assumption that you need to keep every single appliance out in the open, when you really don't. All of those appliances sitting on the countertop, do they really get used that often? Do they really need to sit on the countertop 100% of the time or can they be put away until you are ready to use them?