It can be hard to strike the balance between a cluttered countertop and a well-stocked one, especially when creating a dedicated space for making tea and coffee. In my time as Ideal Home’s Kitchen Appliances Editor I’ve learned one of the things that those with organised coffee stations always have is some kind of tray or organiser to curate their nook around.
And now, I’ve found a very affordable solution to do just that: enter IKEA’s £5 NÅLBLECKA organiser.
This versatile organiser is one of the brand’s new-in kitchenware gems – alongside a bargain £15 fridge system and £4 hideaway dish drainer. Here’s why it’s genius for doubling storage space either on your worktop or in your cupboards.
IKEA
NÅLBLECKA Kitchen Countertop Organiser
Amazon
Anboxit Rattan-Look Coffee Station Organizer
If you don’t have an IKEA store near you, or if you prefer this rattan look over IKEA’s pared back version, this top-rated coffee organiser via Amazon can be at your door tomorrow via Prime.
The reviews accumulated for the NÅLBLECKA organiser collection show off its versatility. Of course, the flexibility of these Scandi-inspired products is the reason why so many IKEA hacks flood social media feeds every week, and with a little bit of vision even a humble £5 organiser like this one can help to switch up your space.
While one user has so far remarked that they were using it as a mug holder, another has already been using it as a method to keep loose cooking items organised.
The version with a tray on the top and bottom has a 4.8 star rating out of 5 from 496 reviews, with a whole host of reviewers saying it’s a great fit for cooking oils and jars that need to be within easy reach.
For a coffee station specifically, the gap underneath the £5 organiser works well as it gives space for mug stacking – especially for those oversized mugs space which need to stack together without being restricted. Up top, the tray element is a good spot for tea bags, sugar or coffee too.
If you’re stuck for space horizontally on your worktop, the legs of these organisers allow them to stack together too which is great for making the most of any vertical storage space you have.
The debate on what should be left on a kitchen worktop and what should be tidied away is always alive and well at Ideal Home towers. If there’s one thing we all agree on though, its that one of the the things that people with a tidy kitchen worktop always have is a clutter bucket or tray to collect loose items.
Of course, the NÅLBLECKA is a kind of elevated tray but if you want something more interiors-led, these are the picks I would opt for in the ultra-organised kitchen of my dreams.
Habitat
Checkered Resin Brown & White Coffee Table Tray
I know several friends who have this on-trend tray in their homes for curating select pieces in their kitchen and I absolutely love it (especially as the Addison Ross tray of my dreams is very much out of budget for now).
Sure, this is *technically* a make-up organiser but tell me it doesn’t work perfectly as a place to stock tea or keep your matcha accoutrements. It’s so chic!
Graham and Green
Kitchen Counter Storage
I took our Content Editor Lauren Bradbury’s advice about clutter buckets and got myself a rattan organiser which I now dump my keys and other accessories in when I burst through my door. Now I’m eyeing this one for my kitchen.
Whether you opt for IKEA’s ultra-affordable organiser or one of these alternatives, the key to a curated and less chaotic kitchen countertop is all in picking the right place to gather your must-haves. Are you all for storing things on your worktop or do you prefer to hide everything away?
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