We keep the lunch boxes on the top of the fridge. I have no idea what is in the cabinets up there. :)

Nothing is on the top of my refrigerator except an occasional cat, now and then. There is nothing in the cabinets above the refrigerator because I can't reach them.

My over-fridge cabinet comes out to the front of the fridge. This makes it MUCH easier to get to stuff in there. It's actually one of my more useful cabinets.

I put my cookie sheets in there, standing on edge, bcs I can reach the bottom of them to pull them out.

And everything oversize goes in there--it's the only place some of this stuff will fit
-jumbo cereal boxes from BJ's Wholesale
-oversize bowl I use for pasta salad sometimes
-coffee maker (we don't use it daily; only when we have lots of company)
-crock-pot
-extra paper towels
-extra paper napkins

I even have a shelf in there, and some stuff is up on the second level.

of course I need a stepstool to get most of that stuff, but it isn't THAT hard.

On the fridge: a green ceramic teapot

In the cabinet above the fridge: Nalgenes, extra pitchers

We all reach everything just fine, as I am the shortest member of the family @ 5'11" (the tallest is 6'7.5"!).

Nothing on top of the fridge: it's too hot.

In the cabinet: liquor, wineglasses. If it's hard to reach up there, why not store the cookies and chocolate there :)?

I have a set of stuff from Avon from the '70's. A cookie jar and a few other pieces with a quilt pattern on the front. I didn't want a cabinet over the fridge in this kitchen. I don't have any cabinets on that wall, so it would have looked strange. Every few months I take the stuff off, rinse it off and clean off the top of the fridge. Oh, and there's some little Catholic religious figure that the DH always keeps on the corner, facing the front door and he has to have a quarter under him. Some superstition about bringing money into the house. Seems to work fine. Or maybe I'm not willing to take a chance that he has anything to do with the income flowing in. Maybe it's really all of those silver coins we have to put on every window and door on New Year's Eve.

Gloria

Fresh bags of bread go up on top of refr.. In the cabinets above, I have a big box of plastic picnicware and baking pans (tilted to fit in there). I was hoping I'd find a more productive use for those cabinets someday soon.

On top of the fridge are most-used cookbooks in one of those angled racks so they don't slide around. The cabinet holds canning and jelly-making supplies since I can only reach it when standing on a chair. Oh, and the spare can-opener since DH and I gave each other the same one.

I keep large trays and plastic place mats up there, as well as some large bowls that don't fit well in the cabinets. There's probably more, but I'd have to get up on a ladder to see - not sure I want to know!

I have a huge stainless steel mixing bowl (about 4 gallon size) on top of the fridge. In the cabinet above, DH keeps his special chilis on the left side. This side can be reached from the side of the fridge. I honestly don't know what's on the right side! That side is more difficult to access as the pantry comes out even with the right side of the fridge. If we weren't moving in a few months, this question would inspire me to reuse that space for something we use at least occasionally.

Gloria--Does the figurine work if you're not Catholic? We might need one. :)

On top of our refrigerator: a plastic 9x12 pan holding bags of snacks, and a box of trash bags (I decided to try to keep them in-sight to see if anyone else in the house would think to change the garbage bag--but it's not working).

Up above the refrigerator in those cabinets: Large stock pot, cake pans & pie pans I use rarely. Might be more stuff but I'm not going to get a chair to look. I know I cleaned it Flylady style 2 years ago, and that's good enough for me for now!

Well first thing is lots of dust...I try not to look up there closely too often.

Then cereal boxes, dog treats and a plant with a long vine.

Inside the cabinets, nothing. I would never look up there and its a pain to get the step stool.

Like TallySue, the cabinet above my refrigerator comes all the way out. So nothing gets stored on top of the refrig. In the cabinet I keep the majority of our outdoor party supplies - about 5 dozen wine glasses, like number of plates, silverware, etc. I also keep our French press up there - it's within easy reach and that way I don't have to have it on the counter all week (we only make coffee on the weekends).

All of my cookbooks.

Nothing in the cabinets. Too much pain to move the cookbooks and climb a ladder to get to, lol.

Nothing on top of fridge, except for the occasional cat :)

The cabinet above has things that I don't use often like a big Halloween candy bowl, cake platter & dome, and the turkey roasting pan.

I keep snacks up there in the front, along with 2 tupperware cereal containers. In the back, I keep my cake plate & dome, and my large tupperware bowls. They take up too much space in my cabinets!

postum, I am going to copy your idea of putting my large trays on top of my fridge. Just this morning, I found myself stuffing them into a cabinet quite haphazardly. Yours is a great solution.

In the cabinet: cookie cutters and pie plates. These typically only get used during the holidays, so the lack of easy access isn't a problem.

In front of that are 2 square baskets. A large one and a medium sized one. The large one contains chips and chip clips, and napkins. The smaller one is our "junk drawer" as we do not have an actual drawer available for odds and ends (pens, paper, that odd metal thing we found on the floor, that birthday card that's so pretty I can't throw it away quite yet but don't want to display anymore, etc).

Both are lightweight and can only hold lightweight items, so pulling them down isn't a problem. They hold a lot of stuff but it still looks good because the clutter isn't visible.

We've got a vintage fridge, so the top is rounded a bit and not safe for decor items (been there, done that). The cabinet above holds chips and DH's snacks. It's hard for me to reach in the cabinet easily, so I find it's a fabulous place for his snacks!

The cabinet on top of the fridge holds Holiday serving platters and candy dishes and the like. They come out the day after Thanksgiving and go back home in January. I try to take advantage of it's empty state to actually wash it.

Various and sundry decor items -- and useful ones too!

A large dark wood decorative birdcage tucked into the far corner. A fat olive green jug that looks wonderful with flowers in the opposite corner! A very very old wood bowl that sits (and protected from the heat!) on top of two large flat round metal trays (that hold oodles of meats/cheeses for pool parties)-- that sits in the middle! LOL!!

And right near the front --- a stack of round and square cork trivets from Ikea -- I use these things ALL of the time -- and recommend them highly!! (and give them as presents too!!)

Gloria --I'm Catholic and never heard about the figure with the coins.Tell me who it is, and also about the coins at the windows. Will get statue immediately. We are currently making do with Chinese jade frogs with a coin in their mouth and believe me that works.
Since the cats have gone on to catnip heaven, I have a wooden dishrack which holds the pan lids. In back is a cabinet that holds bizarre baking molds, ice molds, candymaking kit for lollypops, and molds for lamb cake, etc, and probably some of those strange appliances one receivdes for Christmas--like sandwich maker grills, extra electric grapefruit juicers; kumquat squeezers. My DH knows that I only want simple jewelry for occasions; so he doesn't get me anything that plugs in. He buys lovely jewelry, and I wear every piece of it; big, little, expensive--not so expensive.

marge, the DH says he's the Infant of Prague. Very common little guy, even for someone like me who was raised in Pentacostal churches. The coins on the windows is a Polish tradition from DH's mom's side of the family. Apparently, putting silver on all of the openings of the house is suppose to bring in money. So, New Years Eve finds us running around putting quarters on all of the window sills, door jams and even taping it to the front of the fireplaces. The only year we forgot to do this was our lowest income year. Not taking any chances now! My mom was up visiting last week and she brought up a quarter, telling me it was just sitting on the bathroom window sill and I needed to put it in my purse. I quickly ran it back to the bathroom.

Since I'm starting up a new business this fall, and jade is plentiful in Alaska, I'll be looking for a frog. No point in tempting the fates!

Gloria

I have various boxes of saltines and other crackers, pop-tarts and bread sticks.

Great question! I can't remember what's in the cabinet because I can't reach it without a stool. I'll have to look some day. On top of the fridge, a big plastic bucket with dog kibbles in it. I open the 40# bag in the garage, and store the contents into a plastic bag lined metal trash can with a lid. Then I scoop a bucket of kibbles out, and keep them on top of the fridge. But I'm sure open to better ideas on the dog food if anyone has any.

Wish my cabinet was the "deep" kind -- but it is flush with its neighboring cabinets.

I think there are pitchers and some seasonal items in the cabinet.

On top there is a radio on one side (it has a remote so reaching the radio to change the stations is not an issue.) On the other side there is a sort of deep (6") rectangular basket. Inside are some magnetic fridge pads that I rotate seasonally (stored in a plastic bag) and some spare dry-erase markers for the narrow dry-erase board on the fridge.

There is a narrow gap between the bottom of the cabinets and the top of the fridge. Behind the radio there are cork trivets, and behind the basket is a flat (3" deep) basket where I occasionally stash snacks that I don't want found.

Oh -- and DH put some wi-if gadget up there too, but it is small and near the radio.

I am so short and fridge so tall that I can hardly reach what sits on top let alone what is inside the cabinet. On top I keep a kitchen towel to help hold down the dust, a plant with trailing vine and a very large chicken lamp that I can't plug in there but has to be someplace. In the cabinet I keep Christmas glasses and mugs and replace them with the glasses and mugs in the regular cabinet so that I have room for the Xmas ones..... and my husband does the getting down and putting away for me!

There is only a small amount of space between the refrigerator and the cabinet that is over top of it. In that space I store my Flylady duster and a yard stick! In the cabinet above, I store cookie sheets, cutting boards, serving platters and the extra long boxes of foil, which don't fit anywhere else.

Joanne

On our refrigerator I have clingwrap stretched across it all the way - easy to clean and remove dust! - bundle all the old clingwrap up and toss and lay new sheets of it across.
Then on top of that I have some flowers which helps brighten the kitchen up....
(my first post :)

Microwave - literally no other place to put it!
Telephone Books - again no other place,
Pens & markers - in an old tin can next to wall mounted phone,
Son's piggy bank - keeps kids from playing w/the coins (gross),
Misc Junk - it's on the corner so it's a kid free stuff zone.
And of course dust bunnies!

I will - one day - get my kitchen remodeled and a combo cabinet will be installed. Glass doored face cabinet for books & a deep side access cabinet behind front cabinet for all the large platters that I've always wanted but had no place to put :)

Wrought iron wine rack with an assortment of wines.