An Unusual, Brilliant Way to Use Your Cutting Board Outside of the Kitchen

The door to my tiny bathroom opens up right into the only natural place where a vanity should go. Which means the vanity had to go somewhere else, and it’s very shallow and very narrow. I used to plop my makeup bag and hair straightener right into the sink, but that got old fast every time I needed to rinse extra cheek tint off my hand.

But I have come up with a solution! And it’s so simple you’ll wonder why you’ve never thought of it before.

It’s a simple feat of hack engineering: Like a bridge over water, extending a cutting board over part of your sink creates counter space where there previously was none. It works on all types of limited-space bathroom situations (including pedestal sinks). And if you can position it just right, it won’t even limit your access to the faucet.

This works best with a plastic cutting board that’s fitted with rubber feet or edges; the grippy rubber keeps the surface securely in place against your smooth sink surface. I have this $12 Oneida one that I retired from kitchen service some time ago and it works brilliantly every time. You can stash the cutting board vertically wherever it’ll fit — next to the vanity, or even behind the toilet if you keep a clean bathroom — and bring it out for action whenever you’re getting ready.

And if you’re worried about resting hot hair tools onto a plastic surface, might I suggest you borrow another handy tool from the kitchen? A good pot holder will help protect the surface for a few seconds at a time.

This post originally ran on Apartment Therapy. See it there: Why You Should Keep a Cutting Board in Your Small Bathroom