Why You Should Keep a Cutting Board in Your Small Bathroom

You think New York City real estate is bad? You should see my bathroom counter.

The door to the bathroom opens up right into the only natural place to put the vanity, which means there’s only one shallow, narrow space for the vanity to go — and one shallow, narrow space to work with when I’m getting ready in the morning. I used to drop 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 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 a treat 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.