As someone with a small kitchen, messy countertops are the bane of my life. With such limited surface space, crumbs and food scraps seem to collect far quicker, no matter how much I encourage everyone to clean up after themselves. If I had a dollar for every time I wiped down my countertops in a day, I'd be a rich woman.
While I can happily commit to cleaning my countertops after every slice of toast, not everyone else in my home seems as capable. If you have a big family with teens who won't tidy or messy kids who love to snack, clean countertops probably feel like a pipe dream, but that's where this viral cutting board from IKEA comes in.
This $15 buy is the perfect countertop mainstay to help you maintain a crumb-free kitchen. Unlike regular cutting boards, this traditional bread board comes with slats, allowing your crumbs to fall through to a collection tray underneath. It sounds simple but it's a revolutionary addition to your kitchen countertops.
Whether you're preparing a sandwich, slicing some cheese, or cutting a cake, pesky crumbs are inevitable. If you've tried adopting plenty of small habits to keep your kitchen countertops clean but still find yourself wiping them down every other hour, this $15 IKEA buy should be top of your wish list.
Cutting boards are an essential addition to any kitchen to help protect your surfaces and keep your space clear and tidy, but this one has an extra string to its bow. The nesting milled grooved insert helps collect your crumbs for easy disposal, and it's every bread lovers' dream.
I consider myself quite well acquainted with IKEA's offerings, but I only discovered the IKEA BLANDSALLAD cutting board after a viral Instagram video caught my attention. In it, the self-proclaimed sourdough lover demonstrates how they keep on top of crumbs thanks to this genius little kitchen addition. All you have to do is empty the collection tray when you're finished instead of wiping your countertop (and inevitably brushing your crumbs onto the floor).
While it might not be a priority, this warm wooden cutting board is pretty stylish, too. For the small kitchen idea of the moment, it makes a great serving platter for sliced breads next time you're hosting. The bamboo finish also contains antimicrobial agents that help keep your board clean and protected, just make sure to give it a rub with some food-safe oil every now and then. (We like this cutting board maintenance set from Target).
Professional organizer Ben Soreff of House to Home Organizing is always in favor of a budget-friendly by that makes it easier to maintain a clean and tidy space, but he says the BLANDSALLAD won't solve all your problems.
'A cutting board with a built-in crumb catcher is on the surface great, however, like most kitchen magic solutions the details matter,' says Ben. 'It's important to regularly dump the bread crumbs out. We have seen situations in which out of sight out of mind takes over and people may forget that the cutting board doesn't have a superpower -- the crumbs are still there. If one doesn't regularly empty them the board is going to get gross fast. Trust me I have seen it all.'
Professional home organizer, Melissa Gugni, agrees. 'This little cutting board is cute and I think that aesthetics are important in making your home feel good to you,' she says. 'If you think it might solve a problem in your kitchen though, I am inclined to think there are better options. You could pick a better board for cutting bread that is easier to clean and larger for cutting normal-sized loaves of bread. I worry that this may slide around on the counter when you use it.'
If, however, you're searching for an easy fix for your forever-snacking kids or a more efficient cutting board to keep crumbs at bay, you can't go far wrong with this fair-priced IKEA buy. Add one to your countertop and you're sure to spend less time wiping or vacuuming your surfaces, and that's certainly no bad thing.
