Keep Your Kitchen Clean With The Dollar Tree Cutting Board Hack
When it comes to cleaning off your fridge's shelves, the whole process would be so much easier if it wasn't so hard to pull the cumbersome shelves out. It can be done, but it's, well, hard. But there is one tool that takes the job from challenging to done in just a few seconds flat: Dollar Tree Flexible Cutting Board Mats. When you line your refrigerator's shelves with them, you no longer need to remove a whole shelf out to get it really clean. You just need to pull out the mats lining the shelves to get the job done (most of the time).
Cutting mats offer you a quick fix for your messy shelf problem. They also reinforce the shelves because the mats are constructed from a durable, yet flexible plastic. It's thick enough to allow you to cut tough items, like steaks or crusty artisan breads, without cutting through the mats to the counter below. Because of this, they're less likely to suffer much, if any damage, when you slide heavy items in and out of the refrigerator. Even if they do get a bit damaged, they cost $1.25 to replace, making them a cost-effective hack to keep your fridge clean.
The mats measure 11 inches by 14 inches. Refrigerator shelves vary in size, depending on the type of refrigerator you have. For example, refrigerators with a freezer on the top of the unit range from 28 inches to 33 inches wide with nearly an equal amount of depth. In light of that, you'll likely need three or four cutting mats per shelf to give each shelf full coverage.
Protecting other kitchen and dining areas while you're at it
Dollar Tree cutting mats don't just come in handy when you'd like to keep your fridge's shelves spiffy. They work wonders for your dining room table, too. They're both flexible like a placemat and around the same size. As such, these DIY placemats can protect your table from the effects of spaghetti sauce, pudding, and kiddie — and even grown-up — fingerprints. They also provide some protection for the table beneath a warm plate. If you've ever kept a plate of leftovers warming in the oven while you waited for your spouse or kids to get home from a late night at work or ball practice, then you know how warm those plates can get. The cutting mats provide a thick, yet convenient barrier between the warm plate and your table.
The other place they're a logical fit for are your kitchen drawers. In a knife and utensil drawer, putting down a cutting mat protects the bottom of the drawer from getting scuffed up when knives and long cooking forks bang around. In the spice drawer, spice jars can roll around, potentially creating a mess. A cutting mat placed at the bottom of the drawer shields the inside of the drawer from the stains caused by spices like turmeric, paprika, and chili powder. And while other spices may not stain the drawer, they can leave a powdery mess that can be tricky to clean up. Cleaning up the powder may be just a matter of removing the cutting mat and giving it a good rinse before placing it back in the drawer again.