Today in “sentences I never thought I’d type,” cutting boards are having a major moment. My mind was blown earlier this week when an eagle-eyed Twitter detective pointed out that Kate Hudson had a surplus of the things in her kitchen, and then it full-on exploded when Gwyneth Paltrow stepped in to suggest that maybe she’s not using them in the kitchen, but the uhhh bedroom. Yes, this really happened, and I would like to quickly take this opportunity to say that the Internet is an amazing place sometimes. But anyways….

As someone who is constantly trying to navigate the perils of living with a teeny, tiny kitchen (thanks, New York City apartments),  I’m here to say that they take up a disproportionate amount of cabinet space in relation to their number of uses, and storing them always winds up being a massive pain. But thanks to the savior of all things home, Joanna Gaines, I have recently discovered a new way to deal with my cutting boards that doesn’t make me want to throw them out the window: By using them as a part of my decor.

In her new design book, Homebody, the lifestyle guru dishes out all sorts of advice on how to keep your kitchen as clean and functional as possible. One of her top tips, per PureWow? “Clear your counter of everything but the essentials.” Which, I’ll admit, is pretty straightforward. One of her more groundbreaking hacks, though, is to actually leave your cutting board on your counter (instead of hiding it away in a cabinet) and use it as a way to organize those aforementioned essentials. It functions as a sort of tray to hold everything in its place, and makes the styling of your random salt and pepper shakers and kitchen utensils look slightly more intentional.

A bonus small-kitchen use for cutting boards that I recently discovered for myself: Invest in a big one, and position it over your sink when you need to do some slicing and dicing. Voila—instant extra counter space. And the chic wooden ones (like you’d expect to see in Chip and Joanna’s own kitchen, or on an episode of Fixer Upper), also double as beautiful bases for charcuterie boards and vegan cheese plates. 

Make your space more spiritual this year with these easy updates, and do yourself a favor and save even more counter real estate with this genius dish rack.