Unless you want to stop cooking splatter-inducing foods entirely, you’ll have to come up with a better solution than a top to bottom scrub down at the end of the night. The Non Stick Splatter Shield (Taylor Gifts, $8.98) will keep your cooking surfaces safe with its handy folding design. Simply place the splatter guard around the dish you are cooking and the mess will be contained within that area. That means you’ll pretty much only have to clean that one section instead of the whole stove. It also means that if you’re cooking a separate dish on the adjacent burner, it won’t be covered in unwanted splatter.

The shield itself is obviously open on one side to allow access to the stove top so that means that while your stove is splatter-free, you are not. Perhaps you could invest in a welder’s mask?

4 out of 5 stars.

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Less mess is always preferred, which is why the Cut & Collect Chopping Board (Latest Buy, $33.95) is a cooking enthusiast’s dream. I tend to cut up all my veggies for the meal at once, which is a great tactic except there’s never enough space to do that. I end up with carrots spilling out onto the counter next to dirty onion skins and it just drives me crazy. This cutting board features an integrated drawer, so you can slice and dice, then slide the pieces into the drawer for safe keeping. If you prefer, you can also use the drawer as a waste bin and save yourself multiple trips to the trash can. The drawer pulls right out so anything you put in there is easily emptied at any time. The cutting board itself is dishwasher safe (my fave) and has non-slip feet so it won’t slide around while you’re chopping (also a plus).

You know how Rachel Ray uses a trash bowl while she cooks? Rachel Ray ain’t got nothing on me.

5 out of 5 stars.

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This Trivet Set (Generate Design, $39.00) is right up my alley. In case you don’t know (and some people don’t), a trivet is used as a barrier between a hot dish and your countertop. Some of us lazy/poor people just use a pot holder, but that’s neither here nor there. I’m already jazzed that this set includes not one, not two, but three trivets of varying colors so imagine my delight when I realized that each trivet can be repurposed into a coaster or dish drainer! The secret here is the flexible silicone they’re made of which allows them to be easily molded into another useful shape. When you look at it that way, it looks like you need some trivets in your life.

A trivet for all seasons! Well, three of them at least.

4 out of 5 stars.

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…which is exactly what the Color Alert Kitchen Timers (Vat19, $9.99 – $14.99) do. Instead of relying solely on a faint beeping noise, each of these timers uses color codes to signal how much time is left before your kitchen bursts into flames (or, dinner is done). Whether you choose analog or digital, the method is the same: simply twist the timer clockwise to add time or counterclockwise to deduct it. The timer has a 60 minute set time maximum and will glow green when there are more than 10 minutes remaining. Once you hit that 10 minute mark, the color switches to yellow and will stay that way until you whittle your way down to a minute. At this point the timer will glow red, sounding an alarm to signal the end of the allotted time and continue to glow red for another full minute. Basically as long as you can remember to look at the timer, you and your food should be fine.

“Danger, Will Robinson! Your souffle is burning!”

5 out of 5 stars.

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The Counter Edge Cutting Board with Collapsible Scrap Bin (Amazon, $24.99) allows you to go about your cooking preparations without turning your kitchen into a compost heap. The cutting board itself features an L-shaped design that easily fits over sinks or counters and has non-skid feet to ensure that it stays put. The removable scrap bin attaches to the edge of the cutting board with a seal between the two so that even liquid rich foods won’t leak out onto the floor. The bin’s four cup capacity is more than enough for most cooking preparations and the set is designed to collapse for snug storage. You might have to get accustomed to standing a little further back from your vegetables, but at least clean up will be a breeze!

In case you were wondering, my dinner was stew-licious.

5 out of 5 stars.

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