Work Surface Protection For Nailpolish & Acetone

This is a bit of a different post, but I was working on a new mani yesterday and realized I had a secret weapon that I should really share with all of you. It won't help me take over the world, but it does help me keep my work space cleaner and I go through so many less disposable products than I used to. Now before I go giving my secret away, my dad, the chemist, is the person we all have to thank for this little tidbit. I was getting frustrated at the quantity of paper towels, wax paper, and printer paper that I was going through having used all of those things as a way to protect the surface of my desk while I paint and spill all over the place. :D So I called up the person who I knew could tell me what surface I wouldn't be able to destroy with polish and acetone. Dad came to the rescue and gave me this list:

• Mylar
• Polypropylene
• Polyethylene

These are plastics that will not 'melt' from acetone. I went to a local housewares store in search of placemats made out of one of the listed types of plastic, and had no luck. BUT, on my way out the door, I saw a package of plastic cutting mats. I flipped over the package to see if it would list the material and there it was: Polyethylene. BOOM. So I bought those babies and took them home to my desk set up in my "nail nook" under the stairs.

Here is what my desk top looked like (and still does) from all of the times that I was being so careful with acetone, yet somehow it still managed to get on my desk.

Here is what the mats look like and below that is a closeup of the mat I have been using. You can see that it looks a bit dirty. That is actually just from me not using a clean enough paper towel when I was wiping it down with acetone, but I swear it does come clean. :)

These mats only set me back $7 for 4 of them. Considering I haven't touched the other three, it will be well worth it. Here is a link to the ones I bought, but you can pretty much buy anything made out of one of the three materials listed above and be ok. I love that I can just clean up spilled polish with acetone, and have a nice clean (and undamaged) surface again! Thanks, dad! I have been using the same cutting mat ever since and have three left in various colors that I can either use when I feel like redecorating my desk, or save for the kitchen. I hope this helps some of you who are struggling with keeping your work surface nice!