For many of us, the downside of cooking is taking the time to prep, measure, sort, organize and clean up. All that prep work, slicing, chopping and peeling can be time-consuming and may convince you to close your laptop or cookbook and go for takeout instead. Make the boring prep work easier with these hacks to have you slicing and chopping in record time.

1. Use a Straw to Remove the Stem From a Strawberry

Take a straw and puncture the stemless end of a strawberry, threading the straw all the way through the berry until it pops off the stem. Now you can just pop the whole berry in your mouth instead of eating around the green part!

2. Place Tomatoes Between Two Lids to Slice Faster

This trick works great for grape tomatoes and cherry tomatoes. Why waste time slicing through each little tomato individually when you can slice them all at once? You’ll want to place the tomatoes between two lids (use two same-sized lids from your food items or two same-sized plates). Smash the lids gently like sandwich and cut through all at once with a knife while holding the lids.

Cut your mango in half. Instead of using a knife to separate the skin, place the mango half against the tip of the glass, then slide it down to the peel separates from the flesh.

4. Make a Hand Peeler From a Putty Knife

If you cut yourself on traditional vegetable peelers, this hack is for you. Instructables user bartolo says to draw a wide U-section on the blade of the putty knife, then cut it out with a rotary tool cutting wheel. Fold down the cutting edge a bit with pliers, and sharpen the cutting edge with the rotary tool.

5. Avoid Tears By Chilling Onions Before Chopping

Chopping onion can lead to waterworks since the root vegetables give off propanethial S-oxide, an irritant that causes the eyes to fill with tears. To avoid this, chill the onions in the fridge before slicing. By doing this, less propanethial S-oxide will evaporate.

6. Use Two Bowls and Shake To Peel Garlic Faster

Peeling garlic can get messy and leave your hands both stinky and sticky. Try this hack: First, hit the garlic head on the table to separate it. Grab two bowls and toss the garlic in one bowl. Place the second bowl over-top to make a big bowl, and shake it hard. This motion peels the garlic, no messy fingers required!

Lead image source: Donovan Govan/Wikimedia