When I'm in a hurry and need to cut something, I'll admit sometimes I've used a plate or even the counter instead of getting the cutting board dirty.  Recently I've been saving the lids from butter, Cool Whip and similar containers and using the inside side of them as instant, disposable cutting boards.  They work well and I can reuse them several times.  The clean up is much easier than a cutting board and I spare my plates and counter from scratches.  I still use a real cutting board for meat and anything really big and messy.  But, the lids work well for smaller items that require cutting.