The leaves are turning, the air is crisp and store shelves are already lined with Halloween candy. You know what that means: time to cover up the BBQ, pull in the patio furniture and bring the party inside.

For most families, the kitchen area is the hub of the household. For that reason, while the holidays can be a blast, keeping up with the mess in the kitchen is anything but fun.

Here is a batch of iPad accessories you may want to consider investing in, before things get messy:

1. Belkin Kitchen Cabinet Mount – Keep your iPad off of the counter and safe from spills – and afford yourself more space for cooking up your holidays feast at the same time. The Belkin model comes with an easy-to-fix clamp and is easily removable when you want to store it.

2. PadTab Wall Mount – As an alternative to mounting under a cabinet, you can stick you iPad anywhere with this cool gadget. The wall, the fridge, the cupboard – you can stick this thing anywhere! This kit comes with two wall mounts – and they are easily removable, too.

3. Belkin Chef Stand + Stylus – Especially for novice chefs who have a tendency for cooking chaos, this gadget offers a great way to maintain at least some order in the kitchen. The base is made of a non-slip rubber material so it stays put, and the stand is accompanied by a stylus. The best part: the stylus is washable – a much-appreciated bonus for the extra-klutzy cooker.

4. Joseph Joseph CookBook Compact Folding Bookstand – Lots of chefs are on the fence when it comes to abandoning recipe books for the iPad. With this accessory, chefs can alternate between Rachael Ray’s latest cooking guide and epicurious.com in a jif. The stand offers a tidy, convenient solution – and it even folds up, like a book, so you can easily store it.

5. STEELIE Tabletop Kit – Here’s the accessory for the chic chef. This tabletop mount boasts a minimalist aesthetic adding both style and convenience to your countertop. You can also adjust this doo-dad for the right viewing angle- perfect for the cook who’s all over the kitchen.

6. iPad Chef Sleeves – If you can’t make it through a recipe without spilling the batter, poofing flour all over the place or landing eggshells everywhere, this is the solution for you. These innovative sleeves for your iPad will protect your device from virtually any type of cooking wreckage.

*CC image from Flickr