Don’t worry. I am fully aware of the complete cheesiness of that post title.
It’s Spring Break. We were out of town for three days. Hubby and the kids are all home. I haven’t cooked a “real meal” at home all week. All routine is out the window.
So, this morning, I had to dig around to find the last three clean coffee cups we had so that my kids could drink their milk this morning.
Amazingly, when this spurred me to clean up the kitchen, it looked fairly decent after only about 5 minutes. How is this possible, you ask?
Because we haven’t been eating at home much, the dirty dishes were mostly glasses. And the one thing I’ve done other than pick up here and there, is to empty the dishwasher. I made an effort to run it before we left on Monday, and then yesterday morning I went against every “I’m on VACATION” vibe in my body and emptied it, which of course took all of about 4 minutes. So one quick go-round of the kitchen this morning, and it was ready to run again. And since glasses are (luckily) the dishes that don’t have to be de-crusted, it was fast.
So what have I learned? Washing the dishes isn’t the issue as much as emptying the dishwasher. I know that doesn’t make sense to normal people, but it does to me. I used to feel like I had accomplished some huge goal to clear the taller-than-my-head pile of dishes out of the sink and run them in the dishwasher. And then, they would sit in the dishwasher long enough for us to use them all again without ever putting them in cabinets, while the sink pile re-grew and the process began again.
If I can empty the dishwasher, my kitchen can be clean. Big concept for a woman like me.
We don't have a dishwasher* in our 70 year old home, so for me, emptying the dish drainer is the issue. You can't wash the dirty dishes if there is no drainer room for drying them. It's my teenage daughter's job and YET she doesn't do it unless specifically asked! Argh! She doesn't know that she's getting a daily job list next week when she is on spring break. Should be fun!
*Actually we have a dishwasher – me – we just don't have an automatic, electric dishwasher!
It is great to know that I am not the only person who has trouble emptying the clean dishwasher.
I hate emptying the dishwasher, I’d rather wash dishes and honestly I know it sounds ridiculous to most, emptying the dishwasher is sooo much quicker….well except when it comes to my chaotic tupperware cabinet…
My husband thinks it’s weird that I’d rather wash dishes than empty the dishwasher, but after almost 4 and a half years, he’s accepted that it’s how I am. He’s really good most of the time now about emptying it, which makes me much better about cleaning up. (I work more than full-time, so we both work on household stuff.)
I love how our brains work the same. I have recently realized that emptying the dishwasher is a HUGE part of keeping the entire kitchen under control.
I have to make myself a cup of tea in order to empty the dishwasher. While the water is getting hot I empty the dishwasher at top speed. I always feel better about emptying the dishwasher if I’m on a timer.
I’m totally going to try that tea making thing (with coffee)… right now! I’m sitting here reading this pre-breakfast and pre-emptying of the dishwasher. Here goes… Thanks, Nony, and everyone else for the great ideas!
Yes! Previously, I would rather load the dishwasher than to empty it…. So it would stay full all day while dishes piled up. Then after supper the kitchen was a huge chore.
I started the decluttering process in early November, and now… I have realized the reason I didn’t like emptying it.
Now, since the counter is clean, I can stack “like” things together, and things that go in the same area of the cabinet, making putting away a more efficient process.
So having no dirty dishes in the way is key for me!