I’m not exactly sure how that happened.
I know how to keep it from happening, but I still find myself amazed that getting off my dishwashing rhythm, even for just a day (or so), creates such a pile up.
Pre-blog, I would often say I had to run the dishwasher three and four times a day.
I’m pretty sure I wasn’t lying. I really did have days like that.
But now, as long as I can keep the run-it-at-night, empty-it-in-the-morning, fill-it-throughout-the-day rhythm, our family of five generally produces one full load of dishes to wash every night. And many times, I can even put my pots and pans in there, which makes me ever-so happy.
But alas, when I think to myself, “We haven’t eaten at home at ALL today, there can’t be enough dishes to run a load!” . . . I’m wrong.
Almost always wrong.
I don’t know how it happens, but it does. And when I get off that rhythm, I end up at the one-full-load-just-isn’t-enough place again. That sink-full of dishes? It was AFTER we started the dishwasher.
Yep.
It was the stuff that didn’t fit.
A busy weekend and I’d been living with the delusion that we hadn’t created enough dirty dishes to fill the dishwasher.
Me and my blankety-blank delusions.
The irony is that even after the first load finished, I looked at that sink and thought, “Hmmm. That probably isn’t enough for a full load . . . ”
Seriously.
Thankfully, I didn’t listen to myself and tried to get back on rhythm by at least emptying the clean dishes and putting the surely-not-enough-for-a-full-load dishes in.
Lo and behold, an almost a full load. Which made me glance around to see if I’d missed anything.
Right there, in plain sight:
More dishes.
And once it was all in the dishwasher, it looked like this:
If you’ve ever heard me speak, you know I go through this exact scenario. Obviously, I don’t make these things up.
LOL, I do this ALL the time. The dishwasher rhythm affects my whole kitchen! I hate when it goes out of whack! (But of course I can’t actually just hand wash those dishes left in the sink right? Nah).
“Run it every night” is like the 11th Commandment for me. I don’t care if it is only 1/2 full. The 50 cents it costs for the soap and hot water is well worth it for a clean and empty dishwasher each morning!
I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I am to have found your blog. From Slob-vision to the dishwasher thing today, it’s like we were separated at birth! Thank you for not only letting me know I’m not alone, but also how to get on top of things and sometimes manage to stay that way.
Welcome! You’re definitely not alone!
I have another adult in the house who thinks that it’s okay to fill it up with whatever dishes are dirty, and if there are three or so spaces left in the whole dishwasher, we should wait until we have more dirty dishes to run it! ARGH. We have six people in the house, you’re pretty much ensuring that we’re going to be behind on the dishes.
If I could take one and only one lesson away from your book it would be this. ALWAYS run a load before bed and empty it first thing in the morning. Thank you so much for helping me to learn this and reminding me that I am not the only one who lacks cleaning intuition.
Ugh, I soo needed to see this post today. I have been ignoring my dishwasher and dishes for a week! DH finally emptied this clean dishes out so all I have to do is fill it and run it. Why don’t I?? And then there’s those big pots and frying pans that don’t go in the dishwasher (because they never get clean in there), that I hate washing by hand! I’m overwhelmed just thinking about it…
This has been my routine for years and I feel the same way when I get off rhythm. I’m glad I’m not the only one who feels this way because my husband thinks I’m nuts!
Yep! I subscribe to the run it every night at bedtime regardless. The few times I forget it’s like dishes are overflowing the next day.
Your blog has been an IMMENSE help to me and I’m so thankful I found you. Didn’t know I was a “slob” till you told me 😛 Thanks a lot! Really 🙂
Question: Do you have tips for the woman that doesn’t have a dishwasher or a dryer and has 3 children under 4 who make messes ALL DAY LONG? I’m making real progress in my de-slobification, but I’ve found it fruitless to do the dishes after every meal, as I feel I live in the kitchen. But when 9:30pm rolls around and I have a sink full of dishes, I get pretty discouraged. I’m sure I can figure this out myself, but maybe I’ll get to a solution a bit quicker with input from others.
THat makes it SO much harder! My advice would be to focus on developing the routine, and you’ll figure out the tricks as you go. And reduce the amount of dishes and clothes you have, so going longer and letting clothes and dishes pile up isn’t an option. I know. That sounds awful. But the routine helps you see you can get along with less, and less stuff makes routine easier.
You might try giving the kids ONE cup to use all day long. That will limit some of the dishes.
Or, as you sit down to eat your meal, fill the sink with hot, soapy water. Dump them in as they finish eating, and then you should just be able to swipe them with a sponge, rinse and let them air dry.
Maybe use sectioned plates, so that the bowls for grapes and the plate for grilled cheese and the cup for dip for carrots can be all together?
And yes, yes, yes! Fewer dishes. I had to limit our family to two of everything per person, or I’d let the dishes sit too long. It was really great training to start running out of stuff to retrain myself to do dishes more often. Two of everything usually works because you use bowls for breakfast, or maybe lunch (mac and cheese), and then a plate for the other two meals- breakfast (toast) and dinner. I don’t plan for it, but it just seems to work that way. I think it’s because you use what’s available. If you’ve already used the bowls, and you usually eat mac and cheese in bowls, you just eat it on a plate, because that’s what’s clean.
Thanks for the input ladies. I have started doing the laundry in the mornings now AND hanging them outside since it’s warm out and that has made a big difference. I’m doing laundry EVERY day, and it’s not piling up as before-though I still can’t seem to get it folded in a timely manner,LOL!
Anna, I realized that one problem I had was,we were working off the clean dishes in the dish rack as I wasn’t putting them away in a timely manner. So we were just cycling the clean dishes right back into the sink- they were never reaching the cupboard. I also am prepping meals an hour earlier to get the cleanup done before we eat and breaking out my crockpot again! And keeping a sink full of warm water ready has also helped. Somehow just that first step of filling up the sink is so daunting for this “slob.” (Possibly, because previous to my de-slobification, I would re-fill the sink with hot water 2-3x before I actually got to the dishes!)
Oh, and did I mention, since my previous post, our hot water heater went out? So now I have to heat water the old fashioned way till we can afford a new one. I asked God to help me get more organized and efficient, but this is a tad ridiculous! 🙂
I get caught up all the time in the “I can fit two more plates in there, I won’t turn it on just yet” and then I forget. And then we’ve made a whole nother load of dishes and realise that the full load is still dirty.
What kinds of pots and pans can be washed in the dishwasher without damage?
My stainless steel do fine. I also put some in there that probably said not to in their original information, but I haven’t had any problems. Obviously, check into the instructions on yours.
My dishwasher died a slow horrible death. We had to replace it. It was so loud it woke us out of a deep slumber at night. There were always dishes in the sink, even with my medication lol. I love h.h. Gregg and bought a Kitchen Aid floor model. It has a 1 hour cycle…1 HOUR! 🙂 This has revolutionized my relationship with my kitchen. It’s so quiet I am so excited…I love this dishwasher and tell it so daily. I love love it 🙂 Dishes were a night mare in my home, because our old dishwasher was so loud. Now I put the dishes in with Somat detergent and bleach and it loves on my dishes. 🙂 I am still so excited. I love being able to not get behind dishes. I don’t know who h. h. Gregg is, but when I meat him I am going to kiss him!
I have a dishwasher, it not hooked up, and it just sits there taunting me! There are so many other things I could be dong, like Landry but instead I am stuck washing by hand.
Living alone, and having no spare space in the kitchen, I decided to buy a one-rack dishwasher which is made to fit in a caravan. I rarely have to wait more than a day to fill it. Love it!