See that?
That’s me on a day when I am rocking my dishwasher routine.
Hooking four coffee mugs on one hand to take them all to the coffee-mug-cabinet in one trip.
But then there are days like this:
That’s me on a day when I’m stinking up that routine.
A day when I didn’t do that all-important, can’t-live-without-it, makes-a-huge-difference-so-why-do-I-hate-it step called: Emptying the Dishwasher.
Right. When I don’t empty the dishwasher on schedule (first thing in the morning), when I use the dishwasher as a storage space and just grab what I need out of it as I need it, my kitchen looks like this:
Clean dishes, messy kitchen. Not good.
I know this, but I still have days when I let myself get out of the routine. And that’s what it’s all about. Routine.
Simply using the dishwasher doesn’t mean I’ll have a clean kitchen. Using the routine does.
--Nony
I just loaded up the dishwasher even though it was already late because I heard your voice in my head from listening to the podcast yesterday. My morning self will be grateful for the clean counters. It only took 10 minutes but I still try to fight it whenever I’m given the opportunity.
There. NOW I can leave a comment. Like Laura, I just loaded my dishwasher. I wasn’t going to do it tonight because it’s late, but after reading this…I felt compelled to do it before I go to bed. And I washed a couple of pans and bowls that are too big to fit – the real reason I was putting it off. Thanks for the motivation. Now I don’t have to wake up to that mess. 🙂
I don’t know what your morning routine is like, but any chance you could offload this hated chore on one of your children? Maybe not, if they are rushing to get out the door for school. We have our 7 and 9 year old children empty the dishwasher in the morning. The 7 year old puts away the silverware, and the 9 year old puts everything else away, though some days I have the 3 year old put plastic plates away as we’re getting ready for her to take on some chores. It does require training, obviously, but we’ve gotten to the point that it gets done very single morning without me having to touch a dish! We also have our 10 year old put away all the washed pots and pans. We have 8 kids, so plenty of bodies available to do chores around here ;-). We also homeschool, so we don’t have to worry about catching a bus which is of course significant.
They do it in the summer, and it’s so nice.
I am so loving all the open cabinet doors in this picture. My husband is always getting after me for leaving a landmine for his forehead in the kitchen when I leave all the cupboard doors open.
Agreed! Why do husbands do that? We were just talking…..errr arguing about the open door this morning. I probably should just close the doors myself. 🙂
Kari, I have “close cabinet doors” on my daily checklist. If I close them at some point during the day, perhaps only a few will be open when he gets home!
My Husband and argue about this too. Although it is a real issue for us because my Husband is 6 2″ and I’m just under 5 foot. Therefore I can stand under the open cabinet and never notice it’s open whereas he bangs his head. Poor guy. One of these days I’ll start remembering.
That is so me! At 5′ tall, I can easily not even NOTICE that some are open. My hubby thinks I’m crazy. I also don’t see a lot of dust on taller things… And there are a LOT of things taller than me!
That’s funny too… my husband is always telling me i missed cleaning the top of the fridge… between us he’s the only one that can see on top of it..
Our kids unload the dishwasher after school. Since I don’t do much cooking during the day, dishes don’t stack up much, except for a couple in the sink.
I have been terrible about loading the dishwasher and night lately and my kitchen definitely shows the lack of routine. It’s a mess and I can’t seem to dig my way out. I’m sure I’ll get there by the weekend though. Just in time for us to mess it up again. Hooray!
Ugh…the story of my life! I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve asked DH to empty the dishwasher, and that way I will keep it full and running! He never does it. Mine looks kind of like your pic right now. Except that I cleaned the kitchen a little yesterday, so it’s not quite the disaster it usually is!
This is so true. My husband doesn’t understand why I want to run the dishwasher every single night, even when it’s not completely full (though we’re a family of 5 and so it’s usually fairly full). It’s the routine part of it – helps me stay on top of things and helps to know that we’ll always start the day with plenty of dishwasher space. I unload in the morning while my coffee is brewing. Sometimes I watch episodes of 30 Rock on my iPad while I load or unload!
I have a deal with hubs. If he keeps the dishwasher empty, I will keep it full. When it is empty I have the kids put their own dishes in there. They are 12, 10, 9, and 3. And yes, even the 3 year old will scrape, rinse, and put his dishes in the dishwasher.
I’ve just started reading your blog and am loving it. It is so refreshing to see someone JUST LIKE ME. Your story is showing me that it IS possible and that it CAN happen. Thank you for sharing your story and your journey! God bless you!
Welcome, Jennifer!!
Why do we do this! And I have a husband that does the dishes EVERY meal, IF I put up the clean ones. And yet…….. there are those times….
We have three kids and we assign each a day to be in charge of dishes that whole day. My youngest is 13, loves to empty the dishwasher and that is all. One of these days we will get this together. Thanks for this post!
This is SOOOO TRUE!!! I don’t even have kids yet and it looks like that if I don’t unload the dishwasher in the morning! Or worse, if I don’t load it the night before and do the ritual sink cleaning and counter washing, stove top cleaning. That is thankfully the rule now and less the exception. That mindset was not overnight, it was a long time in training myself to do that every night. It helps when we moved the floor plan is open and I’m not isolated from the t.v. and hubby and I can interact while doing my pre-bedtime “chores”.
I have hated emptying the dishwasher for as long as I have had a dishwasher. Just one of those things I hate to do. Recently I used the stopwatch on my phone and timed how long it took to unload the thing. I didn’t try to do it fast or slow, just the usual cranky pace I always have. The dishwasher was full. It took me only 4 minutes. 4 MINUTES. Is that going to kill me? No, and it’s not going to kill you either. Give it a try.
I hate when there’s so many dirty dishes waiting, that once you’ve emptied and reloaded, it’s full and you have to run it again!
I empty my dishwasher no matter what time it is. I have a routine where I load it after dinner and empty it before bed. If I wait until morning it will never get done! I am extremely foggy first thing in the morning. So, I try to lessen my morning work load prior to leaving the house. Usually, all I have to do is make the bed first thing, get dressed, then eat breakfast and take my morning pills! I create a dumping spot next to the door for my keys and purse so I don’t forget anything. In the past, I would racing around in a frenzy looking for my stuff. No more games of hide-and-go-seek! I just “grab and go now” thanks to my before bed routine and morning routine!
I’ve been doing my dishwasher daily for almost two months now and it is crazy what a difference it has made! So far I’ve also added doing a load of laundry, sweeping and completely clearing the dining room table (we tend to get a build up of papers and craft supplies there). These four daily tasks have made such a huge difference in the feel of my house! My husband even commented on it a few days ago (I hadn’t told him what I was doing).
I love hearing this!! I’m still amazed at the impact of keeping up with the dishes!!
I have actually considered only owning the exact amount of dishes that fit in the dishwasher, so I don’t have to ever experience the overflow!!
I, too, HATE unloadeding the dishwasher. I’ve convinced my kids of my magnanimous attitude in agreeing to load every day if they will unload. Because I’m generous like that.
You know, cabinet doors can be removed and stored safely in the garage fit the next home owner.
Also, this little phrase helps me a lot when I’m tired and defiant:
Do something today that your future self will thank you for.
My cheap mind said for decades, not to run the dishwasher if its not full, and my husband inexplicably leaves his dirty dishes *next to the sink*. It looked like the before pic, and we ate on paper plates with plastic forks because everything was dirty… We invested in an inexpensive new dishwasher, much better than the 40 year old one that came with the house. I am keeping it busy most every day now, full or not. A clean kitchen is worth the few extra dollars on the water bill.
OH this is so true. All of it!
Yes, doesn’t it seem like things are either perfect or a huge mess and nowhere in-between! I feel like if it’s clean my husband is pretty good about putting stuff straight in the dishwasher, but if there are dishes on the counter, then they invite more mess!