I don’t make a decision about running the dishwasher every night. I can’t. I don’t trust myself to make the right one.
Removing this decision means I view those leftover spots in my not-quite-full dishwasher differently. They’re not reasons to not run it (because I don’t get to make that decision). They’re reasons to look for other things to stick in there since I’m going to run it anyway.
Usually, it’s full or overfull after another visual sweep of the kitchen or the rest of the house. I’ve usually forgotten something, and I usually end up with a very full dishwasher after 24 hours of a family of five eating a few meals and not using disposable products.
But when there’s a space, and there are really, truly no more dirty dishes to fill it, I can still find something. Like dusty blue vases displayed above my kitchen sink.
I grabbed the only one I could reach, put it in for the run, and the next morning it was back to the shiny blue that makes my heart sing.
I’m focusing on that instead of on the now-significantly-more-noticeable-dustiness of the other blue glass.
Oh well.
If I have some space left over in our dishwasher, I will sometimes put in the dishpan and sink mat to clean and sterilize them.
I still can’t get myself to run a half empty dishwasher! I am getting better at daily and weekly habits though! Your vase looks so nice!
I have a strict rule about this too- remember your pet’s dishes when there’s an empty spot. I know at my house they can always benefit from it a wash. And don’t forget the cups or other things that hold dish brushes, vegetable brush, et cetera- those suckers get funky!!!
For that matter, put the brushes themselves in on the top rack. We all know where they’ve been!
Good ideas, Jan!
That’s a great idea. There are only two of us in our house, so running the dishwasher is not something I do every day. But, sometimes when I decide it’s “close enough”, it’s hard to find enough last minutes things to fill the holes, and I like to conserve water. I’ll have to keep this in mind! 🙂
I put in the glass shades of light fixtures sometimes and also our toothbrushes.