While our new house has many great qualities, the kitchen does not include a dishwasher.
I've been really spoiled to have had a dishwasher in the past five plus years that we've lived here. While I still do wash a lot of dishes by hand, there's a huge difference between washing some of your dishes by hand and all of them by hand. Especially when you do a lot of cooking and baking.
I ran out of dishwasher detergent last week right about the time we decided to rent this particular house. Always up for a challenge and to not have to buy more detergent, I decided to start getting into the habit of washing my dishes the old-fashioned way again.
The first challenge is to discipline myself to wash dishes as I go and as soon as the meal is over to prevent the dishes from taking over. I really hate a counter and sink full of dirty dishes waiting on me-one of my pet peeves, for sure!
The second challenge, because I am a nerd, is to time myself and see how long it really takes me from start to finish- wash, dry and put away.
So far it is taking me approximately 10 minutes to clean up from the average meal. Obviously, the more pots and pans that are used, the longer it will take me to finish!
It's a bit scary how much enjoyment I get out of timing myself. I really need to get a life.
So far I've noticed two things about this challenge:
--There are less dishes to wash and put away when they are washed after every meal vs. loading up the dishwasher and doing a load every day.
--Glass is easier to clean by hand than plastic. Plastics tend to get and stay greasier. Thankfully, I don't use much plastic and this will motivate me to use even less!
One thing that I do love about my new kitchen is that it has a window over the sink. This will make washing dishes a lot more pleasant and bring more natural light into the room!
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4 comments:
I like having a window over my sink too. :)
You cracked me up with the nerd comment! Timing yourself... sounds like something I would do - Haha! :)
Our kitchen is super small and we don't have a dishwasher either. Dishes are my absolute least favorite chore. I'm glad you're finding ways to motivate yourself. ..Maybe I should try timing myself. Seriously.
I have a dishwasher but it is a portable and I take it out to my laundry room sink to run it. Then it doesn't tie up my kitchen sink. But what I really wanted to tell you is that my children are known to do the dishes by hand rather than unload and reload the dishwasher when I have them clean up a meal. Interesting, aye???
Cheryl Weaver
Cheryl,
That is interesting and a bit odd. :-) We got a dishwasher when I was in my teens, I think, and we didn't want to wash any dishes by hand after that!!!
My mom has a portable dishwasher too and loves it!
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