Solving the big issues: By special request

I love the passion that everyone has for the mundane in our lives. The strict “rules” and “guidelines” that we set upon ourselves and that we adhere to day in, day out. The sharing and the conversations started by these posts warm the very cockles of my household heart.

Today, I bring you, the washing up.

My father renovated the house he lives in a few years ago and while the rest of the house got the fancy treatment, he decided to keep the kitchen without a dishwasher. I know. He thinks it’s social and fun washing up together, post meal. I think he’s crazy. The pots and pans post dinner are enough for me, I certainly don’t need to throw glasses and plates into the mix. Needless to say, whenever I am staying there, I take full control of the procedure, because you are either a washer or a wiper, and I? Am most definitely a washer. I like full control of matters and the washer needs that when washing an entire meal up. I like to wipe down my benches before hand. I like to stack in correct order ready for the the washing. I like to instruct my dryer upperer and I most definitely do not like it when things are sent back to me.

My order goes a little like this. OK, exactly like this:

1. Hot, soapy (I like the bubbles), sudsy water. No gloves. Preferably a stick scourer thingy with the dish washing liquid dispenser. Scourers, you know those round metal ones? Make me shiver. I just don’t like them. They are NO GOOD.
2. Glasses first. Of course. DER.
3. Glasses MUST be rinsed in hot water
4. Cutlery thrown into the bottom of the sink to soak
5. Plates next (no rinsing required)
6. Ceramic dishes and or mixing bowls used in meal prep and or cooking
7. Cutlery out
8. Pots and Pans

I will also point out that at point 6 there may need to be a change of water at that time. Particularly if there has been a messy, saucy dinner. This is just good practice.

I will hand to the dryer who SHOULD know where things are put away, if there are any items that they are unsure of they should be placed on the clean, wiped down bench that you prepped in the pre wash circumstances control. They can then be put away by the washer ONCE, and only once the sink has been wiped down. Under no circumstances whatsoever should the sink be attempted to, or wiped down by anyone OTHER than the washer. It’s their prerogative and right as washer to wipe down and get full joy from the process. I then like to put away, wipe benches again (to take away any residual water left from items) and I then move to mood lighting in the kitchen. In my kitchen, it’s a lamp on the bench because no one needs the halogen lights on unnecessarily, but if you don’t have a lamp, I recommend the light on above the stove. It’s subtle. It’s just plain nice. And it’s says “I’ve done this job, and I’ve done this job WELL.”

Let’s open this up people. Go!

Comments

  1. I’m beginning to think I should print out these posts and have all who enter my house read and initial each page. Otherwise, pack their bags and never again cross my threshold, (in their socked feet naturally.)
    It seems the right thing to do.

  2. Cook, leave the dirty dishes while I go and eat my meal, listen to my mother in law doing all the washing and cleaning of the kitchen, finish eating my meal and wash own plate and utensils.

    Haven’t done proper washing up in a while – this makes me quite nostalgic for a proper bake and wash up session!

  3. That is awesome!!!!!! Thank you…I love this series..I do have a request for solving the big issues..should I email you because it is really confusing me??

  4. And I thought I wasn’t domestic, my dish washing washing order is exactly yours, CORRECTO! Discovered this after a 10 day wait for new dishwasher to be installed. Longest. 10. days. of. my. life.

  5. Anonymous says

    Perfecto.
    We washers know how it works so just stick with the rules family and no-one gets hurt

  6. My older children (9 and 8yrs old) do the dishwashing stacking and unpacking the dishwasher. I had to put aside my urge to do it for them when they would do it wrong and just instruct them next time to not do it that way.

    I do what doesn’t go in the dishwasher, Pots and pans, bowls etc. I like to wipe down the bench and clear the bench of any rubbish. I also like to wipe down the stove top from any spills from cooking.

    I have to confess that I don’t do my end of the dishes every night. I end up doing them during the next day. But the kids do their part before they brush their teeth before bed.

    Maybe bad etiquette but all I want to do after cooking and eating dinner is sit down.

  7. Omg Yes that’s exactly how I like to do it right down to the mood lighting !

    • I just LOVE that there are others out there, mood lighting the kitchen. I thought I was the ONLY crazy one in the world! I love these posts.

  8. Anonymous says

    That makes me feel like cooking up a big yummy dinner just so I can do the dishes!! THis is exactly the way I do it too. And it has to be done on the night so you don’t wake up to a awful messy dirty kitchen in the morning. My parents never had a dishwasher either and enterntained All The Time! Dad would mix us a Cleaning up special (drink) and we would review the meal – and ponder what we would do next time. I could’t live without my dishwasher but always do stemwear, pots etc and antique china, silverware by hand. My tip for really baked on gunk is to soak the pot/dish with a bit of dishwasher liquid – the stuff you put in the dishwasher. Works wonders. Cheers Julia

  9. Kelly - Little Monkeys says

    Exactly the way I was taught by my Nan… I was always a ‘wiper’ until recently now aunties fingers are athritic. We had several ‘wipers’ and my little sister who just ‘had’ to go to the bathroom when the crisply ironed tea towels were handed out… I love the conversations while doing the dishes!!

  10. This is the exact order that I do it- but I hate washing up with a passion. Every night in my house it’s baby’s bottles and pots and pans by hand, everything else chucked in the dishwasher. My parents don’t have a dishwasher by choice, and *gasp* they don’t rinse their dishes after washing!! I can’t even believe we are related. My husband used to work in a restaurant kitchen as a dishpig so luckily his standards are as high as mine.

  11. Love this! I haven’t washed dishes (except pots & pans) in ages but this is exactly how I do it. I am always the washer but if I have finished washing and I see my dryer struggling to keep up I will grab a tea towel and help out. I’m nice that way πŸ˜‰ I also do the mood lighting at the end x

  12. I do the dishes straight after dinner as I HATE waking up to dirty dishes on the kitchen bench the next day… ruins my whole day, lol. I also have a system to washing up too, but I drip dry them – I can’t be bothered wiping them as well and the kids are too young at the moment to get them to dry up. I used to have a dishwasher in our old house (bliss), and will have a nice new one in our new house when it’s finished. CANNOT wait, I miss it!!

  13. This is a very complicated one, Beth. So much to take in and ponder here. There are four things that spring straight to mind:

    1. Glasses first (but then you’ve got to move them all around here and there to fit the plates on the rack).
    2. Air drying is okay (see above)
    3. Never leave overnight, always done before bed.
    4. I would love a dishwasher but we don’t own enough crockery to make it work.

    x

    • You want to know a secret? I usually leave my pots and pans until the morning. I do while the girls eat breakfast. I KNOW. I don’t know who I am anymore either!

      Living LA VIDA LOCA I tell you.

  14. Sparkle Devlin says

    And you MUST get rid of the suds out of the sink post wash. None of this pulling the plug and walking away business! I detest finding soap and scum residual later that night or (even worse) the following morning.

    I’m actually quite particular about the whole sink situation and when we renovated I insisted that we:
    a) get a commercial stainless steel sink installed, cause they just look good (a surprise bonus was that it’s super deep so if there are any dishes stacked in the bottom you can’t see them!) and
    b) get one of those big taps with a pull out spray head so I can blast the inside of that sink good and proper.

    • Sparkle Devlin says

      PS Beth I think this one is my favourite of the series! I also change the lighting once the work is done, either candles on the table or the lights above the dining table dimmed.

    • Sparkle Devlin says

      PPS (sorry I’m on a role today – must be all the tasks I’m avoiding at work!) what about dusting?….I’m all about the Ajax/paper towel and my husband (when he cleans once a year) uses one of those stupid fluffy ended feather dusters that just makes the dust change location….just a thought for another in the series!

    • Smart move on the sink – i’ve loved working in them in my past life in cafes/restaurants.

  15. Beth, don’t your fingers get poked and stabbed by the cutlery at the bottom? This worries me. I have a phobia of being in water when I can’t see the bottom – dams, ocean, soapy dishwater.
    Apart from that you’ve got it pretty much spot on. I loooove mood lighting in the kitchen. We use our rangehood light. Dead sexy.
    Oh, and I always spend a ridiculous amount of time fitting things into the dishwasher. Much more time than it would actually take to wash them by hand. But I think that’s another topic.

    • I love your concern and phobia of merky water…sharp knives would be left aside – just forks and spoons and I would allow adequate spacial awareness for them being there.

  16. I’m most definitely a washer too. And thankfully have a dishwasher.
    I do exactly the same as you except for one point – I do plastics first. Plastics pick up smells and stains the easiest so I like to wash them in the freshest water. Then glasses etc. πŸ™‚
    Love these posts!

    • Oh nice attention to detail. I like it Amelia! My plastics would be thrown into the dishy I think!

    • My plastics are too… I only wash up saucepans these days (and even then I try to shove as much as I can in the dishy). I couldn’t imagine life without mine.
      ps. Loving the podcasts – saving the latest two for whenever I end up in hospital.
      And we totally have knick knacks in our house too!

  17. My BFF always said no dishwasher will grace their kitchen. Washing dishes was when you stood around & talked, it was kinda fun she said. I laughed & told her she was an idiot & dont ask me to dinner if i have to wash up!! Im such a nice friend….Two kids & a full time job later & wouldn’t you know it she buys the mofo dishwasher. I can’t tell you how much I loved rubbing it in her face that I was right!!Again, I’m a good friend like that : D

  18. I hate washing up anything that can go in the dishwasher. It just does an excellent job. I have an asko which is so superior it is not funny. I have even entertained the thought of an extra dishwasher for when entertaining. I do wash up my Staub pots and scanpans which are really easy! I even bought spieglau glasses cos I was sick of the others going cloudy, spiel au are guaranteed not to be affected by the dishwasher. Let me tell you after recently looking at glasses and dishes in an elderly persons home with no dishwasher, I WILL ALWAYS HAVE ONE. Seriously old, blind people just don’t wash up properly. I am surprised there isn’t more food poisoning in the elderly. Most dishwashers use less water and do a better job than washing up.

    • Whoops, forgot to say that my Waterford crystal always gets washed up by hand. But the Wedgwood and silverware go into the DW. No silver touching stainless though

    • I have those glasses! And I didn’t even KNOW about their non clouding skills. Thrilled with this development. I still recall the bad washing up my Grandma did. Poor Amway detergent, luke warm water, I can still smell and feel the GREASE!

  19. I do not own a dishwasher. I’d like one but can’t be bothered forking out the cash. I wash and wipe everything up. I do not claim to be be very good at either, my talents lying Elsewhere. I do the galsses the cutlery and the china then the pans. As I was taught in grade 8 home ec in ’85.

    I cannot stand washing up in the sink lying fallow or draining. It must be actioned immediately and put away. No water or suds can be left either and teatowels are changed about twice daily. Slovenliness being a Bridge Too Far.

    Carry on.

  20. Another Thing.

    Soap suds and scum left in the bottom of the sink = The Devil’s Work.

    I like the sink to be perfectly dry. Because that’s just how I roll.

  21. Oh thank you! I sadly do not own a dishwasher as it would require a full kitchen remodel and this is my washing up utopia, glasses first only works if you have a dryer upper or the plate tetris becomes too comical. I only have one thing to add, all items must be rinsed thoroughly prior to actual washing commencing. Floaty bits make me gag!

  22. Skinny flat white says

    We bought a house a year ago to renovate and there was no dishwasher – I thought that this was a great opportunity to relive ye olden days. 12 months on, its JUST NOT FUN ANYMORE.

    I totally concur though with your procedure. And agree with FF above – the sink must be cleaned after.

  23. The sink must be cleaned at the end and the sponges must be rinsed and SQUEEZED out! Nothing worse than grabbing a sponge to wipe a quick spill to find it is grimy and soaking wet. Boyfriend is still being educated on this point. πŸ™‚

    • Squeezing is SO important to me. I am a little OCD re: the squeezing actually. Hard to believe isn’t it?!

    • You know what I sometimes do? MICROWAVE THE SPONGE! I know…I sound crazy. But it gets it dry AND it gets rid of germs.
      Check it out…this is from the Internet so it must be true.

      WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two minutes in a microwave oven can sterilize most household sponges, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

      A team of engineering researchers at the University of Florida found that two minutes of microwaving on full power killed or inactivated more than 99 percent of bacteria, viruses or parasites, as well as spores, on a kitchen sponge

  24. I thought it was just me – I love washing up by hand, no gloves. The way I tell if a just-scrubbed plate is clean? I lightly run my fingers over the surface and if they encounter even a hint of resistance, it gets another scrubbing. You can’t do that with gloves on!

    My pet hates:
    -washing up with gloves on
    -no rinsing the suds off plates/glasses
    -letting the water out of the sink and leaving the suds there, and not rinsing the sponge (so it’s still got little bits of food in it)
    -‘people’ (ok, my husband) who wash up all in one lot of water, even if the water is greasy and gross by the end – YES, I WILL have to re-wash the pots and pans tomorrow if you ‘wash’ them in that crappy water, because they will have a thin film of grease on them!

  25. Full marks here.
    Will it sound less bossy-control-freak-should-just-be-grateful-I’m-helping-at-all-wife if I send this post to Hubby?
    Like, “but Beth saaaaiiidd”

    πŸ™‚ x

  26. We do’t have a dishwasher and I am in charge of the washing up (Dave cooks). It goes like this:
    1. Orderly pre stack and rinse of any particularly messy dishes.
    2. Hot, suddsy water. I like the bubbles too. I wear gloves because our water is HOT. I wash with one of those green/yellow sponge/scourer thingies.
    3. Glasses (definitely rinse)
    4. Cutlery
    5. Plates
    6. Other random stuff
    7. Saucepans
    8. Drip dry overnight. Put away in the morning. Water MUST NOT stay in sink overnight.
    I like to do the dishes straight after dinner so I can relax for the rest of the evening. I’m also very particular about the way the dishes are stacked in the drying rack for maximum and optimal use of space. Much like I am with how clothes are hung on the clothes rack.

  27. Anonymous says

    Love the community response to this important topic.
    Squeez ethat sponge out at the end
    My piece de resistance is boiling the kettle for a cuppa and using the last bits of hot water to ‘sterilise’ the sink!

    My favourite washing up partner is my mum, I never have to double check on her

    • Oooh, a nice touch. I’ll be using that one! It’s always such a relief to know when someone who cares is doing a good job isn’t it? My little sister is that person for me.

  28. When my husband washes up he often doesn’t remove the plug leaving a sink full of dirty water – there is absolutely no reason for this – there’s nothing soaking. It drives me completely crazy … although it must be said, not crazy enough to take over and do the washing up myself ..

  29. I’ve had a dishwasher for very many years, but the last year have been washing by hand in a teeny, tiny kitchen. I air dry and then put away. Sometimes I remember my grandmother and her strict rules. She used boiling water from the kettle and immediately put kettle on again for a top up.

    She did cutlery first, good heavy silver stuff. It was so hot to pick up to dry that it would burn my fingers. I would try to dry something else but the silver had to be dried first. No getting out of it. Then glasses then plates etc and finally pots and pans. Saucepans were old fashioned aluminium and were never dried with a teatowel as they stained the towel from the aluminium. She would wipe them with a damp cloth.

    Teatowels? Pre-metric measurements. Her teatowels were half a yard wide and a full yard long. Made out of high quality linen, and heavily starched then ironed . Fresh teatowels for every wash. Blindingly white too.

    • There’s just so much to like about your Grandmother. This comment pleases me so much. Yesterday I had to clean all the cutlery in preparation for the ball and I discovered the use of metho to make your cutlery shine. I like it!

  30. Get this – in my parent’s house with their solar electricity and water saving appliances, he WILL NOT allow us to use the dishwasher! Says it wastes electricity (see above on SOLAR power to the WHOLE house). He relented when there were SIX of us for dinner, at five people, no, not on. SIX, ok. Wierd, strange yet mostly lovable man.
    Anyhoo, in my house (sans dishwasher) you have the correct order down to perfection. The satisfaction that comes from a well washed set of dishes and a clean kitchen is immense.
    Thanking you tackling these big issues for us.

  31. Um Beth, are you by any chance my mother-in-law?

  32. Dishwashing perfection! The only addition I make is to nuke the sponge in the microwave for 60 seconds or so when I’m finished, stops it from getting stinky.

  33. Honestly Beth it is like you’re IN MY MIND sometimes! This is EXACTLY how I like to do the dishes, and I had drying, no control there, I like to wash, husband dries. We have almost always had a dishwasher, where we are now (in staff quarters on an outback station in Qld) there’s no dishwasher. Interesting way to start a marriage, no? It sorts the boys from the men I say. I have not however rinsed glasses in the hot water before…interesting concept. What if you don’t have a double sink though? Husband’s aunty and uncle renovated their beautiful old home last year and didn’t add dishwasher to fancy new kitchen either! MADNESS! Weirdos.

  34. I’m SO with you on the mood lighting. I have lights above the sink that ONLY go on when the dishes are done and benches sparkling. Domestic bliss.

  35. I also take control of this job in my house, consequently my children are hopeless at washing up because I HAVE to do it and do it my way…the right way! And you will be pleased to note that my way is your way. So if you happen to come and visit me at my place you may feel free to wash any dishes you see in my kitchen. Oh and don’t forget to give the sink a bit of a polish to make it shine when the job is done. xT

  36. Ah, my sweet husband does all the washing up, and I don’t care how he does it – its done! I deem to tackle the putting away of the dry dishes etc on occasion as he just adds to it as he goes along. We do have a dishwasher and this has made his life a lot easier! Bless his cotton socks! Now, tell us about meths and cutlery, I would like to know!

  37. Love this. Exactly the same procedure I follow too.
    Is it sad that I’m now hanging for tonights dinner to be ready & eaten so I can clean my kitchen??
    Having said that though, I have recently got a dishwasher after not having one for about 6 years, so my routine is a little shorter than it used to be. I even put the pots & pans in the DW (scrub/scrape any manky cooked on bits off first of course).
    And YES on the post dishwashing/kitchen cleaning mood lighting. I seriously thought I was the only one in the world that did this.

  38. Anonymous says

    OMG!!! You do the mood lighting too? Oh happy happy joy… My husband is convinced I am mad… I don’t have a lamp so I use the range hood light, it is on right now in fact πŸ˜€ and when I am feeling particularly fancy or when guests are over I indulge in candle light too.

    Sarz

  39. Love the kitchen mood lighting idea. I always mood light the guest room just before guests arrive with the lamp on, regardless of the time of day, I’ll shut the blinds if I have to.

    But with the washing, I’m a DRYER; simply because no one EVER dries properly I HATE IT when people put slightly wet things away in the cupboards.
    If you want something done properly, you need to do it yourself.

  40. Washing up SNAP. Though I have to share with hubby as we both hate drying – no dishwasher and I actually kinda dont like them – Id rather wash… but there is only 2 of us…
    I am one of those cooks who washes up as much as possible before we have dinner – but the correct stacking before washing is vital… now the mood lighting thing i hadn’t heard of, which is weird coz I am a lighting designer – inspirational stuff Beth. God love ya.
    *s*

  41. I am just a little concerned about my love for these mundane posts. What is going on with me. Keep em up!

    As for washing. Praise be the dishwasher. Everything can go in there. It may go wobbly, ruin or just need throwing out afterwards, but I still give it a try.

  42. I’ve always had a dishwasher until 18 months ago. Waiting, waiting, waiting. Anyway I’m amazed how washing up has given my husband and I another opportunity to talk and catch up on all the goss! I’m loving it!! x

  43. all sounds perfectly reasonable to me, except for point 5, I give the grungy stuff a quick swipe into the spare sink… but I do love the idea of a lamp for post clean up πŸ™‚

  44. What’s with the lighting thing? My mother did it and I only now just realised that I DO IT TOO! Must be so ingrained I never noticed.

  45. As a home ec teacher, I have to teach kids how to wash up, and I am very fussy (read anal retentive) about how it should be done. Your list is absolutely right. I must add that when drying and putting away is complete there must be no food at all in the plug hole (or you loose marks!), and the sink must be absolutely dry!

    At home, we don’t have a dishwasher, and after helping kids cook and wash up all day, I am quite over it. When I get my dream kitchen…

    • I am so pleased I passed the test! And yes, all food remnants gone. This pleases me greatly that this stuff is still being taught. Order will be restored.

  46. Beth how could you forget the joys of the MOBILE dishwasher we hauled from one side of the kitchen to the other…and I’m remembering the metal cagey thing filled with good old sunlight soap offcuts that your Grandparents used…love of.subdued lighting you directly inherited from me

  47. Yep, that is the way it’s done here.
    Now, those metal scourers, not only is the smell just wrong, to touch them makes my skin crawl. Touching washing powder is the same uuurrrggghhhh!!

  48. I loved this, but oh my goodness I am your father. Hate the dishwasher. I do it’s job so much better than it does x

  49. This excellent post has made me realise just how OCD I am about something I hate – washing dishes! My steps are almost the same as yours except I must wear gloves because if I don’t I will get dermatitis; AND I don’t believe in drying. OOOH controversy!! it’s true. I think it is more hygenic to let things air dry, rather than dragging a tea towel over everyting, even if it was clean to start.
    I’ve only recently gotten a dishwasher and am apalled at how much stuff still needs to be washed in the sink! WTF?
    xx

  50. Love this one!! I tend to cook and Mr O do the dishes, and I don’t want to discourage him from helping out in the kitchen but truth is always I wait til he is not looking so as not to offend and then I go back in wipe the benches and sink down properly, re-rinse out cloths and HANG to dry (this one kills me).
    I think I might adopt your little light in the kitchen idea to round out our process.

  51. I am seriously going to have to print out your post and send it to my mother in law. The travesty that she commits in the name of washing up is almost unspeakable. Glasses, cutlery and plates all start in the sink, and are washed with the chux just used for wiping benches. Urgh! It turns my stomach, and drives me completely crazy in equal measure. No rinsing (she eschews a double bowl sink- takes up too much room), no order at all, just whatever emerges from the crowded murky depths plonked willy nilly on the drainer, and left to air dry. And she’s persisted with the all-in-together wash despite needing a couple of stitches after a glass broke when a few more plates were piled in when washing one night. Oh the horror!
    Needless to say she is not allowed anywhere near a sink in this house, but she attempts to impose her madness by by stealth, depositing all her dishes into the sink, rather than the dishwasher. Sadly, her mad dish washing genes passed to her son. Hence the dishwasher. And me taking over the sink every time we visit her place. And buying a bunch of dedicated dish scrubbers and slipping the nasty chux in the bin….
    Scarred, I tell you, forever scarred.

  52. I now feel alot less crazy! It’s amazing how much stuff doesn’t go in the dishwasher! Mainly the kids plastic stuff. It drives me mental! I am an obsessive rinser – hate the thought of drinking soap bubbles. And those metal scourers? I got shivers just reading about them. And I also do the ‘mood lighting’ , it takes the kitchen from workplace to decorative feature.

  53. I jam every goddamn thing I can into the dishwasher. It busts at the seams.

    But tonight I did that thing where the timing was wrong so the dishwasher was full right on dinnertime, so had to wash up from a roast chicken dinner – like, with my hands.

    It was kind of quaint.

  54. No dishwasher for me here, don’t like them, I’m with your Dad all the way. I like my water boiling hot, lots of suds. HATE those metal scourers, they make me shiver too, the sound and feel of them touching anything hurts my teeth (I know, weirdo!) But I do use a scotchbrite… green on one side, yellow on the other.
    I let the cutlery soak too. And glassware first also. AND often change the water half way through, so everything is extra clean.
    Oh and I like to dry up fairly soon after the wash… don’t like those horrible water smears that come from things being left to air dry. Great post and topic lady.
    xo

    • I was going to write a reply, but Julie has summed up everything I was going to say. Including my loathing of metal scourers (I get the teeth thing).

      Thank for this post lovely Beth. I do love a good washing up. It’s ‘my’ thing. Floors? Full of crumbs despite my incessant sweeping.

  55. So when are you people doing the really yucky stuff?…the cutting board and knife with raw chicken type stuff…dishwasher?…by hand as soon as the chicken is cooking?….before you start the dishes when the water is really hot?…at the end so as not to contaminate the sink and scrubbie thing of choice?….do tell!

  56. Kris, I am of the IMMEDIATELY after chopping the chicken by hand with hot soapy water. I couldn’t even THINK about leaving it until the end. If it was a chopping board just for vegies I would leave it until the end and I would do it at the VERY VERY end, so it could be placed dried back onto the clean bench.

    • Absolutely my preferred method too! I often don’t even make chicken or ground beef on account of the dish washing freak out factor involved for me. I’m also just going to toast your comment on the mood lighting after the kitchen clean-up. I have a little fluoro light above the sink that was here when we moved in…very not special, but it does the job…. put the shiny kettle on the stove to make a cup of tea and I don’t know when I’m more satisfied…really πŸ˜‰ Glad to know there are kindred spirits in the world!

  57. i’m a mood lighter too πŸ™‚

    i can see my kitchen from the couch, so i often catch myself having an appreciative glance at my clean, everything in it’s place and softly lit in the commercial breaks

  58. Beth
    I was wondering when this post would come along, given your stance on washing hanging (we could have been separated at birth, were I not old enough to be your teenage mother). We tried to live without a dishwasher once for financial reasons. It was completely awful and the nightmare lasted six weeks. Broken, we whipped out the credit card at the seconds store, bringing home an asko and normal life resumed. Your washing up process resonates with me, for there are still moments when manual labour is necessary, and I must show your post to hubby re the mood lighting – he just doesn’t get it. Like, he just doesn’t get wringing out the sponge after use. Frankly, it’s just rude to leave a soggy sponge at the sink ready for the next user. Sponges and washing up spongey things get changed once week here – Saturday morning. They are not unfamiliar with a mid-week chuck in the microwave in a bowl of boiling water laced with cut up lemon. The sink strainer thingy goes in the dishwasher every night along with the brush I use to scrub out the saucepans. Feeling like a confessional at Anal Kitchen Anonymous here – looking forward to the next topic.
    Carmel
    PS Sexy sink photo – is that with a prime 50mm 1.4/f by any chance?

    • Carmel! Such attention to detail! I like the idea of the sink thingy in the dishy – genius! Oh and the photo? Taken with my iphone and slightly tampered with in Snapseed…sshh!

  59. My husband disconnected the dish washer a couple of years ago. He says that doing the dishes by hand relaxes him. That’s all good & well, but when he’s working the night shift & I’m stuck with a sink full of dishes I just wish he left that sucker plugged in!

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