Last week, when I posted about our goals to get our house clean and clutter free, I didn't go into much detail about which areas of our house needed work, except my closet bedroom (which I spent about 15 hours working on this weekend, and once I'm done organizing my shoes, I'll show you pics!).
That's because basically all areas need improvement.
But one of my big pet peeves is the kitchen sink being full of dishes. Of course, I contribute to the issue, but still. I've yet to get the whole "whoever cooks, doesn't have to do the dishes" rule to work. My husband claims I use too many dishes while cooking, and after slaving over a hot stove, I just want to eat, and not worry about the clean up right away. So this leads to a frequent pile of dishes left in the sink, because our dishwasher sucks and is basically useless.
So we've come up with a solution that's been working well for a couple of months, to at least keep our dishes we eat with clean and not piled up in the sink.
On the bottom shelf of our dish cupboard, we only have two dinner plates, two smaller plates, a couple bowls, two forks, two knifes, and two spoons.
That's because basically all areas need improvement.
But one of my big pet peeves is the kitchen sink being full of dishes. Of course, I contribute to the issue, but still. I've yet to get the whole "whoever cooks, doesn't have to do the dishes" rule to work. My husband claims I use too many dishes while cooking, and after slaving over a hot stove, I just want to eat, and not worry about the clean up right away. So this leads to a frequent pile of dishes left in the sink, because our dishwasher sucks and is basically useless.
So we've come up with a solution that's been working well for a couple of months, to at least keep our dishes we eat with clean and not piled up in the sink.
On the bottom shelf of our dish cupboard, we only have two dinner plates, two smaller plates, a couple bowls, two forks, two knifes, and two spoons.
The rest of our dishes are kept on higher shelves, and we're not allowed to use them. Actually, we should really just get rid of most of what is on the top and middle shelves, since they're mostly our old dishes. We haven't unpacked all of our new dishes from their shipping boxes, specifically so they won't get involved in the pile-up, or get broken. Why get them out until we need them?
(Ruh-roh! I just noticed in this picture that one of our good small plates is now on the middle shelf, guess we can't use that one now too!)This is actually working pretty nicely, because as soon as we're done eating, we just quickly rinse the dishes we used, and put them back. They don't get piled up in the sink, because we only have the one set to eat off of!
Now, I know what you're thinking, why not just have a normal shelf full of dishes, and still immediately wash what was used? Yeah, I know, you would think that would be easy, but trust me, it doesn't work. Our deeply ingrained laziness gets a hold of us just once, and we seemingly instantly have a full sink again. Like I said in the post title: baby steps!
So now we only have the dishes used to cook with to worry about piling up. I haven't got a good solution for that one yet though....I'm still not a fan of delaying eating a hot meal just to wash everything (although if it's something I'm sticking in the oven for a while, I just wash while the dish is cooking). And once I'm all stuffed full of dinner, and in the middle of watching a TV show, the last thing I want to do is get up and scrub pots and pans.
Got any suggestions? I guess we could just include a few minutes of washing dishes in our "being good people" 15 minutes a day of cleaning. But that could still mean several days of pile up, since we've only committed to doing the 15 minutes of non-stop cleaning 3x a week....
Now, I know what you're thinking, why not just have a normal shelf full of dishes, and still immediately wash what was used? Yeah, I know, you would think that would be easy, but trust me, it doesn't work. Our deeply ingrained laziness gets a hold of us just once, and we seemingly instantly have a full sink again. Like I said in the post title: baby steps!
So now we only have the dishes used to cook with to worry about piling up. I haven't got a good solution for that one yet though....I'm still not a fan of delaying eating a hot meal just to wash everything (although if it's something I'm sticking in the oven for a while, I just wash while the dish is cooking). And once I'm all stuffed full of dinner, and in the middle of watching a TV show, the last thing I want to do is get up and scrub pots and pans.
Got any suggestions? I guess we could just include a few minutes of washing dishes in our "being good people" 15 minutes a day of cleaning. But that could still mean several days of pile up, since we've only committed to doing the 15 minutes of non-stop cleaning 3x a week....
11 comments:
Good idea! As long as it works for you, I think it sounds great. I would have such a hard time without our dishwasher, becasue I put anything and everything I can in there, only washing pots and pans by hand. We try to do that every morning or before we cook the following night, so that we can just relax after eating.
Seems like a good solution for the everyday dishes! Usually the dinners we make involve some "down time" where something needs to boil or bake. Like you mentioned, that's a great opportunity to knock out some pots and pans. I'm so Type A that I can never leave dirty dishes hanging around for too long. And we are usually pretty good with the "one cooks, the other cleans" rule. Hang in there, and I'm sure you'll find a solution that works for the two of you. Can't wait to see your closet room!!!
that's a really good idea. we have the same problem with our sink overflowing with dishes. may have to steal this idea and hide our extra dishes!
I don't like doing the dishes if I've cooked either. Dave usually does them. We just leave the same dishes and cookware in the sink and then before I start cooking, I have to remind him to do them so I can cook the meals. It is not a good system, I'm used to growing up in a household where washing gets down after every meal. Maybe that's only something real adults do? Sooooo lazy!
I like the system you've got now! It's smart, and since it's just the two of you, it works. :)
This is interesting! I haaaate dishes in the sink!
I am the same way. I got so irritated when the dishes pile up then, of course, i need a pan or something that is way at the bottom of that pile. However, what has worked for us is whichever one did not cook has to do the dishes. So far so good!
My mom always was ADAMENT that we not go to bed if there were dishes in the sink. If you can get into that groove.... it probably gets easier and easier!
We follow the "whoever doesn't cook" rule, but I too use way more dishes/pots/pans than I need to while cooking. To make things easier on the hubby, I follow a rule that my dad taught me while he was teaching me to cook - clean as you go. Not sure if I follow the rule the way he menat it, but I shove everything I possibly can into the dishwasher while cooking, and anything that doesn't fit gets washed by the hubs. Works for me!
This is interesting! I haaaate dishes in the sink!
I know this blog post is a little old, so perhaps you have resolved your problems by now [and if
so, how about an update? :)] but I am personally a huge advocate of the following:
1. Clean as you go: when you're done with a dish/pot/pan, rinse it, wash it, and put it on the draining rack to dry if you cannot immediately towel dry it
2. Organize: it makes it easier to tackle dishes and also makes your counters/sinks appear less messy and consuming (which makes the task of doing dishes appear like less of a hassle) - for me, I must do dishes in this order: plates, bowls, glasses/cups, pots, pans, cooking utensils, silverware. Just sorting my dishes into piles so I can grab a stack, wash and go makes it SO MUCH EASIER
3. Take your time: if you hate drying, just wash and drip-dry in a few intervals. I do this often if I'm watching TV - wash the plates, stick on rack, go watch TV. Come back at commercial, put drip-dried dishes away, wash bowls, put on rack, watch TV, return at commercial, repeat.
4. Beat your record: if you've got a competitive nature, set up a stopwatch and time how long it takes yourself to zoom through a sink of dishes. Keep trying to beat it!
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