Dish Duty Made Easier

You're going to laugh at me. Because I'm going to tell you how to hide your dirty dishes. And other ways to creatively deal with the dish duty that falls to you every day.

If you're a family without a dishwasher, like ours, your best bet is to pray for one. Fervently. Or just have a couple girls and wait for them to grow up. That's what we're doing. :)

Okay, all joking aside, in all my hours of dishwashing (I don't even want to know how many), I've learned a few tips and tricks for getting those dishes done and still having time for--oh, maybe time with your family? Or some good organic dark chocolate?

1. Wash the biggest first. Those big pots and pans make it look like your counter is groaning under the weight of dirty dishes. Tackle them first, and suddenly the dishes don't seem to be taking over your house.

2. Stack them. Ideally as you put add them to the dirty dish counter. Here's a real-world example. When I see the following picture, I think, chaos.



Sixty seconds later, I think, Nice counter. I should do dishes sometime.



Just think of all the ways you could use this tip, ladies! A friend calls and wants to stop by in five minutes. Not enough time to do the dishes? Stack 'em. You've been making dishes all day, but still need counter space for cooking in the afternoon. Stacking them will give you that space.

3. Run a sink of soapy water and creatively "hide" your dishes (as many as you can) under the soapy bubbles. You no longer see dishes streaked with old, hard food--you see what gives you the sense of clean. It's all psychological, sure--no dishes have actually been done. But your kitchen looks cleaner. And sometimes, when your mom-in-law is five minutes from arriving, that's enough.

Note: my mom-in-law is wonderful, and would never fault me for a less-than-perfect house. I just used the term for dramatic effect. :)

4. Set a timer. When I'm tired, especially at the end of the day, I do not want to do dishes. Sewing or a hot bath sounds much more attractive to me. But I know that if I do even a few dishes, the kitchen will seem more manageable when we wake up to it in the morning.

So I set a timer. Wash like crazy for 10 minutes, and I'm done. Often this gets me motivated to finish the rest of the job, but not necessarily. Sometimes I just scrub for 10 minutes, then go on my way, not having to feel guilty for "ignoring" the housework, but still giving myself time to relax--a sometimes difficult balance. Setting a timer helps.

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I'm writing this the day after Christmas. The girls have just gone to bed, we've had a fantastic day, and I'm in an edgy mood. (edgy? quirky? whatever.) It's fun to be goofy once in a while, and I've had a lot of fun writing this post. Hopefully you'll be able to get something out of it, too. :)

God bless, everyone.