Comments on: Dethroner Asks You: Dish Washing Strategies?

By: Jay Wilson

Jay Wilson — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 22:08:18 +0000

When it comes to dishes, I’m a complete and utter bum.

I’ll fluctuate between using paper plates and letting dishes sit for days. I’m sure the girlfriend loves it.

By: Seth Brundle

Seth Brundle — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 16:06:06 +0000

No man should ever be without a dishwasher, it is absolutely essential.

Like motorhead, I do my dishes in the morning while my coffee is brewing, but that usually just means putting them in the dw or putting clean ones away.

By: Motor_Head

Motor_Head — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 00:32:22 +0000

Any dishes left over in the morning are done while my coffee is brewing.

I wake up and go straight to my coffee maker. During the 5 or 10 minutes it takes to brew coffee, I do the dishes and stick them in the dishwasher.

A mindless job like doing the dishes is best done when my mind is not yet running on all cylinders. It also makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something early in the morning.

The trick is to get all the dishes done BEFORE the coffee is done.

By: Erica

Erica — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 23:32:55 +0000

doublejack’s method is nearly the same as mine. Looking at the dishes as a series of small, simple tasks makes even the worst pile managable. I also have a pretty small dishrack, and I don’t believe in drying dishes with a towel [I'm lazy and I have no issue with water spots on my dishes], so I’m forced to stop washing when the dishrack’s full. It means once or twice a day, I spend 15-20 minutes doing dishes & cleaning the kitchen, and it’s usually a pretty easy task. And meditative, yeah.

By: Colin

Colin — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 21:25:43 +0000

You can get high off of washing dishes!

By: chris

chris — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 20:41:19 +0000

I got a dishwasher in my kitchen Suck on that haters.

By: Susie

Susie — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 19:20:23 +0000

“Also, as a couple, the “whoever doesn’t cook is responsible for the cleanup” rule should help to add some pressure.”

I like this idea. Problem solved!

By: doublejack

doublejack — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 19:03:35 +0000

My girlfriend cooks, so I do the dishes. This works well for us, but in our small galley-like kitchen, it doesn’t allow for the “clean as you go” method.

I learned the finer points of washing huge piles of dishes as a dishwasher for a very large, very busy restaurant when I was 15. I use the same strategies today.

First, I approach the great mess with a simple, short term goal — I’m just going to organize everything so it’s all ready to clean *later* (yet I *always* end up going ahead and cleaning them right then). The organizing really helps the process, helps me start the job without feeling like I’m committing to the whole job.

First, I assign a dirty glass for all the silverware and utensils — fill it halfway with some hot soapy water, and then collect all the silverware, etc. They’ll be out of your way and practically cleaning themselves while you work through the rest of the pile.

Next, group everything else in compatible piles. Again, you’re just organizing everything, getting ready to wash them. Stack the plates, put the salad bowl on top of that, stack any serving bowls inside the salad bowl, etc. Nice, neat stacks is what you’re looking for, scraping away extra food into the trash as you go.

Once you’ve got everything all organized, the actual washing will go much more smoothly and will be more enjoyable. I find the whole experience very zen-like and relaxing, actually.

It also helps a *lot* if I can listen to an audiobook or a podcast like This American Life or something while I work.

By: dgrotto

dgrotto — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 18:00:43 +0000

Joel- Look for portable dishwashers. They cost about $100 more than under-counter because of the shell built around them, but they’re the same thing. We found a bunch on craigslist for cheap.

You roll the sucker over to the kitchen sink, hook up the water supply to the faucet (it comes with an adapter to do this), hook the drain hose over the edge of the sink, and plug it into 110. That’s it. Now you’re washing like the people in the ‘burbs.

By: BG

BG — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 17:55:00 +0000

The real secret to living the dishwasher-less life is to do them as you dirty them.

Let’s say it’s baked chicken (stoneware baking dish, cutting board, chef’s knife), pasta (pot, colander), and green beans (bowl, plate).

Preheat the oven and start filling a pot with hot water for the pasta, then fill your sink about an inch deep with sudsy water.

Break out the cutting board and knife – trim chicken, spice it, get it in the oven. Immediately wash the cutting board and knife in the sink. Drain the sink.

Cook your pasta and the beans, drain it, transfer to your dinner plates. Start running your hot water and put dish soap in the pan. Put your stopper in the sink. Put the colander in the pan, run the hot water through so it suds up through the colander. Scrub out the inside of the pasta pot, rinse that and the colander. Put the pot back on a cool burner so it doesn’t melt your counter. Your sink should still be filling with hot water.

Pull the chicken and beans, plate to dinner plates, toss the cooking dishes into the hot sudsy water.

Eat.

Five minutes after you’re done eating, wash your dinner plates and everything that’s been soaking in the water (which should be no more than a stoneware dish, dinner plates/silverware and whatever you cooked the beans in).

Ta-da. Done with everything ten minutes after you’re done eating. Don’t let that shit sit, it’ll cake on something fierce.

By: andrew

andrew — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 17:46:00 +0000

i only use one of each item and only one of each item.

By: mike

mike — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 17:35:33 +0000

the secret is not letting them get so high that they prevent you from doing them when you have time.

we call the state of no dirty dishes “zero dish” in our house. usually, this is only realized on sunday evenings. but we keep them at a manageable level during the week.

when i was a single guy with roommates, i held a strict wash-every-dish-immediately policy. but then, i had time on my hands. now my hands are busy with other things. ahem.

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 17:20:42 +0000

Wear rubber gloves while you do them. Feels weird at first, but they actually spare your hands a lot of abuse from detergents and such. Plus, they help you grip slippery glass and ceramic better. And you’ll look like a girl while you do it, especailly if you get the pink ones. That’s fun!

By: katybear

katybear — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 17:08:32 +0000

Rye – good suggestion on the kids. Only problem: they eat and therefore generate even MORE dishes (both eaten off of and cooked with). We have kids and are big fans of the stick-in-the-dishwasher-as-you-go method. Of course, there have been days when we fill and run the dishwasher THREE times a day… We also have our own appointed tasks: he doesnt like to wash the pots n pans, so he is responsible for the unloading/putting away clean dishes and I wash the big stuff.

By: Rye

Rye — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 16:54:55 +0000

Have children, sure it’ll take them a few years before they have the muscle tone, aptitude or inclination, the last one is really optional, but children are the ultimate multi-tool for menial housework, in this case dishwashing.
Results may vary, and yes, you have to feed them.

By: Joel

Joel — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 16:29:06 +0000

Now we’re talking! I can’t install a dishwasher in this apartment, but the shower and power washing ideas are coming together!

By: Bram

Bram — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 16:26:18 +0000

I had this same problem until I installed a dishwasher. It’s a machine that cleans and sterilizes dishes for you.

Alternately you could get a high pressure nozzle for your hose and jet-spray your filthy dishes clean in your backyard.

By: Nanook

Nanook — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 16:18:49 +0000

Combine dishwashing with showering. Install a disposal in the floor of the tub and Presto! You have eliminated at least some of the overlap in the activities.