Lately, I have really despised doing the dishes. I’m home all day. So that means dirty dishes from three meals a day and snacks. It also means, I’m the one doing the dishes 90% of the time.
By dinner time, the sink would be SO full of dishes. Then when the dishes from cooking and dinner were piled in the sink with the others, I was just overwhelmed. And what made it worse was that if any food was left on the plates at the time when they were left, then all of the contents from the plate could clog up the drains. I’ve heard from many different people who have had to look for tips to prevent clogged drains so that it can’t have an effect on the rest of the plumbing system. And all of this could arise from dirty dishes being left in the sink.
I was tired of being overwhelmed by the dishes, so I had a brilliant idea. I would just get paper plates! They were buy one get one free one week, so I picked up two packs and thought, “This is it! I won’t have to worry about dishes anymore!”
I got into about a week of my “paper plate idea” and guess what? I still had dirty dishes. Paper plates didn’t solve my problem. It just kept less plates out of the sink. There were still cups, utensils, pots, and other dirty dishes. Not to mention, I was still overwhelmed. I didn’t like seeing the dirty dishes piling up, yet I didn’t like doing the dishes either. It was a vicious cycle. I know that some people like the idea of updating their kitchen so to try and avoid this problem but it’s so hard. But also there are so many things that you can change in your kitchen to help benefit you. For example, you might decide to get a water cooler to help you with getting hot and cold water to make washing your dishes a bit easier. This also benefits you, as you might drink more water. If this is something that interests you but are unsure about where to buy this product from, then Water Filter Way has a solid post on the best water coolers. However, the decision is up to you. No matter what decision you make though, you need to try and find the right one. The one that is going to help you be stress-free.
In the midst of all of this, I went through a short free e-course on how to stress less with homemaking tasks. In the middle of the course the light bulb went off, and I thought, “Why didn’t I think of that?”. Since then, I’ve adopted a new dish routine to keep my kitchen clean and my feelings of being overwhelmed have went away. Use a dishwasher instead! Not only does this do the job for you, it usually cleans the dishes to a high standard too! If you haven’t got a dishwasher and you’re starting to feel overwhelmed with the amount of washing up you’re doing, you might want to consider getting one installed. You’ll probably have to contact your local to install the dishwasher for you, unless you have someone at home who knows how to set one up! Then you’re good to go. Before starting this routine, now you have your dishwasher installed, you may have to spend some time in your kitchen cleaning up; however, once you start doing the routine, it is amazing how clean the kitchen stays!
How to Have a Sparkling Clean Kitchen Everyday:
1. Unload the Dishwasher Each Morning.
The first thing I do in the mornings is turn on my Keurig (I’m all about priorities and need some coffee ???? ). Then, instead of sitting down to find deals to go with the newest coupons or the Amazon deals, I unload my dishwasher while my Keurig is heating up. It takes just a couple of minutes, but doing it first thing in the morning sets you up to have a clean kitchen.
2. Load Dirty Breakfast Dishes.
After breakfast, each person is responsible for loading their own dirty breakfast dishes into the dishwasher. I help take apart sippy cups, rinse off syrup, and pour leftover milk out of the kids’ cereal bowls. As a bonus, this teaches my kids responsibility and it’s taking some of the stress off of my plate . . .literally.
3. Wipe Down Counters and Table.
If breakfast at your house is anything like it is at mine, there are probably crumbs and perhaps even spilled milk. After all of the breakfast dishes are loaded in the dishwasher, go ahead and wipe down the counters and table. Not only does it keep your kitchen cleaner, but it also ensures you start with a clean kitchen when fixing the next meal.
4. Load Sippy Cups, Coffee Cups, Pots, and Pans throughout the day.
If you stay at home with kids, chances are you have several trips in and out of the kitchen daily to fix snacks, bottles, sippy cups, and of course extra cups of coffee. Whenever snack time is over, the baby finishes a bottle, or after you fix lunch, go ahead and places those dirty dishes in the dishwasher instead of putting them in your sink.
5. Have the Family Help.
Before I started this routine, I thought I had to be the one to always clean up. I realized that my kids are old enough they can learn some responsibility and help do some of the little things to clean up after a meal. If your kids are at an appropriate age, have them help clean up the kitchen after dinner.
Things Kids Can Help With:
- Raking food off plates into the trash
- Placing dirty dishes in the dishwasher
- Putting condiments back in the refrigerator
- Putting leftover bread or salad in Ziploc bags
- Wiping off the table
- Sweeping the floor
- Taking out the trash
- Rinsing out sinks
6. Start the Dishwasher Before Going to Bed.
After all showers and baths are done for the night, be sure to start the dishwasher. If you have a dishwasher with a start delay button on it, you can go ahead and delay it to start after you are done loading the rest of the dinner dishes. (This ensures you don’t forget to go back to start it, and you will have a hot shower.) I even start the dishwasher if it’s not all the way full. I know this sounds crazy, but it keeps the routine going.
The next morning, you will walk into a clean kitchen, empty sink, and clean dishes in the dishwasher. I have to say, it has been VERY nice having a CLEAN sink each morning! Plus, my sink stays clean throughout the day since I’m putting the dishes in the dishwasher as we are done with them.
It’s amazing to see just how many benefits you can have for your kitchen when you have access to a dishwasher. The list is endless. That’s why you need to do everything in your power to make sure that you keep your appliance as good as new, and sometimes this may mean that you need to hire someone similar to this Marysville Appliance Repair company to fix any problems, (big or small) that may occur concerning your dishwasher. As it can bring so many advantages to your cleaning, it could be hard to imagine life without one so always make sure that it is in fine working order and that it stays this way for as long as possible, as we all want a clean kitchen right?
More Cleaning Tips & Tricks:
- 15 Bathroom Items to Toss Right Now
- How to Easily Make Money Spring Cleaning + FREE Printable Checklist
- How to Clean Your Appliances and Save Money
