Doing dishes by hand can be contemplative and a mental break but loading a dishwasher as a dinner party happens….and having all or most of the dishes done before everyone leaves is way better IMO. Dishwashers also use less water.
I’m not cranky about the top of plates or bowls, but I really hate it when people stack used stuff that has been used for tomato/greasy foods. Like last night, 6 soupplates from a tomato/cream pasta. Ergo, both tops and bottoms required 100% attention, as opposed to attention to top and cursory wash of bottom. Especially annoying with cheese or rich/greasy foods.
I don’t like that, either. But I’ll accept it, provided the stuff has been scraped.
There is nothing quiet about my dishwasher. Every night it screams at me. I give all of the dishes a “once over” to get the bulk of the food debris, etc. off of them and into the screaming banshee dishwasher.
I have a spare motor/pump assembly in stock - ready to be installed when the day arrives my dishwasher screams no more.
Cleaning up and doing the dishes doesn’t bother me, I just consider it part of my day.
My first official job was washing dishes at a now defunct pizza chain where I grew up. I washed dishes from age 14 through high school graduation. I learned to enjoy it. When dating I told my now wife that I’d commit to washing the dishes for our entire marriage. She definitely washes a lot of them since I’m often at work, but I’m happy to do whatever I see in the sink, no matter the author. At work I also just wash whatever people leave. It’s therapeutic.
Of note, I’m not a clean freak nor am I particularly organized and tidy in the rest of my life. My older kid is now 14 and sometimes I wish we had less means so he would be motivated to find a job and build up skills and calluses.
I’ve re-read the article. It’s an interesting read, as such, although it actually doesnt address its own sub-title.
When we moved into this house, over 40 years ago, there was a space under the counter where the previous owner had a dishwasher. So, we bought a dishwasher to fill the space. We may not have ever bought one otherwise. By the by, we never replaced the waste disposal unit when it broke.
Oh, John, my guy with OCPD would get applause from his handwashing and dishwasher stacking skills when volunteering at the local soup kitchen. I’m forever banned from even eyeing a dirty dish let alone - gasp - wash one. I miss washing dishes, that satisfying warm water on my hands and the joy of seeing it all clean at the end, but it’s not worth the stress it causes him when I do it. I’d send him over but you’d quickly tire and resent it, trust me
I’m sure, Jan. I have a general low tolerance of perfection seeking. I do often say that I aspire to be adequate with stuff.
Same here. I find it fascinating to explore grocery stores. You never know what cool regional products you’ll find.
My current apartment doesn’t have a dishwasher, but I am blessed with a lovely large sink. I used to hate doing dishes by hand, but since I now do the bulk of the cooking, I have embraced the “clean as you go” method.
As a kid, my mom always bought inexpensive dish detergent, and I did the same for a time. Now that I have experienced the joy of Dawn Power Spray, I’m never going back to the Ajax.
When I worked, I did the same thing. The last company I worked for shared an office suite with a law firm, most of the dirty dishes belonged to them. I still cleaned everything up at the end of the day, dishes, coffee maker and tidied up the kitchen, etc.
I couldn’t leave at the end of the day knowing there were dirty dishes in the sink.
this story.
Feel free to pop in next time youre passing.
“The order matters: first glassware, second silverware, then plates and bowls, and finally the large utensils that might need some scrubbing.”
This is me. I have been doing dishes since I was a child. I don’t remember how old but to reach the sink I had to stand on a box. It was one of our chores. I’m sure I didn’t enjoy it then but I do now. As @Saregama said “mindful respite (a meditation, even)”. I air dry in a rack, unless there is too many and then I’ll dry the excess. Mr.BR used to put the dishes away the next morning, but somehow he was incapable of closing the cabinet doors or shutting the drawers when he was finished. Is that a man thing or was it just him? I have only had a dish washer twice. Once back in the mid 70’s for a few years when my mother and I shared a condo and the other was a portable that leaked. I may have used it a few times if we had company and it was handy for scalding canning jars. It went to the dump a long time ago.
I also love visiting grocery stores. And I like grocery shopping.
I love Dwight Garner’s writing, but no, no, no, the glasses absolutely, positively have to be done first! As he mentions, once something greasy (like the residue of chili crisp) gets into the dishwater, it is hard to get out, and who wants to wash their glassware in that? I have very strong feelings on this, in case that isn’t obvious.
Strong feelings on HO? Perish the thought!
Maybe HO’s tagline ought to be changed to “passionate discussions between avid food lovers” — not to say that passionate discussions can’t be thoughtful
“Passionate discussions between avid food lovers…and a few AHs, too.”
The oil spreading thing is real!
I had probably not thought about it explicitly until I read it.