Washing up is boring!

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for any of you who use the kitchen stool method as I do, if possable, try to change positions on the stool; ie. sit with your left side to the counter or sink one time, with your right side to it the next time. Constistantly sitting with your back, hips and spine twisted in the same direction can in turn cause problems of it's own. Good luck.
 
washing up

Boy have you got that right Geraldine...if I don't constantly change positions, my back locks right up. I've been knitting for a few hours and my back feels like a mule kicked it. I have to put the stool out in the kitchen so I can do the dishes that way from now on ... I don't have many but the few I have really put it out of whack.:(
 
I haven't found a way to make washing up less boring, but I have discovered that it helps a lot to go at it backwards! I do the pots and pans and stove first, then get new dishwater and do the actual glasses, dishes, etc. I read this in a very old cookbook (try mid-1800s!), which said that doing the dishes this way "leaves the hands in much better condition", which I've found to be true. But I mostly like washing up this way because by the time I get to the messy greasy part (pans etc) I'm already done!
 
I'll have to try your method Leigh! I've always been told that letting the dishes, etc air dry in the drainer is more sanitary than towel drying. Using your method, the pots and pans would be dry and ready to put away before you wash the plates, and pretty plates neatly arranged in the drainer would look fine to leave for a bit...so it's a "prettier" way to do dishes too! LOL!
I'm lucky, I have a nice big window over my sinks....with a huge lovely tree in the yard, and a nice view of our "circle" and the neighbors houses. I just turn on the radio on top of the fridge and clean away.....enjoying the music, trees, and "goings on" in the neighborhood! :)
 
I also find it boring, what I would really like is a cleanup person to follow me around. But since I've moved the computer to the kitchen I now have a clean kitchen, organized cupboards etc. simply because I do a task and then check in with my computer to see who's talking, look up recipes etc. But it's true - we clean after breakfast, mess up while preparing dinner, clean up after dinner - wake up in the morning only to discover the boy (my son) has made himself a midnight snack and left the mess. Had to give the computer to 'the boy' during his University years and I was close to needing Psychiatric Intervention. Need to be near my computer.
 
the cost

for those who haven't either the time or desire to really clean their kitchen a commercial dishwasher is worth every penny you pay for them. Sure the installed cost is about $3000 ($2500 for the washer and $500 to have it installed by professionals who know what they are doing) but when you considder you can clean up all the dishes and cookware for a 45 person dinner party (the most i host at my house) in less than a single hour and use less water than your morning shower requires it is worth it.

even to those who don't do big parties the fact that it requires (for most models) less than a gallon of water and 5% of the electriciy that normal dishwasher requires not to mention the less than 2 minute needed to wash and sterilize your dishes this is still a good investment. This piece alone added about $12,000 to the value of my home so says my appraisor
 
Oh wow can I empathize!!! I don't havea dishwasher or anything but sure make some dandy messes when I bake and/or cook!! I just take a deep breath and dig in. I usually turn on some music or a TV show I can listen to without having to watch and try to do that while I just (to coin Nike's old logo) JUST DO IT- that's what I have to holler at myself, too - Just Get up and DO IT GIRL! Lol..
 
PLEASE ANSWER OUR QUESTION!!!! IT'S THE FIRST ONE ON THE LIST: MUFFIN TRANSVERTION!!! WE NEED HELP!!!
 
Norma said:
My husband absolutly RAVES about my cooking. Of course, the fact that his Ex couldn't even do "Hamburger Helper" right helps on that issue! About once a week, he offers to "cook dinner"...which mean Dial Pizza Hut Delivery, and use paper plates! He has been known to unload the dishwasher, but then I can't find a darned thing! I'm SO picky about where my "stuff" goes, the only persons I allow to "put up the dishes" are my daughter and son when they visit...they KNOW where I want things, and they KNOW how picky I am! My daughter is so much the same, that I can walk into her kitchen, and without looking, reach into a drawer or cabinet and find whatever, because she puts everything in exactly the same place I do. Brilliant girl!;)

LOL.. this reminds me of my favorite "ya gotta love em" story. Hubby never does the dishes or empties the dishwasher NEVER but, one day while I was quite sick I heard him out there putting the dishes away! He was so happy with him self when he came into the bedroom to tell me what he'd done. "I emptied the whole dishwasher for you HB! Now you won't have to do it in the morning". Ya should have seen the smile on his face. I was really happy too...until I got up the next morning and went into the kitchen. Yep, he'd emptied the dishwasher... but, he didn't put the dishes away, he just put them on the counter! lol
 
Enough to drive you nuts, isn't it?

My wife and daughter are still here at home...

My wife knows I cannot "breathe" if the table is covered in dirty crockery, and so will invariably come up and clear it away and clean it up (must admit, I've been known to make a good deal of "mess" in cooking!)...

On the other hand, she does any number of tasks that I would prefer to never be involved with around the house, so its a fair exchange...

My daughter, who might have some vestigial cooking talents or abilities, is the worst of the lot...who would clear and wash the dining table, and "neatly stack" all the dirty dishes, having "scraped them all", for "fear" of the 5 minute task of emptying the dishwasher? "Make a thousand cookies" (figuratively!) in an afternoon, run out the door at 1700 to go to work, and wonder why I'm just a tad upset, coming home to a total depletion of margerine, flour and sugar, to say nothing of the kitchen is a jungle of the unwashed...
 
no t.v in my kitchen, but i do have a radio in there. that helps me out alittle so i'm not bored to tears while cleaning
 
Well, since I don't own antique Mexican pottery or Teakwood service or bone-handled anything like Geraldine does on pg. 1 of this post, I absolutely LOVE my dishwasher. I put stemware in it, but I don't put my good knives in it. I'll even do a load of china on a gentle cycle with air dry and not touch it until it's cool. I figure you only go around once, and if the gold comes off my china by the time I'm 80, so be it...at least I'll be able to say I made it to 80.

I do my birdwatching here in my home office, while I type these posts, and the dishwasher is in there doing the washing up without any complaints. What more could one ask for?

BC
 
I kind of like doing my dishes.. I know it's weird but, I love playing in the hot soapy water. I have a heater vent right under the sink too.. so I get to me nice and warm. It's a good thing at least during the winter.
 
i LOVE washing up! being clean is so nice! i use baby bath. i DO hate kitchen-cleaning, middie!
 
I just saw this thread and am sure everyone is completely delighted by now that they have mastered the clean up process and enjoy it so thoroughly. However, I've found those little brushes that hold the detergent inside are the handiest trick to quick kitchen cleanup. I use mine to clean spoons or cooking forks that get icky, my calphalon pans, including the lids, whatever really dirty things that I don't want to go in the dw or even before they go in. I've used it to clean spillovers on the stove, to clean the sink after washing up everything else. I even put one in my bathroom to keep the vanity sink nice and tidy. Hope this helps someone enjoy the task a bit.
 
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