I give you "Dirty Dishes Take Over".
Yes, this is my kitchen. I wish I could say this only happened once a year. I wish I could say this only happened once a month. You see, I have a problem. I love to cook, but I don't love to do dishes. It is my least favorite chore. I'll fold nine loads of laundry with a smile on my face, even when I have to fold up those pesky fitted sheets. But the dishes... Ugh.
I could get away with procrastination of this sort when it was just Preacher Man and I and I could even sort of manage to let things slide when there were only three of us. But cooking more things from scratch, serving three meals a day + snacks (we seriously eat a lot!), and adding more mouths to feed BUT not adding any more dishwashers = "Dirty Dishes Take Over".
Kitchen Day is on Tuesdays. I wish I could say that I spent most Kitchen Days doing some extra baking or making freezer meals. So far, Kitchen Day has been spent getting the kitchen CLEAN! Some of these are chores like wiping out the fridge and cabinets, cleaning the microwave, etc... Last week, my big accomplishment on Kitchen Day was to finally catch up and get every last blessed dish washed. (That had not happened in at least four days.)
Times have been tough lately, and to cope I am making fun of myself, but really, I'm ok with things sliding into temporary chaos like that. This just lets you all know that I really am a human being.
But in the spirit of trying to be helpful, which above all, I'm always trying to do, I'll share what has helped me stop procrastinating and just get those dishes washed!
It's too simple really, but here it is:
Wash the dishes (all of them!) after every meal.
Every meal.
(I do allow myself exceptions, but I'm usually wishing later that I hadn't.)
It's so easy to say, "Oh there are only a few dishes here, I'll just do them later." The problem is that later they have piled up all around the kitchen such that I can't even function let alone fix a meal! Later too easily becomes tomorrow. Besides, when you wash them right away, the job is so much easier! There is less stuck on food and general nastiness. The job really is so much more easy and pleasant when it is only a sinkful of dishes. And I'm much more likely to invite a certain Littles to come splash in the water alongside me when I'm cheerfully washing up a few dishes and not dealing with the mess shown above.
And this is when I must be the grown up that I am and work at it until this habit becomes second nature.
How do you keep up with the dishes at your house?
We have a dishwasher. It isn't very large, and with 7 in our family, it doesn't take long to fill it. I only allow it to be run once a day (unless we have guests). The rest have to be hand washed. I don't like to put the clean dishes away, so often times they sit in the dishwasher all day or in the rack all day. I also can't stand to have a messy kitchen. It makes for an unhappy momma! So, for me, when it gets really messy, I just have to close my eyes. No, not really.
ReplyDeleteI wash big things as I go. This makes it easier after the meal. I also make sure they at least get rinsed and stacked if they aren't being loaded into the dishwasher. If I know it won't fit in the dishwasher, I wash it by hand.
And to think some kitchens only look like this once or twice a year?? Such a testament to the good stewardship and wholesome eating happening there... and the many lessons/memories for your littles wrapped up in all that!
ReplyDeleteThough it sometimes really frustrates things, I am mostly enjoying having so few dishes in our current circumstance. THough we are a family of soon 7 and can really "put it away", I have 3 pots. 1 mixing bowl. etc. It forces me to make more efficient/creative use of all my tools, and when everything is dirty at the same time (which feels like much of the time!) it's not totally impossible to attack. Still, I enjoy the prospect of some day having a few more pots and pans...
Your littles can help! I promise. My 5 year old now unloads the dishwasher - every time. Even my 3 year old helps him sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI can't cook in my kitchen unless it's clean to begin with. I often clean up around 3:30 or 4:00 pm before I cook dinner so that's it's peaceful to work in. I never go to sleep without having *most of the dishes done. (After dinner snack dishes are sometimes there).
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