Dishes
Amanda Horein
I wasn't sure where else to post this, so I thought I would do it here.
Let me make it clear though that this is about me, not anyone else in the
home.
I hate dishes. I would rather clean the house from top to bottom than to do
dishes. We don't have a dishwasher and we don't have room for one so that
isn't an option. Currently our sink has got some sort of blockage in it and
we don't have the funds to get it fixed. We have tried doing it ourselves to
no avail. So, we are using wash tubs stuck in our sink and dumping them out
the back door. It is a huge pain, but even before that I hated dishes. Dh
isn't fond of them either (so we can't "compliment" each other in that way).
I am just looking for some creative solutions, insight, whatever.
--
Amanda
http://whatmykidstaughtme.blogspot.com/
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Let me make it clear though that this is about me, not anyone else in the
home.
I hate dishes. I would rather clean the house from top to bottom than to do
dishes. We don't have a dishwasher and we don't have room for one so that
isn't an option. Currently our sink has got some sort of blockage in it and
we don't have the funds to get it fixed. We have tried doing it ourselves to
no avail. So, we are using wash tubs stuck in our sink and dumping them out
the back door. It is a huge pain, but even before that I hated dishes. Dh
isn't fond of them either (so we can't "compliment" each other in that way).
I am just looking for some creative solutions, insight, whatever.
--
Amanda
http://whatmykidstaughtme.blogspot.com/
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
harmony
before getting a dishwasher we used a lot of papar plates. They are cheap at costco. We had cups with names on them so everyone had a cup and could wash thier own. Then I only had to wash pots and pans and silverwear. We used plastic silverwear sometimes too.
I also hate doing dishes. I bought one of those dishwashers that we roll over to the sink and hook it up, then push it back in the corner when we're not using it. It works great, then I don't have to do dishes. Everyone puts their dishes into it when they finish eating.
Good Luck
Harmony
I also hate doing dishes. I bought one of those dishwashers that we roll over to the sink and hook it up, then push it back in the corner when we're not using it. It works great, then I don't have to do dishes. Everyone puts their dishes into it when they finish eating.
Good Luck
Harmony
> -------Original Message-------
> From: Amanda Horein <horein@...>
> Subject: [AlwaysLearning] Dishes
> Sent: Mar 03 '08 7:09am
>
> I wasn't sure where else to post this, so I thought I would do it here.
>
> Let me make it clear though that this is about me, not anyone else in the
> home.
>
> I hate dishes. I would rather clean the house from top to bottom than to
> do
> dishes. We don't have a dishwasher and we don't have room for one so that
> isn't an option. Currently our sink has got some sort of blockage in it
> and
> we don't have the funds to get it fixed. We have tried doing it ourselves
> to
> no avail. So, we are using wash tubs stuck in our sink and dumping them
> out
> the back door. It is a huge pain, but even before that I hated dishes. Dh
> isn't fond of them either (so we can't "compliment" each other in that
> way).
>
> I am just looking for some creative solutions, insight, whatever.
>
> --
> Amanda
> [LINK: http://whatmykidstaughtme.blogspot.com/%5d
> http://whatmykidstaughtme.blogspot.com/
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
Jennifer Varela
>>On Mon, Mar 3, 2008 at 8:09 AM, Amanda Horein <horein@...> wrote:Me, too, Mine are currently piled up, lol. I second Harmony's
> I hate dishes. <<
recommendation of disposable. Plus, I've seen countertop dishwashers. They
are smaller, so they don't hold the amount of dishes a large dishwasher
would, but, they would help with the issue! I did a quick google search and
there are a bunch of different ones. Here is one: *
http://tinyurl.com/39xsal*
Jen
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
BRIAN POLIKOWSKY
paper plates, disposable silverware and plastic cups, from food you can put straight in the oven or microwave.
alex
Amanda Horein <horein@...> wrote:
I wasn't sure where else to post this, so I thought I would do it here.
Let me make it clear though that this is about me, not anyone else in the
home.
I hate dishes. I would rather clean the house from top to bottom than to do
dishes. We don't have a dishwasher and we don't have room for one so that
isn't an option. Currently our sink has got some sort of blockage in it and
we don't have the funds to get it fixed. We have tried doing it ourselves to
no avail. So, we are using wash tubs stuck in our sink and dumping them out
the back door. It is a huge pain, but even before that I hated dishes. Dh
isn't fond of them either (so we can't "compliment" each other in that way).
I am just looking for some creative solutions, insight, whatever.
--
Amanda
http://whatmykidstaughtme.blogspot.com/
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
alex
Amanda Horein <horein@...> wrote:
I wasn't sure where else to post this, so I thought I would do it here.
Let me make it clear though that this is about me, not anyone else in the
home.
I hate dishes. I would rather clean the house from top to bottom than to do
dishes. We don't have a dishwasher and we don't have room for one so that
isn't an option. Currently our sink has got some sort of blockage in it and
we don't have the funds to get it fixed. We have tried doing it ourselves to
no avail. So, we are using wash tubs stuck in our sink and dumping them out
the back door. It is a huge pain, but even before that I hated dishes. Dh
isn't fond of them either (so we can't "compliment" each other in that way).
I am just looking for some creative solutions, insight, whatever.
--
Amanda
http://whatmykidstaughtme.blogspot.com/
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Nancy Wooton
On Mar 3, 2008, at 5:09 AM, Amanda Horein wrote:
meal, he'd scrape the food off the dishes, rinse and stack them, and
I'd wash them later. I hated the scrape and rinse aspect but he
didn't mind, so it worked out. When the kids were little, doing the
dishes was a break for me -- they weren't interested in helping, so it
gave me time to think <g> Now that they're big, the kids will pitch
in, too; washing while my 20 y.o. dd dries is companionable.
Could you find ways to divide the job up?
further down the drain pipes, you can try a couple of home remedies.
Baking soda and vinegar can help, and be quite entertaining as well.
Another that works really well on grease is to pour a couple cups of
ammonia into the drain, followed by boiling water. If you have a
double sink, routinely fill both sinks with hot water, then pull both
plugs at the same time to help clear the drains.
If your sink will drain for awhile and then backs up, it might be
blocked further down. We battled a blocked drain for years (which is
the only reason I know this stuff -- learning by doing!). Snaking it
finally had no effect, so my plumber spent a day putting in access in
the front yard. Snaking it from there identified the problem, which
turned out to be under the street. That made it the city's problem,
not ours -- they had to send a crew out to dig up the street and fix
it. They couldn't have done it, though, without our first installing
that access.
al fresco? Your kids could pretend they're camping.
Paper plates can be helpful, too :-) I also found that using pretty
dishes helps; after 25 years of marriage, I finally dragged the
wedding china out of storage and started using it every day. The
pattern is discontinued but I could still get replacements if I broke
one; I'm more worried I'll drop one than that a kid will (my baby will
be 18 this month ;-)
Nancy
(I feel obligate to add that I am not always this enthusiastic about
dishes, but mine are clean in the rack thanks to dh; if they were
piled high, awaiting my attention, I might be calling them our family
nickname for the job -- the "ducking fishes"! Now if I could only
find a way to like ironing....)
> I wasn't sure where else to post this, so I thought I would do itFrom the start, my dh and I worked out a system: immediately after a
> here.
>
> Let me make it clear though that this is about me, not anyone else
> in the
> home.
>
> I hate dishes. I would rather clean the house from top to bottom
> than to do
> dishes.
meal, he'd scrape the food off the dishes, rinse and stack them, and
I'd wash them later. I hated the scrape and rinse aspect but he
didn't mind, so it worked out. When the kids were little, doing the
dishes was a break for me -- they weren't interested in helping, so it
gave me time to think <g> Now that they're big, the kids will pitch
in, too; washing while my 20 y.o. dd dries is companionable.
Could you find ways to divide the job up?
> We don't have a dishwasher and we don't have room for one so thatIf you think the blockage is really in the area of the sink, not
> isn't an option. Currently our sink has got some sort of blockage in
> it and
> we don't have the funds to get it fixed. We have tried doing it
> ourselves to
> no avail.
further down the drain pipes, you can try a couple of home remedies.
Baking soda and vinegar can help, and be quite entertaining as well.
Another that works really well on grease is to pour a couple cups of
ammonia into the drain, followed by boiling water. If you have a
double sink, routinely fill both sinks with hot water, then pull both
plugs at the same time to help clear the drains.
If your sink will drain for awhile and then backs up, it might be
blocked further down. We battled a blocked drain for years (which is
the only reason I know this stuff -- learning by doing!). Snaking it
finally had no effect, so my plumber spent a day putting in access in
the front yard. Snaking it from there identified the problem, which
turned out to be under the street. That made it the city's problem,
not ours -- they had to send a crew out to dig up the street and fix
it. They couldn't have done it, though, without our first installing
that access.
> So, we are using wash tubs stuck in our sink and dumping them outCould you set the wash tubs on a table in the yard and wash the dishes
> the back door. It is a huge pain, but even before that I hated
> dishes. Dh
> isn't fond of them either (so we can't "compliment" each other in
> that way).
>
> I am just looking for some creative solutions, insight, whatever.
al fresco? Your kids could pretend they're camping.
Paper plates can be helpful, too :-) I also found that using pretty
dishes helps; after 25 years of marriage, I finally dragged the
wedding china out of storage and started using it every day. The
pattern is discontinued but I could still get replacements if I broke
one; I'm more worried I'll drop one than that a kid will (my baby will
be 18 this month ;-)
Nancy
(I feel obligate to add that I am not always this enthusiastic about
dishes, but mine are clean in the rack thanks to dh; if they were
piled high, awaiting my attention, I might be calling them our family
nickname for the job -- the "ducking fishes"! Now if I could only
find a way to like ironing....)
>
Deb Lewis
***I am just looking for some creative solutions, insight, whatever.***
Someone else has recommended paper plates.
Put all the dishes away, out of reach, except for a plate, bowl, spoon, fork, knife, and cup for each of you. That will limit the number of dishes you'll be dirtying. You'll wash them more often but there won't be a pile of dishes. Doesn't really work if you have as many family members as you have dishes, though. <g>
Wash a thing as soon as you're finished with it. I have a really small kitchen and I usually wash each sauce pan or pot the minute I'm finished with it.
Keep a little bit of hot water in your wash pan. Heat it up when you need to. Stop and wash one thing when you're walking by.
Microwave what you can and save yourself pot scrubbing.
Can you trade with a friend? She'll come do your dishes once a day if you take her kids swimming or something?
Can you hire a neighborhood kid to do dishes in the evening for you? Do you have something you could trade out for dish doing? Piano lessons? Sewing? Carpentry?
Pick up cheap dishes at the second hand store and when they're dirty, toss them out the window like Lisa Douglas on "Green Acres.?"
I used to hate washing dishes and now I love it. Sickening, isn't it? Some things that helped change my thinking:
I stopped thinking, "I hate to do dishes" and started thinking, "I want clean dishes."
My dad gave me a gift of beautiful dishes before he died. When I wash them it makes me think about the last couple of years with him and how I came to know and like him.
My kid's hands itch in water so making sure he had all the clean dishes he needed felt like good mothering to me.
I picked my dishes from here and there, pieces I really like, and made some too. I was gifted some pretty things and when I wash them I enjoy thinking about how I acquired them and how long I've had them and the friends and groovy ones who gave them to me.
It calms me to have my hands in hot water. I light a candle (currently a skull candle, which, when lit, drips red wax blood. Courtesy of my son, the ghoul.<g>) I open the curtains to look out the window, I put on some music, pour a glass of wine or a cup of tea. It's my cheap substitute for a spa. It's my mental health moment.
I bought a stool for the kitchen and my kid comes and sits on the stool and visits with me while I wash dishes.
I have some weird hand pain and it feels good to have them in hot water.
I like bubbles. I keep a bubble wand by the sink.
I only do the dishes when I want to. And I only do as much as I want. If I'm busy and there are only a few dirty plates but lots of coffee mugs, I might just wash some of the coffee mugs. I think about convenience for others and wash what will most likely be needed.
I think of doing dishes as a gift to my family. They may not think of it as a gift but when I know their lives are more convenient because they can find what they need in the kitchen, I feel happy.
And because I do dishes happily, on the occasions they do pile up, no one is stressed by that because we all know they'll get washed at a more convenient time.
If I know I won't be home much or I'll be otherwise occupied we use paper plates.
We used to live in Knik Alaska. We had no plumbing. We hauled our water to the house from a public well seven miles away. (uphill both ways through the deep snow with rags tied around our feet) I heated water on the wood stove and dumped the wash and rinse basins out in the leach field. When we moved to Montana where we had fancy indoor pluming it seemed kind of like a miracle that all I had to do was turn that knob and get hot water! Golly I'm pathetic.<g>
Deb Lewis
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Someone else has recommended paper plates.
Put all the dishes away, out of reach, except for a plate, bowl, spoon, fork, knife, and cup for each of you. That will limit the number of dishes you'll be dirtying. You'll wash them more often but there won't be a pile of dishes. Doesn't really work if you have as many family members as you have dishes, though. <g>
Wash a thing as soon as you're finished with it. I have a really small kitchen and I usually wash each sauce pan or pot the minute I'm finished with it.
Keep a little bit of hot water in your wash pan. Heat it up when you need to. Stop and wash one thing when you're walking by.
Microwave what you can and save yourself pot scrubbing.
Can you trade with a friend? She'll come do your dishes once a day if you take her kids swimming or something?
Can you hire a neighborhood kid to do dishes in the evening for you? Do you have something you could trade out for dish doing? Piano lessons? Sewing? Carpentry?
Pick up cheap dishes at the second hand store and when they're dirty, toss them out the window like Lisa Douglas on "Green Acres.?"
I used to hate washing dishes and now I love it. Sickening, isn't it? Some things that helped change my thinking:
I stopped thinking, "I hate to do dishes" and started thinking, "I want clean dishes."
My dad gave me a gift of beautiful dishes before he died. When I wash them it makes me think about the last couple of years with him and how I came to know and like him.
My kid's hands itch in water so making sure he had all the clean dishes he needed felt like good mothering to me.
I picked my dishes from here and there, pieces I really like, and made some too. I was gifted some pretty things and when I wash them I enjoy thinking about how I acquired them and how long I've had them and the friends and groovy ones who gave them to me.
It calms me to have my hands in hot water. I light a candle (currently a skull candle, which, when lit, drips red wax blood. Courtesy of my son, the ghoul.<g>) I open the curtains to look out the window, I put on some music, pour a glass of wine or a cup of tea. It's my cheap substitute for a spa. It's my mental health moment.
I bought a stool for the kitchen and my kid comes and sits on the stool and visits with me while I wash dishes.
I have some weird hand pain and it feels good to have them in hot water.
I like bubbles. I keep a bubble wand by the sink.
I only do the dishes when I want to. And I only do as much as I want. If I'm busy and there are only a few dirty plates but lots of coffee mugs, I might just wash some of the coffee mugs. I think about convenience for others and wash what will most likely be needed.
I think of doing dishes as a gift to my family. They may not think of it as a gift but when I know their lives are more convenient because they can find what they need in the kitchen, I feel happy.
And because I do dishes happily, on the occasions they do pile up, no one is stressed by that because we all know they'll get washed at a more convenient time.
If I know I won't be home much or I'll be otherwise occupied we use paper plates.
We used to live in Knik Alaska. We had no plumbing. We hauled our water to the house from a public well seven miles away. (uphill both ways through the deep snow with rags tied around our feet) I heated water on the wood stove and dumped the wash and rinse basins out in the leach field. When we moved to Montana where we had fancy indoor pluming it seemed kind of like a miracle that all I had to do was turn that knob and get hot water! Golly I'm pathetic.<g>
Deb Lewis
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Nancy Wooton
On Mar 3, 2008, at 8:31 AM, Deb Lewis wrote:
post that my sink has a window above it, looking out on my backyard,
trees, and beyond to Cowles Mountain, which is really a little hill
but hey, it's a view <g> We have bird feeders, too, so there's always
something to see. At night, I have candles on the window ledge.
I like the hot water, too. I sometimes make dish washing a manicure
treatment: I do a salt and olive oil exfoliating scrub, rinse that
off, apply a heavy cream like Nivea or udder balm, and then put on
rubber gloves. The heat activates the hand cream, and I have really
nice skin when I'm done with the dishes.
Nancy (putting off ironing...)
> It calms me to have my hands in hot water. I light a candleA dishwasher after my own heart. I forgot to mention in my previous
> (currently a skull candle, which, when lit, drips red wax blood.
> Courtesy of my son, the ghoul.<g>) I open the curtains to look out
> the window, I put on some music, pour a glass of wine or a cup of
> tea. It's my cheap substitute for a spa. It's my mental health
> moment.
post that my sink has a window above it, looking out on my backyard,
trees, and beyond to Cowles Mountain, which is really a little hill
but hey, it's a view <g> We have bird feeders, too, so there's always
something to see. At night, I have candles on the window ledge.
I like the hot water, too. I sometimes make dish washing a manicure
treatment: I do a salt and olive oil exfoliating scrub, rinse that
off, apply a heavy cream like Nivea or udder balm, and then put on
rubber gloves. The heat activates the hand cream, and I have really
nice skin when I'm done with the dishes.
Nancy (putting off ironing...)
Sandra Dodd
-=-I hate dishes. I would rather clean the house from top to bottom
than to do
dishes.-=-
Until the sink is fixed, could you concentrate on foods that are
served without dishes? You could use paper napkins or paper towels
or just cheap printer-paper for "plates" then, if you can't afford
paper plates.
When the sink is fixed, could you ask one of your kids to come and
sit and talk to you while you do dishes? That would keep you from
being "DOING DISHES"--you'd be visiting with one of the kids. They
might want to help; it's possible, but don't ask. Just make it seem
as fun as you can.
For a while Holly wanted it to be her job to mop the kitchen floor.
Cool, because I hate mopping. She did it for a few months and
stopped. That's okay.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
than to do
dishes.-=-
Until the sink is fixed, could you concentrate on foods that are
served without dishes? You could use paper napkins or paper towels
or just cheap printer-paper for "plates" then, if you can't afford
paper plates.
When the sink is fixed, could you ask one of your kids to come and
sit and talk to you while you do dishes? That would keep you from
being "DOING DISHES"--you'd be visiting with one of the kids. They
might want to help; it's possible, but don't ask. Just make it seem
as fun as you can.
For a while Holly wanted it to be her job to mop the kitchen floor.
Cool, because I hate mopping. She did it for a few months and
stopped. That's okay.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Barbara Mullins
I find the relaxing and enjoyable smell of lavender and ylang ylang
Palmolive really helps to make doing the dishes more enjoyable for me.
And I also second the idea of trying to do them often so they don't
become this huge heap of worry or resentment. Just do them and get
done with them so you can go do other fun stuff. And yeah sure paper
is great if you can afford it.
Have you got an action plan going for when you will be able to
afford getting the plumber there? If not make one even if it's 6
months from now. Just knowing that this won't be a problem forever
helps to deflate the aggravation.
And remember things could easily be worse. When we had new kitchen
counter tops installed (they were linoleum when we moved in euww! but
usable)we had do to without a kitchen sink for about a week. I washed
dishes in the bathtub and it really made my back hurt. I wish I had
thought about setting up tubs in my yard as someone suggested, that
sounds like a lot of fun!
Best Wishes - Barbara
Palmolive really helps to make doing the dishes more enjoyable for me.
And I also second the idea of trying to do them often so they don't
become this huge heap of worry or resentment. Just do them and get
done with them so you can go do other fun stuff. And yeah sure paper
is great if you can afford it.
Have you got an action plan going for when you will be able to
afford getting the plumber there? If not make one even if it's 6
months from now. Just knowing that this won't be a problem forever
helps to deflate the aggravation.
And remember things could easily be worse. When we had new kitchen
counter tops installed (they were linoleum when we moved in euww! but
usable)we had do to without a kitchen sink for about a week. I washed
dishes in the bathtub and it really made my back hurt. I wish I had
thought about setting up tubs in my yard as someone suggested, that
sounds like a lot of fun!
Best Wishes - Barbara
hpmarker
--- In [email protected], "Deb Lewis" <d.lewis@...> wrote:
When we moved to Montana where we had fancy indoor pluming it seemed
kind of like a miracle that all I had to do was turn that knob and get
hot water! Golly I'm pathetic.<g>
That reminds me of when we bought a dishwasher after not having had one
for years. The salesperson was bemused at how thrilled I was to be
purchasing the absolute least impressive dishwasher in the whole
store. But what an upgrade it was for us!
hpmarker
Sorry for not signing my previous post.
-Hallie
-Hallie