Dirty Dishes in sink or next to sink?

[BellePrincessBelle]

Obviously it's better to have no dirty dishes at all but that's not what I'm asking.

For us non-superhuman people who don't ALWAYS have time to unload, or who choose to give ourselves a break once in a while, where do your dirty dishes go.

And no, there isn't always time to unload. Usually, yes, but not always. I have four kids who are very involved in music AND sports, and we both work full time. I keep a neat and clean house but not perfect.

Love the snark, but it remains a fact, there is time, you just choose other things as a priority. I, on the other hand, will never & have never left dirty dishes. I hate when I go in to someones house & there are dirty dishes on the counter or in the sink. It makes me feel like their house in not clean. I wash my pots and pans as I cook so they are clean before we sit for dinner. It makes ME feel better if my kitchen is clean. I have more kids than you, so please don't try to pull that card.

 

[Art 1]

When your dishwasher is full of clean dishes (no time or desire to unload), where do you put your dirty dishes? In the sink or on the counter next to the sink? I prefer in the sink. That way my counters still look tidy and I Can't really see the dirty dishes. I have two sinks so I try to fill the left sink first, then if still lazy, I fill the right sink. How about you?

I don't use the dishwasher. I just rinse the dishes and put them in the one sink. Then in the evening wash them and put them in the dishwasher to dry. Later I put them up. Really, there are not that many.

 

[brockash]

We always unload the dishwasher first thing in the morning...that way throughout the day we just load the dishes into the dishwasher as we use them. I keep trying to get my mom on this kind of routine, but for whatever reason she won't stick to it. She complains every day about all of the dirty dishes that pile up in her sink and will spend time every night right before she goes to bed unloading and loading the dishwasher. Just seems so counter-productive to me. Sometimes on the weekend if our empty dishwasher kid (it's one of the chores in our house) is sleeping in, those of us that eat breakfast before the dishwasher is unloaded will rinse our breakfast dishes and leave them in the left sink, and then it's the unload dishwasher kid that has to load those dishes once he's unloaded it.

 

[Conservative Hippie]

IN the sink!! My DH is awful about this! Dirty dishes go directly into the dishwasher if it has been unloaded, or into the sink if it hasn't. In both circumstances my DH will still put them on the counter beside the dishwasher/sink!! Drives me crazy!!!!!!

Sent from me.

 

[KristaTX]

Love the snark, but it remains a fact, there is time, you just choose other things as a priority. I, on the other hand, will never & have never left dirty dishes. I hate when I go in to someones house & there are dirty dishes on the counter or in the sink. It makes me feel like their house in not clean. I wash my pots and pans as I cook so they are clean before we sit for dinner. It makes ME feel better if my kitchen is clean. I have more kids than you, so please don't try to pull that card.

You have kids? We don't. When people have kids it always makes me feel like their house is dirtier than mine.

 

[aaarcher86]

My phone types "Can't talk right now" every time I type the word "Can't". Drives me crazy and I need to change the setting.

I am getting so much laughter out of that typo. I can't figure out why I think it's so funny!

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

My DH exercises a third option, any surface in the house... coffee table, bathroom counter, nightstand, bed, you name it. I get so angry I will start the dishwasher and find dirty dishes elsewhere in the house. I will admit I am bad about leaving glasses next to my bed, but he will leave plates and forks etc...

 

[goofyintoronto]

Ummm, wow. You sound so perfect.

Love the snark, but it remains a fact, there is time, you just choose other things as a priority. I, on the other hand, will never & have never left dirty dishes. I hate when I go in to someones house & there are dirty dishes on the counter or in the sink. It makes me feel like their house in not clean. I wash my pots and pans as I cook so they are clean before we sit for dinner. It makes ME feel better if my kitchen is clean. I have more kids than you, so please don't try to pull that card.

You might want to go back and read your original post again...you still think the OP was the one being snarky? She was asking what others do, pretty sure she wasnt asking others to scold her. You have a clean sink, thats great. Its not fair to judge and scold people based on the dishes they might have in their sink!

 

[JakeJenna]

You have kids? We don't. When people have kids it always makes me feel like their house is dirtier than mine.

 

[Tinijocaro]

Love the snark, but it remains a fact, there is time, you just choose other things as a priority. I, on the other hand, will never & have never left dirty dishes. I hate when I go in to someones house & there are dirty dishes on the counter or in the sink. It makes me feel like their house in not clean. I wash my pots and pans as I cook so they are clean before we sit for dinner. It makes ME feel better if my kitchen is clean. I have more kids than you, so please don't try to pull that card.

Sounds like someone needs to go take her nap. You must be a real peach to live with if this is how you act to a total stranger asking a fun, innocent question.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Sounds like someone needs to go take her nap. You must be a real peach to live with if this is how you act to a total stranger asking a fun, innocent question.

 

[PizzieDuster]

My golden retriever counter surfs. We have to put all dishes in the sink. The left side.

If we order food to go, pizza, etc., there are notes on the oven or microwave - "food is in here" LOL He's so adorable though. I've caught him twice and that look he gives me just melts my heart.

 

[mumto3girls]

Typically, I run the dishwasher after dinner and unload it in the morning. I like to leave it sit overnight because although I use the "dry" setting on the dishwasher the dishes are not usually very dry. If I get off of that routine for whatever reason or if we use stuff while the dishwasher is running or "drying" I will soak any dirty dishes in a sink full of warm soapy water. I don't like the look of cluttered counters or dirty dishes just sitting in the sink for some reason the soap makes it all better! If the suds go away I have been known to add soap and run a little water so it suds up again.

 

[MrsPete]

Love the snark, but it remains a fact, there is time, you just choose other things as a priority. I, on the other hand, will never & have never left dirty dishes. I hate when I go in to someones house & there are dirty dishes on the counter or in the sink. It makes me feel like their house in not clean. I wash my pots and pans as I cook so they are clean before we sit for dinner. It makes ME feel better if my kitchen is clean. I have more kids than you, so please don't try to pull that card.

No matter how many kids we have, they are all more important than dishes. Or a clean kitchen.

I always prioritize people over clean dishes.

To answer the OP's question, I suspect our answers vary based upon the configurations of our kitchens. I have a small, small sink; thus, dishes end up on the counter, then they go into the dishwasher. When we build our house (2 more years?), we're going to have a 36" sink, and I will change my habit.

 

[Conservative Hippie]

No matter how many kids we have, they are all more important than dishes. Or a clean kitchen.

I always prioritize people over clean dishes.

Yep. Before kids I kept my house to the standard that anyone could drop by at any time and the house would look nice. After kids I keep the same standard -- except everyone knows I have small children and the house reflects that!

Sent from me.

 

[goofyintoronto]

My golden retriever does the same thing! Once, I left 5 pork chops on the counter, i was just about to cook them but had to go upstairs for something. when i came back down, they were all gone! He ate all five!

I learned my lesson after that! I always keep things covered or in a deep dish. BTW I do the same with takeout/pizza, it goes either in the oven or microwave, with a note.

My golden retriever counter surfs. We have to put all dishes in the sink. The left side.

If we order food to go, pizza, etc., there are notes on the oven or microwave - "food is in here" LOL He's so adorable though. I've caught him twice and that look he gives me just melts my heart.

Yes, same here!

No matter how many kids we have, they are all more important than dishes. Or a clean kitchen.

I always prioritize people over clean dishes.

 

[JanaDee]

Love the snark, but it remains a fact, there is time, you just choose other things as a priority. I, on the other hand, will never & have never left dirty dishes. I hate when I go in to someones house & there are dirty dishes on the counter or in the sink. It makes me feel like their house in not clean. I wash my pots and pans as I cook so they are clean before we sit for dinner. It makes ME feel better if my kitchen is clean. I have more kids than you, so please don't try to pull that card.

You're correct. I will *always* make my family/friends a priority over dishes.

My house is usually pretty close to "company ready", but there are times when I choose to spend time with my kids or husband and !!gasp!! leave dirty dishes in the sink to be put in the dishwasher later.

Scandalous, I know.

 

[willowsnn3]

I always prioritize people over clean dishe

At age 62 dirty/clean dishes are not so important to me.
I live with my two dd's and four grandkids so there are always dirty dishes. I have no dishwasher in my little apt in the basement and not a lot of counter space so I "like" to have my dirty dishes rinsed & stacked in the left side of my double sink.
In the main kitchen there is a dishwasher but there is usually also dirty dishes stacked in the sink & on the counter.

 

[Maggie7313]

Next to the sink. Although DH or I will generally clean the kitchen before we go to bed, the dishes don't even make the top ten on my priority list and we don't even have kids. If I'm tired or have better things to do, the dishes can wait as long as they've been scraped and pots/pans put to soak as needed.

I have a great big farm sink but it is only one bowl and I can't stand washing dishes or pots and pans from a full sink. So I leave everything on the counter until I'm ready to load the dishwasher and wash the rest of the stuff to avoid having to clear out the sink when it is time to start washing up.

 

[Poohforyou]

If I haven't gotten around to unloading the dishwasher I'm using a paper plate.