Dishes - the household chore that no one likes

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

at least in this house. We don't have a dishwasher and hand wash all the dishes. The tend to over-run the kitchen at times and it is making me bananas (they are rinsed before piling in the sink). It's one of those necessary chores that no one wants to do.

Is it the standing still for 20 minutes to complete the task? The kitchen is open, mostly, to the living room so it's not isolation.

Is it the "dish-pan hands"? Dishwashing liquid drys my hands and gloves get in the way.

Dunno what it is, but I would like a remedy....short of a dishwasher. The kitchen is small and I don't know that we have a place to add one without a total overhaul - which is not a bad idea, but far from in the budget.

 

[funkychunkymonkey]

around here its the smell. My garbage disposal is rusted and useless and smells. The dishes get rinsed but still smell. I only do dishes with vicks under my nose. Then again im smell sensitive

 

[C.Ann]

That's one of my favorite chores - and yes, I do them by hand..

Ironically, when I was a kid I hated it - but somewhere along the line that all changed..

Got anyone there you can "bribe"?

 

[mlenz]

For me it's the sound of the dishes clanging around that drives me bananas,so Dh does all the dishes in this house even tells me when he is going to do them so I can go hide lol

 

[iwrbnd]

I'll happily do the dishes if somebody will cook. I hate cooking! I do it every night, though, because eating out is too expensive and unhealthy. I do it to keep my kids alive...there's no joy in it!

Now cleaning and organizing? I actually love that!

 

[DisneyFirefly]

We have a dishwasher, but anything big gets done by hand. At DBF's place, he also has a dishwasher, but I tend to wash some things by hand because he sometimes forgets to run the dishwasher. The main reason I hate doing dishes by hand is because I'm tall and the countertops tend to be somewhat low, which puts strain on my lower back.

 

[briannesmom]

I'll happily do the dishes if somebody will cook. I hate cooking!

Deal! When can you move in? I'm a really good cook but hate the dishes and cleaning up.

 

[tiggerlover]

My first thought was to share the chore with others in the house, this way one person isn't getting burned out. My second thought was to do the dishes as you make them that way the task isn't as overwhelming.

My two sisters do not have dishwashers either and frankly, I don't know how y'all do it, I love my dishwasher! I lived without a dishwasher for 6 years when I lived in Europe and I hated every minute of it. So I can totally understand how you feel.

 

[busyshrew]

I'm one of those weird people - I like washing dishes, and we wash them all by hand - no machine here but me!

Because I do hand-wash, I make a point of treating myself well when I wash dishes. I do the following:

1) buy the nicest dishsoap, with a smell that I really like. method pink grapefruit or palmolive green apple are two favorites. stinky dish soap puts me off and makes me cranky.

2) buy nice dish sponges that fit my hand comfortably (actually, I buy bigger ones and cut them in half). make sure that I have a nice stiff scrub-brush for the tough bits, a J-cloth for the delicate things, and SOS pads for really tough jobs ready under the sink.

3) DH installed a little CD player in the kitchen. so often I will crank the tunes and sing away as I wash dishes.

My mom also hand washes - and she always stands on a gel pad when washing dishes, because her feet hurt otherwise.

One thing that makes a huge difference for me is the pre-rinsing and pre-stacking. I prefer to rinse then stack my dirty dishes to the side, with only the dirty cutlery in the bottom of the sink. That way, I'm washing in a sink with lots of room to manoeuver around, and the entire job goes by quickly and easily. DH comes from a "machine" family, so he doesn't understand how much worse dishwashing can be when the sink is cram-jammed full of dishes .

And if worst comes to worst, I always get DH to mix me up a nice, cold, stiff drink to sip while I'm washing up!

 

[yoopermom]

Count me in as another of those oddballs who would rather handwash dishes than cook! I do them as I cook, and family knows that if you eat, you better rinse! The only thing I would LOVE is one of those super deep sinks (what do they call those? my aunt has one and I always volunteer to do the dishes at her house).
Terri

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

Thanks for sharing.

I'm one of those weird people - I like washing dishes, and we wash them all by hand - no machine here but me!

Because I do hand-wash, I make a point of treating myself well when I wash dishes. I do the following:

1) buy the nicest dishsoap, with a smell that I really like. method pink grapefruit or palmolive green apple are two favorites. stinky dish soap puts me off and makes me cranky.I actually have Palmolive Green Apple, love it and the orange. I only use Palmolive or the original Dawn (no bleach, foam, or other twisted varieties) because they are the kindest to my hands and provide enough suds to actually wash dishes.

2) buy nice dish sponges that fit my hand comfortably (actually, I buy bigger ones and cut them in half). make sure that I have a nice stiff scrub-brush for the tough bits, a J-cloth for the delicate things, and SOS pads for really tough jobs ready under the sink. I've been using the blue Scotch Brite Soft Scour sponges, or the store brand, for the longest time. They are safe for non-stick cookware and usually scour anything that needs it. But by pre-rinsing there isn't normally much that requires scrubbing or elbow grease to come clean.

3) DH installed a little CD player in the kitchen. so often I will crank the tunes and sing away as I wash dishes. I have my PC nearby and could scan the WMP, but usually don't because it would probably conflict with the TV in the next room.

My mom also hand washes - and she always stands on a gel pad when washing dishes, because her feet hurt otherwise.

One thing that makes a huge difference for me is the pre-rinsing and pre-stacking. I prefer to rinse then stack my dirty dishes to the side, with only the dirty cutlery in the bottom of the sink. That way, I'm washing in a sink with lots of room to manoeuver around, and the entire job goes by quickly and easily. DH comes from a "machine" family, so he doesn't understand how much worse dishwashing can be when the sink is cram-jammed full of dishes . That's usually how it's done. When it's time to wash, everything but the flatware is piled and re-rinsed if needed. We keep a dishpan in one of the sink bays for washing, I never have luck using the sink drain stopper, and try to get to the task when the pan is full. All too often it gets out of hand too quickly and then it becomes a CHORE.

And if worst comes to worst, I always get DH to mix me up a nice, cold, stiff drink to sip while I'm washing up! Ding Ding Ding Ding!!! We have a winner.

 

[tink_n_pooh]

I don't mind washing dishes but I hate drying them and putting them away I'm the same way with clothes, I don't mind the washing, drying and folding but I can't stand putting them away

 

[catgirl]

I'm with the above poster, I hate drying and putting away. I hand wash and use my dishwasher as a huge dish drainer! Then use the dishes from there. I know it's weird, but I can't wait for the dishwasher to get full to run it. I always need something before hand. Just easier to wash by hand.

 

[funkychunkymonkey]

WAIT!!! whats "put away" mean? You mean people actully put the dishes back where they came from? Not everyone just leaves them in the drying rack and resuses them? I dont even think I have enough cabinate space for them all

(note: this is humor, sort of, I dont put them away)

 

[Carl Fredricksen]

That's one of my favorite chores - and yes, I do them by hand..

Ironically, when I was a kid I hated it - but somewhere along the line that all changed..

Got anyone there you can "bribe"?

Second that, we wash by hand also, even though we have a dishwasher. I was looking at our glasses one day, and they had dishwasher film on them, so I took everything out of the cupboard and scrubbed it, and we've been hand washing ever since. The dishwasher is our "dish rack" now since it sits next to the sink.

I don't mind cooking either. We kinda have an unwritten rule between DW and myself, that whomever cooks, also does the dishes and cleans up, and gives the other one the night off. We split the nights pretty evenly so it all works out. And DD helps DW with the dishes, and DS helps me.

We use the cheapest non-antibacterial dish soap mixed 1 to 1 with vinegar, and it works better than anything I can buy off the shelf, and leave the dishes spotless. And there is nothing better than Gold Bond Restoring lotion for keeping the hands from drying out.

Anyway, not a chore I mind, because I feel the end result is worth it. The dishes always look great, and feel cleaner IMO.

 

[itsheresomewhere]

I'll take the dishes over the toilets any day. I swear that is the nastiest most hated job of all.

 

[Hidden_Mickey]

I love my dishwasher but I don't put large items or anything plastic or wood in it, or sharp knives, so I still end up hand washing quite a bit. Unless I run out of room in the rack, I DO NOT DRY! Mother nature does it for me

I cannot stand the smell of icky rotting food in the sink so I usually eat, rinse and put my dish right into the washer. I run it at the end of the day. Anything I hand wash during the day is stacked on the drying rack. The next day before I can think about cooking dinner, I empty the washer and the rack, then load the dishes from the morning and hand wash anything that needs it. I can't cook dinner when there are dishes in the sink... drives me mad. And I hate when DH drains pasta over dishes in the sink, especially anything plastic. I also hate when he puts empty soda cans in the sink. They take up the washing / rinsing room.

Best advice ever = if there is something that is burnt, stuck or dried on, just let it soak. Don't fight it!

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

WAIT!!! whats "put away" mean? You mean people actully put the dishes back where they came from? Not everyone just leaves them in the drying rack and resuses them? I dont even think I have enough cabinate space for them all

(note: this is humor, sort of, I dont put them away)

Very often the case here too, as well as clean laundry pulled from the basket rather than a drawer or closet.

 

[DeniseinNS]

I hate doing dishes. We have a dishwasher but our plates are too big to fit in it so need to be done by hand. My hubby doesn't mind doing dishes so it's become his job.

 

[Carly_Roach]

I'm also a Zen dishwasher. This little mindless chore gives me time to think, make lists and just fantasize. More often than not I will dry and put them away as well. I hate water-spots on my silverware about as much as I hate how a dish-drainer looks on a counter. But if I occassionally have a tremendous load of dishes that I do later on at night, I will let the dry house air-dry them and put them away in the morning.