Fun fact: the more you cook at home, the more dishes there are to wash. Bizarrely, I quite like doing the dishes, and count myself as quite the authority, having been taught how to do so as a Brownie (bet the Boy Scouts weren’t taught the exact order in which to wash the dishes). Like anything else, it’s going to be less painful if you find ways to enjoy it. Here are nine to start you off.
1/ IT SMELLS GOOD.
I like the smells that come up from the sink and remind me of what I’ve just eaten for dinner (mmm, curry!) They make me think about what I cooked and what I would do differently next time. Tip: throw any left-over lemon wedges or orange slices into the dish-washing water, for more good smells.
2/ YOU GET TO STAND UP.
It’s a good chance to stand up for 10 or 15 minutes after eating rather than flopping on the couch.
3/ IT’S AN ANTI-DEPRESSANT.
It’s like making your bed in the morning. If the bed’s made, life can’t be that bad. If the dishes are done, life’s good. It makes you feel on top of things, ready to go. What’s depressing, is having to do the dishes from scratch before you even start to cook.
4/ THERE IS ORDER AND PRECISION.
It’s a ceremonial ritual. There is a beauty in that. For Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, it’s all about mindfulness. “Washing the dishes is at the same time a means and an end - that is, not only do we do the dishes in order to have clean dishes, we also do the dishes just to do the dishes and live fully each moment while washing them.”
5/ THERE ARE SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES TO LEARN.
So you put the plug in the sink and turn on the hot water. Wait, stop. You’re no way near ready to do the dishes when you’re ready to do the dishes.
Prep first, wash last. The goal here is to keep the water as clean as possible for as long as possible.
# First, scrape off any food scraps and sauces off the plates and bowls, and give them a light rinse. Do the same with any pots and pans, and soak anything necessary for 10 to 15 minutes.
# Okay, now run the hot water. Glasses and best china go first. Cutlery next. Plates next. By that time, the pots and pans will have soaked sufficiently, and you’re done.
Things to note:
# Give yourself room to stack dirty dishes one side of the sink, and clean dishes the other.
# If you have a favourite dish brush or sponge for doing the dishes, you’ve probably had it too long. Unless you can keep it super-clean, replace every six weeks or so.
# Some people like to place a large bowl in the sink and wash in that. It’s a good idea - you can replace the water easily if it gets gross, and still rinse plates down the side between bowl and sink wall.
6/ THE DISH-WASHER HAS BEEN INVENTED.
You still have to scrape and rinse beforehand (those icky bits can clog up the spray arms), and wash the good glasses by hand, but the rest is easy street. I tend to run a combo of sink and dish-washer, maximising the special talents of both.
One thing I’ve learnt: if you have your dishwasher on the lighter, faster ‘eco-wash’ setting as a matter of course, then do this: put a whole (empty) cycle through on the highest, longest setting about once a month, to kill of any bacteria and clean the whole thing out.
Another thing I’ve learnt: don’t put chopsticks in the cutlery container, they will poke through and bugger up the arm spray.
Bonus point: you can sterilise jars for jams and preserves by putting them through the dishwasher, and fill them while still steaming hot.
7/ IT’S A POLITICAL ACT.
Doing the dishes can be a source of tension within a relationship. Don’t let it. I reclaim it as a feminist and control freak, not as a martyr.
8/ IT’S A CONVERSATION-ENABLER
Put two people face to face and one of them is going to clam up. Responses to questions will be monosyllabic. Put two people side by side, one washing and one drying, and the conversation will flow.
9/ THERE’S A REWARD AT THE END OF IT.
Different with every person. For some, it’s enough to finish with a big wipe-down, not just of the sink, but the stove-top too, and have the kitchen sparkling for when they walk in the next morning.
Others may require a Proficiency Badge and a pair of Gold Wings. Me, I always save half a glass of wine to have when I finish.
But the real reward? The dishes. They’re done.
Thanks for reading (and liking, commenting, subscribing, knock yourself out). I would like to acknowledge that I live, work and play on the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging. I fully support the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice to be enshrined in Australia’s Constitution.