Housekeeping Helps: The Dishpit Revolution

In college, I earned a little income working in the cafeteria's dishwashing room, affectionately labeled "The Dish Pit" by all who worked there.  Mountains of dirty, smelly dishes would trundle through on a conveyor belt while we rinsed, sorted, and placed them on trays to be industrially cleaned.  After my shift, I would smell like everything the cafeteria had served that day.  Eeew!  Shower time.

Silly me - I thought I would escape the dish pit after college.

Now I have a dishpit in my house!  Breakfast...lunch...dinner...snacks.  Every time we eat, more and more dishes pile up by the sink.  Every time I cook dinner, the pots, pans, and baking sheets are stacked higher and higher. 

Sometimes I feel like I'm doing dishes all day long.  Every day of the week.  Every week of the year.  It's a never-ending, rarely rewarding job, but it must be done.

It must, or we will all lose our ever-loving minds...and our soft, smooth hands!

So I'm going to recommend something revolutionary.

Yes, a Dish Pit Revolution!!


Downsize, downsize, downsize!!!

Do you need 20 sets of sippy cups and lids?  No, you do not.
Do you need 2 complete sets of pots and pans?  Uh-uh...unless you are a gourmet, or really like cooking.
Do you need 15 cups per day for two adults?  I don't think so.

Think about it - the fewer dishes you have in circulation, the fewer you will have to wash.

1 plate, bowl, cup, and set of silverware for each person
1 set of pots and pans
1 set of multi-sized reusable storage containers



Use Paper Plates

You don't want to spend your life washing dishes.  No one does.
Buy a large stack of paper plates and use them for as many meals as possible, especially on busy days.

We burn our used paper plates in our wood stove in attempt to be environmentally conscious.


Cook and Serve In Storage Containers

My husband loves this idea because he hates to hunt for storage lids.  I love doing this because only one bowl/lid combo is used to cook, serve, and store the dish.  Yay!  Less for me to wash!!



Okay, but how do I do this with the kids around?

A few suggestions:
Play music they love
Play a book on CD
Let them color or play with playdoh or silly putty
Give them a project - color a box to make a spaceship
Or just put on a movie and go to town on the dishes!!


And my last, most important tip for a more successful, less-stressful dish washing experience:

Only Do Dishes Once A Day!!

That's right - knuckle down and wash them all in one session a day.  Period.

You'll thank yourself later.

For more help keeping your house clean in manageable steps, visit: http://www.flylady.net