#Dishwashing

[bluespring864]

seriously what is it with tennis players and dishwashers?!

[thatsbelievable]

[huariqueje]

After dinner    -    Marcos Palazzi

Catalan , b. 1965   -  

Oil on panel , 38 x 46 cm

[lilietsblog]

A guide to washing a huge pile of dirty dishes for people who freeze up at the prospect but don't have a dishwasher (like me)

Scalable from as small a pile of dishes as makes you freeze up (even if it's just one fork) to as many as you need.

0. If you have an absolutely unreasonable pile, like it just doesn't fit into the kitchen without threatening to fall over and all break, like after a party or something, move the whole thing into the bathroom or wherever it technically fits, take a reasonable portion, and treat it as "the entire pile of dirty dishes" for the rest of this algorithm. Then rest, then iterate (perhaps another day?) until you are either done or decide to throw the rest out (so the other kind of done). Or get help. If things are that bad you have reasonable cause for asking for help.

Move all the dirty dishes eligible to the sink. Into the sink, on the counter next to it, on the windowsill, maybe on the floor if things are that bad (they're already dirty, it's fine). The only thing to watch out for are (1) to make sure they aren't going to fall over and break at being lightly nudged with an errant knee or elbow, and (2) to make sure that there's space between the sink tap and the top of the sink pile to wash one (1) cup. If both of these at the same time just aren't working out, see (0).

If need be, take five to twenty minutes to rest. You've done a thing! You've done step 1! You can celebrate.

Now ignore the dishes. For the moment, they don't exist. Clean up the rest of the kitchen. Put stuff in the fridge, on shelves, arrange it nicely, wipe down everything not currently covered in dirty dishes (which we are ignoring). Harness the power of procrastination from actually washing the dishes to make the kitchen as spotless as you have the energy for; the minimum is to free space on the table and elsewhere in the kitchen so you can put dishes there if, theoretically, you wanted to relocate them all out of their current location (don't actually relocate them, just free space). Stack stuff that isn't dishes or move it out of the kitchen temporarily if you have to. You need the space.

Optional break time again! You have done Another Step. This is great and you're doing great.

Make sure you have, separately from / in addition to the space above, all the space you need to put them to dry. Prepare everything for it. Lay out kitchen towels, put away the previously-washed drying stuff or put it with the dirty dishes again (it's fine, nobody's counting, you sure won't), open the drawers for convenience or whatever else will make life easier for you later on. Make sure you have enough space to dry everything in your queue. If you foresee that you don't, go to step 0 again.

Guess what? Break time!

Take your favorite dish rag / sponge / brush / whatever you use. If it's dirty and needs cleaning, clean it. If you lost it, go look for it or pick another. Take your time to make sure this tool is the tool you want to work with. (Do self-brainwashing to make yourself believe it if nothing else works)

Wet it a little under the tap, so that if you squeeze gently no water comes out but it's no longer dry.

Put a drop of dishwashing liquid, gel or whatever else you're using / it's called on it. Rub or squeeze it so it's foaming up a little.

Take one (1) thing from the top of the pile. Utensil, cup, pot, plate, doesn't matter, as long as it fits under the tap in the current configuration. Lather it up. Don't worry about washing it clean right now, just cover it in foam top to bottom. Do the outside parts / handle, too. Make it look like it just survived a bubble bath with an enthusiastic toddler.

Put it in the space you freed earlier, in such a manner that it won't fall down.

Iterate steps 10-11. When the ?rag? you're using stops foaming up as nice, add more dishwashing stuff on it, and if it makes you feel better re-lather the last couple of things that weren't foamed up as nice as you'd like them to. Keep going. Take breaks as necessary / desired. You're doing it! You're doing it! You can step away for a defined number of minutes that's less than infinite and rest! Then come back and keep going, one by one, not washing to clean, just lathering up.

Now you have a clean and empty sink / space next to the sink, and a pile of lathered up dishes elsewhere. If the sink is empty but not very clean and it's bothering you, it's a good time to wash it. Use the dishwashing fluid / whatever it's called to get off the grease and whatever. Clean the drain, too. Or don't if it doesn't bother you.

Take the lathered-up thing at the top of the new pile and bring it to the nice, clean, empty sink. Wash it. Now is the time to wash it until clean. Use hot water. Add more dishwashing ?liquid? if it seems like it'll help. Rub it to really get all of the gunk off. If it's desperately resisting (like a pot you burned something on the bottom of), lather it up again, put a bit of water into it, and put it into a separate Naughty Pile off to the side. It'll keep. If it's like, a cup that you drank water from and it doesn't actually belong in the pile now that you think about it, just wash the lather off. For most of the dishes and especially utensils a simple rub under a bit of running water to get the lather off will do.

Put it to dry, whatever that means in your kitchen. You've prepared the drying space earlier, now use it. Make sure things don't fall / aren't about to fall.

Iterate steps 14-15. Again, take breaks as necessary/desired. Keep the sink empty, keep the piles from toppling over.

You're done! You can do the Naughty Pile and move things from drying to their proper places (if those aren't the same thing) some other time. You've done the dirty dishes and as much of the rest of the kitchen as you're capable of! Rest time. If nothing else you won't shatter at using stuff from the drying pile, and you'll get to the Naughty Pile when you need that specific pot or whatever. It'll probably be more pliable in a few hours anyway. (If it isn't, rub off as much as you can, then fill it with water / put it into water if it's a utensil and go away again, iterate until done)

[amynchan]

Question! It's been brought to my attention that I do my dishes oddly?? XD So now I wanna know:

[bench0tv]

BACKWARDS LONG JUMPING MY SOLID GOLD DINNERWARE INTO THE MONEY HOLE AND CELEBRATING BY PRESSING THE "YES" BUTTON ON THE STARDEW VALLEY MODS PAGE

a bit of a sexy double feature tonight we're gonna FINISH dishwashing simulator and then play some more HEAVILY MODDED SDV 1.6

WILL REBLOG WHEN LIVE

[emmieexplores2]

1953

[salmonella-destroyer-of-worlds]

Big brain stuff

[sunbugg]

Wish I was could sloth off my mortal skin and return but instead I must dishwash 😔

[devdas5z]

Yael Shelbia

[tiredcrowbrain]

Tip for ADHD/OCD and cleaning dishes

If you have dishes overflowing in your sink, lay some trash bags down on your kitchen table (or a counter away from the sink) then move ALL of your dishes away until there's a small enough amount that the dishes don't feel scary to you.

For me, my apartment has a big divided sink so i leave one side full of dirty dishes then use the other side to clean the items individually. When i finish one 'load' of dishes, I move another sink full bit by bit until they're finished.

I also play a podcast or music while i do this (if i play a show or movie i get distracted staring at the screen, you can do whatever stimulates you and keeps you productive!)

I'm currently using this method since i have a month of dishes from when i was recovering from a surgery, so make sure you do your 'loads' based on your energy level and comfort.

Even if it takes a while, and you only do one cup or two bowls at a time, that's progress, and it gets done over time!

Don't be ashamed to use paper plates or disposable utensils as accommodation for yourself on bad days as well!

Also fellow people with sensory/contamination issues, GET HEAVY DUTY GLOVES! The normal kitchen gloves you still feel everything, so go with the thickest pair to avoid the gross food textures. The thick rubber can be annoying but it's way less gross then soggy bread or something touching your hands. (also prevents your hands from drying out in soapy hot water.)

[gwydionmisha]

Your dishwasher is better than you think (tips, tricks, and how they work)

This is incredibly useful. If you live with a dishwasher you should watch this.

[rat-hand]

They should Invent a sink wide enough to wash baking sheets

[tr0ubl3d-tr4n53nd3r]

Im the designated dishwasher in my family and i don't know why. I'm the tallest so I have to arch my back alot to each the sink, I have eczema and hot soapy water burns my hands to an insane amount, I have wrist problems so when I'm holding a plate my hand hurts so much, I have fine motor issues so I drop things alot and I can't move my hands correctly sometimes, I'm a germaphobe and I absolutely can't touch dirty things... like dirty plates and dish water, and I'm autistic and have really bad sensory issues with strong smells and touch... I.e. spoiled, slimy, wet food, and wet silverware.

It's such a bad experience that I am currently taking a break restraining myself against the couch because I almost stabbed myself with a butcher knife. I'm not suicidal. I don't have suicidal thoughts. That's just the only thing I could think of doing that would get me out of doing the dishes.

I would rather risk my life and mess up organs than do the dishes, but I'm lazy if I don't do them.

[freonblue]

Had a conversation with my roommate about washing dishes and discovered we have distinctly different mental blocks getting in the way.

I get stressed if there's dirty dishes in the sink. I have been working very hard to keep the sink clear. If there's dishes already in the sink I feel like I can't wash my new dirty dishes because now it's too many.

My roommate on the other hand, gets stuck if there's clean dishes in the drying rack. She feels like there's nowhere to put her clean wet dishes.

She wants a dry space available for her wets.

I want a wet space available for my drys.

and OH HEY I HAVE POLLS so I put this question to you, tumblr: