Thursday, December 16, 2010

Dispatch from a Lazy Housekeeper

After my first big bombshell of 2010: (I don't fold the children's clothes in their drawers) I have been looking around for more such ideas. Ideas that make an annoying task less annoying. Today, I have a little tidbit that will change your life! I promise! At least, if your life is like mine and your mornings (and afternoons and evenings) involve something called children.
Don't run your dishwasher after dinner. Wait until after breakfast.

*Cue the chorus of angels!*

Did you hear me? I said don't run your dishwasher until morning!!!

Life changing, I tell you. Try it.

I HATE unloading the dishwasher. HATE IT. I think I hate it more than just about any other household chore, except mopping and putting away laundry. But still. HATE. And you have to do it all the damn time with kids and their five milliion annoying sippy cups and plastic bowls.

I used to run my dishwasher at night and somehow didn't make time to unload it in the morning (see also: kids whining and demanding twelve different breakfasts, trying to get clothes, shoes and jackets on three people, trying to check Facebook for chrissakes.) My kitchen was always a disgusting mess after breakfast and on most days we are running out the door before I can get it cleaned up. There is nothing so demoralizing as coming in around lunchtime to a nasty gross kitchen and a dishwasher full of dishes that need to be unloaded.

Now I can throw all the breakfast dishes in the washer, and start it up! Sometimes if it is empty enough I even wait until after lunch to run it! Ooooh. Scandalous!

At dinner time I am more relaxed and ready to handle the unloading because usually there is some wine involved (and not as much whine.)

Give it a whirl! Let me know what you think! I'm off to slack off on housekeeping chores while making it look like I'm doing something. Toodles!

6 comments:

Kayris said...

Here's another laundry shortcut. I don't sort things. Most of our clothes are dark anyway, so I just sort out whites that need to be bleached and pretty much everything else goes in together. On cold. What a timesaver!

Andrea and Ben said...

The only thing about the running of the dishwasher during the day is for those of us that are on a cheaper electricity plan. If we run after 7 pm or before 8 am it is cheaper than during the day. Though, to be honest, that never really stops me from doing what I want ;-).

I don't mind loading the dishwasher but I hate unloading it - weird! And I LOVE the laundry suggestion and definitely implemented it - saved my sanity. Thanks!

Unknown said...

Ohhhh. GREAT idea!

Though, I don't fold the laundry when I put it in the drawers either and it drives my husband NUTS. I mean NUTS. I try to avoid letting him help get the kids dressed. I have a system that works for me (hey, at least they are clean and not all over the floor and under the bed) and I don't want to change it!

Anonymous said...

When you wash your sheets, stuff the whole set in a pillowcase - they stay in the linen closet so neatly and are so easy to find.

Unload your dishwasher right before a meal so you can unload the dishes directly onto the table to use for the meal!

Okay, I have zero wisdom left :).

~Jenny in MD

Katie said...

Jenny, FABULOUS idea with the pillow case. Seriously! GENIUS!

Natalie, Glad to know I'm not alone on the not folding!

Andrea, good point about electricity. Are rates are the same day or night!

Kayris, I do that too! Hooray for time savers!

Katie said...

*our* not are!