We still struggle with this, and sometimes we just want our dirty dishes to magically disappear. But when we're not scowling at the sink, we've actually found a few ways to enjoy this daily chore...
7 Ways to Enjoy Doing the Dishes
• Don't wait until the end of the night to do your dishes. We've been known to make a nice meal, eat dinner, and then watch a couple hours of the Rock of Love marathon on VH1 before finally getting around to doing the dishes. When we wait until the end of the night to do dishes, it's hard to enjoy the task.
• Listen to music. Putting on your favorite CD makes any cleaning job more fun. Doing dishes is the one time when we really have a chance to listen to our favorite music.
• Use green dish soap that smells great. Scent is a powerful mood elevator. Some of our favorites are Mrs. Meyers Geranium Dish Soap and Caldrea's Citrus Mint Ylang Ylang Dish Soap.
• Make a station for dishwashing supplies so you're ready to go when you need to. We have a wall-mounted basket that holds dish soap, sponge, hand lotion, and dish towel. If you don't mind reusable rubber gloves, they're a good addition to your supply rack and will help to protect your hands.
• Think of it as time alone...or time together. If you need some time by yourself, dishwashing is the perfect opportunity for introspection. If you prefer to make it a joint task, ask your roommate or partner to dry while you wash, and use the time for conversation.
• Love your dishes and invest in a good dish rack. We used to have a cheap dish rack that we hated. A friend gave us the Simplehuman Flip-Top Dish Rack as a gift. She told us it would change our life, and it did.
• Give yourself a reward when you're finished. If you really hate doing dishes, you can help yourself out by creating a light at the end of the tunnel. Something small works well: a cup of coffee, some time with a good book, or an extra 15 minutes of sleep.
Image: Wave Frame Dishrack from Simplehuman, $39.99.
Comments (15)
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This isn't necessarily fun but I don't feel like I'm slaving over hot dishwater all night...
I start doing dishes while I cook dinner. I run the hottest water possible, add a little detergent and load the day's (usually just a few things) dishes. They soak while I start dinner. While the food is cooking, I go back and wash those soaking dishes. After dinner, the water is still hot enough for dish washing and I only have dinner dishes to wash. While the dishes are draining, I wipe down all kitchen surfaces... I even take a swipe across the top of the fridge. Then I dry the dishes and put them away. The whole after-dinner process rarely takes more than 15 minutes or so.
I just realized that I have nightly routines and I'm slowly becoming my mother.
view Swan's profile
im not sure anything works for me! i absolutely hate doing dishes...
the key to my dishwashing is...i never let them pile up..even as i cook..im cleaning....so at the end of the meal...i only have the pots or serving dishes and the plates/glasses we ate/drank out of...
its horrible!
view luuve's profile
Also, buy some cute dishwashing gloves.
http://www.bowregards.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=547
...or...
http://www.surlatable.com/product/polka dot gloves by gloveables.do?search=basic&keyword=glove&sortby=gsa&asc=true&page=1
And I agree with you - Mrs. Meyer's rocks, and the geranium scent is heavenly.
view meg_ues's profile
I enjoy loading the dishwasher. And it saves water too.
view SeanG's profile
I enjoy watching my boyfriend as I leave to go to work (he works noon-six, so I think that's fair)
view Angie in Montreal's profile
heh, "watching my boyfriend DO THEM"...
But I enjoy watching my boyfriend too.
view Angie in Montreal's profile
Spending this much on a dish rack?
view hrhprincessfiona's profile
Washing dishes is not my favorite, so I appreciate this post.
view tigerlily's profile
I hate doing them and I'm the only in my house who EVER does them so it makes it that much worse. I'm thinking of investing in a small dishwasher. It would certainly improve my mood on a daily basis!
view thepeoplescortney's profile
Any recommendations on cheaper, great dish racks? My boyfriend just decided that our fancy Ikea dish rack gets too gungy, and we're in the market for the next great rack...
Thanks!
view farkasmouse's profile
I agree with the "Love Your Dishes" point! I recently got married, so we got all new dishes, silverware, pots and pans, knives, etc, all of which I LOVE! It makes me (a bit) happy to wash my beautiful Crate and Barrel Celadon dishes and to take care of my fab Calphalon stainless cookware!
view mrsemerald's profile
Listen to books on CD/mp. Right now I am working through David Sedaris' Naked.
view peacelily's profile
This idea is a little done-to-death, but I put my dish detergent in a glass bottle with a pour spout, and it did indeed make doing the dishes a less odious experience.
If you don't have a dishwasher, putting a dishpan under the sink to hold dirty dishes, rather than leaving them in the sink, helps a lot as well (as Flylady.net has made famous). Doing dishes is bad enough without having to get them out of the sink (wet and covered in bits of food) first.
view matchbookhymnal's profile
My biggest dilemma used to be that washing dishes dried out my already parched skin (particularly in the winter). Now that I'm using gloves regularly, I'm MUCH happier with my dishwashing experience.
Emily
view Emily Sneds's profile
I listen to NPR while doing dishes, which gives me something to think about. Or podcasts of The Moth. My siblings and I used to bicker for entertainment, or when we were feeling merry, loudly sing/yell any song we could think of.
view casey w's profile