Nobody likes to wash dishes. It is a fact. But there are 10 ways to speed up the process and make it a little nicer.
- Use the rule of one soapy sponge
When a whole mountain of dishes accumulates in your sink, it seems that it’s impossible to clean it all. Try to ease your task with the rule of one soapy sponge: wash dishes while the sponge is foaming. When there’s no soap on it, take a break and do something else. The secret is that the procedure that is divided into several little stages is psychologically much easier to perform.
- Get beautiful dishwashers
Washing dishes is not the most inspiring task. But it’s even less attractive to work with a product with an unpleasant chemical smell, with a dirty old sponge, and in an unclean environment. You can find good options here.
Surround yourself with nice accessories: dish soap with a favorite smell, an original dispenser or pretty brushes/sponges, and the prospect of doing the dishes will no longer seem so frightening.
- Buy a pair of rubber gloves
Stop making Cinderella out of yourself. Buy rubber gloves that will keep your hands dry and clean, protect them from the harmful effects of chemicals and possible damage while washing dishes. You can definitely afford this, it’s not expensive at all.
- Save detergent
Instead of squeezing the product directly onto the sponge, try dissolving a small amount in a bowl with water and moisten the sponge in it by dipping it in. This will significantly reduce the consumption of detergent.
In addition, utensils that have not been touched by raw meat, eggs or butter do not need to be washed with soap. It is often enough to just rinse it.
- Use lifehacks to remove complex contaminants
Burnt food at the bottom of a pan is a nightmare. Here are some tips to help eliminate dirt easier and faster.
- Place the empty dirty dishes on the stove and turn it on the maximum temperature. After a while, add a tiny bit of water into the dish. If a drop hisses and instantly evaporates, feel free to fill it in with a glass of water of room temperature. As soon as the steam dissipates, mercilessly gets rid of the dirt with a wooden spatula.
- Fill the dishes with water, add detergent to it and boil for 10-20 minutes. After half an hour, when the dirty dish cools down, proceed to clean the contaminated surface.
- Do not let the dish mountain grow high
We are all familiar with a situation where one dirty plate in the sink turns into a huge mountain of dishes. Of course, washing everything all at once is not always possible, so you can use the following technique.
When you have the first and deepest candidate for cleaning (for example, a pan or a large bowl), fill it with hot water and detergent, place it next to the sink (not in it!) and put other dirty dishes in it.
So you keep the sink empty and prepare the dishes for express cleaning. Soaked in hot water, they will wash faster, you will be less tempted to leave it for later, and the kitchen is unlikely to turn into Augean stables.
- Do not wash everything in the dishwasher
Even if you are the proud owner of a dishwasher, you still can’t avoid washing dishes in a traditional way. At least, if you do not want to damage kitchen utensils and expensive equipment.
Here is a list of things that should not be sent to the dishwasher:
- Cast iron products. They require more thorough care.
- Good knives. They dull faster if you wash them in a dishwasher.
- Crystal. May crack or scratch.
- Wooden dishes. Maybe deformed.
- Cookware with non-stick coating. It all depends on the brand: some models can be washed in a dishwasher, others can not. If you do not know for sure, it is better to use good old hands. Otherwise, your pans risk losing their suitability.
- Copper utensils. May change color.
- Plastic. The exception is hard plastic products, on which the manufacturer indicated that they can be washed in a dishwasher.
- Gold-plated dishes. A machine can ruin a noble coating.
- Utensils with labels. Under the influence of high temperature, they may come off and clog the dishwasher.
- Timely empty the dryer and dishwasher
Washing dishes becomes even more unwanted if before that you need to perform an additional task: take out the previous batch. Therefore, even before making dinner, make sure that there is enough space in the dryer and the dishwasher is free.
- Listen to something pleasant or fun
Instead of suffering over doing the dishes and mentally making a to-do list for the next week, turn on your favorite music, radio, or a funny podcast. Time will fly by much more quickly and pleasant.
- Meditate
We don’t have much time to be alone with our thoughts. So exhale, relax and allow yourself not to think about anything. Even about dirty dishes. Just wash, wash, relax…
