One small shift in kitchen cleaning gave me a ton of time and energy back.
Once upon a time, my family lived in a house with no working dishwasher. This kitchen chore was officially assigned to me from ages 12 to 17. I cried almost every time I had to wash the dishes by hand because I hated it so much.
Of course, I never minded eating all the delicious meals my parents cooked using those dishes. But I watched how quickly they piled up with dread. I vowed that I would never live in another place that didn’t have a dishwasher. And I have been successful in fulfilling that promise. I even had my only set of drawers removed from my current kitchen in order to fit in a beautiful, 18-inch stainless steel Bosch.
Granted, all those years of doing the dishes did teach me how to expertly clean every kind of dish. But it doesn’t compare to the freedom of loading up my dishwasher and hitting a button. I thought I had it made—and then I took it one step further.
Why I Stopped Running My Dishwasher at Night
I think that running the dishwasher overnight is the most common way people clean their dishes. And it is, without a doubt, a great option. The appliance gently hums along in the kitchen all night, and you wake up to clean dishes. But of course, that also means that you need to unload the clean dishes before you have a place to put the dirty ones. And this was always the kicker for me. The coffee mug I had set by the sink in the morning was quickly joined by all my breakfast and lunch dishes.
I changed it up purely by coincidence one day. I had dinner plans with a friend, and while I was waiting for her to pick me up, I quickly loaded up my dishwasher. Instead of waiting to run it overnight, I decided to load in a detergent tab and hit the start button. When I came home, my dishes were clean, dry and ready to be put away before I even fell asleep.
That meant for the first time ever, I was going to wake up to an empty dishwasher and sink.
Why This Change Made Such a Difference
I know that this seems really small, but it’s huge in terms of stress relief and time management. Instead of making dishes a two-day affair, starting at night and ending in the morning, I could have that chore done in a few hours in the evening.
Now I load up after dinner and let it run while I watch TV, go to pickleball or spend time out with my friends. Putting my clean dishes away at the end of the day is always the best way to get a good night’s sleep. If you don’t believe me, at least give it a try once!
