You can probably just chalk it up to a life habit that I never gave opportunity… but I have always washed my dishes in a dishwasher. In fact, nearly every day of my life I have used a dishwasher. Go figure. My parents used one. My grandparents used one. It’s been in every home I have lived in…. and when it wasn’t available (broken or kitchen remodelings), it was a source of great stress. Dishwashers get loaded, started, and emptied. End of story. Or so I thought.
Recently, I have begun washing dishes by hand immediately following every meal. Months ago, I read a famous zen story titled, “Wash Your Bowl” (via Leo Babauta) and have considered its meaning ever since.
As a result, I decided to give the mindful practice of “washing my bowl” a literal shot in my life. I began washing every dish following every meal. And since then, I have almost completely stopped using the dishwasher.
I love it. Here are the practical benefits I have seen:
- Less Physical Clutter. How often were dirty plates, bowls, and glassware left on my kitchen counter following a meal just waiting to be loaded in the dishwasher? Far more often than I would like to admit, that’s for sure. Each time, physical clutter was left on my kitchen counter, table, and sink.
- Less Mental Clutter. An unfinished project clutters the mind… always. Even when we were not in the kitchen, the pending responsibility of needing to clean the dishes was always hanging over our evening events. And we were specifically reminded every time we walked into (or even past) our kitchen.
- Seamlessly Transition Between Activities. Once the mind clutter of dirty dishes has been removed, we are freed to move from activity to activity, event to event, and room to room. We are allowed to be fully engaged in the present… however we choose to spend our evenings. There is no need to return to the past and finish the duties of our meal.
- Dishes are Always Clean. Ever need that one mixing bowl, pot, or cooking utensil, only to find out that it’s still dirty sitting in the dishwasher? Yeah, me too. Washing dishes after every meal means the dishes and cooking utensils are always clean and in their drawer.
- Dishes get Cleaner. Perhaps, the age of my built-in dishwasher has something to do with it, but I always hated pulling a bowl or plate out of the dishwasher that didn’t quite get all the way clean. And now I never do. Dishes are cleaned fully, everytime.
- It Takes Less Time. It came as a surprise, but I truly believe that washing our dishes after every meal has taken less time than loading/running/unloading the dishwasher. After most meals, it takes only 2-3 minutes to handwash each item. Cups are a snap. And most plates are a breeze to clean immediately following a meal.
- Example for My Kids. My kids see parents who finish what they start, aren’t afraid to put in a little effort, and leave a room cleaner than they found it. And those are life disciplines that I hope they embrace every day of their lives as they get older.
- It Brings Personal Satisfaction. There is a level of satisfaction in life that accompanies working with our hands and accomplishing a task without the need for mechanical intervention. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against machines. In many ways, they allow us to accomplish and create more than we could without them. I’m just saying there is a simple satisfaction in reminding ourselves that we can still live joyfully without them.
To accomplish the task of washing dishes immediately after every meal, I use three items: a dish wand, a sink rack, and a towel. I wash, dry, and put away. And with every practice in life, I own it – not the other way around. When we entertain or have a large meal that uses a number of cooking pots and pans, we still use the dishwasher.
It’s been a practical step of living intentionally. It’s been a process of choosing to question my life assumptions and live mindfully in all facets. And in that way, maybe it’s more than I just never gave it an opportunity… maybe it’s more honest to say that I never chose to live this intentionally ever before.
Albert van Zyl says
OK, I’ve gone and timed it myself. We are family of four (kids aged 9 and 11). Packing and unpacking the dish washer took 8 minutes. Hand washing the same load took 14 minutes, including packing away afterwards. I didn’t have help, so I am sure the hand washing could go faster.
What struck me was that the dish washer doesn’t take THAT much faster. There is only 6 minutes in it. Those six minutes of chatting, listening to music etc are not 6 minutes that I really want to ‘save’. I think I’ll go back to hand washing.
Thanks for a great post,
Albert
Brendy says
Time to face the music armed with this great ifnomatrion.
tordis says
if you don’t own a dishwasher, you need less spoons, plates, pans.
because you’ll have to wash it right away.
many people i know own to identical pans just because one is always in the dishwasher and can’t be used…
Ramblings of a Woman says
I think as long as I still have my 2 young adults here, I will keep using the dishwasher. That being said, the current practice of waiting til the sink is overflowing with dirty dishes- unloading clean dishes- loading dishes- running DW- watching the sink and counter pile up for 24-48 hours with dirty dishes (we don’t cook a lot of full mmeals in our house) waiting to be washed once I can’t get to the faucet to make coffee, needs to stop.
Think I will try the unload as soon as clean, load as they get dirty, keeping the sink and counter clean!
Thanks for the notion, Joshua!
Bernice
http://bernicewood.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/the-perfectly-imbalanced-life/
dean says
I quit my job and moved to Costa Rica and one of the hardest thing to get used to was not having a dishwasher. I sold everything before I left and have very few possessions left. But I wish more than anything I still had a dishwasher. Although the whole point of this move is to live with less and enjoy a more minimalist lifestyle. At least I still have a phone and internet. happierthanabillionaire.com
Jessica Rudder says
When we first got married I discovered my husband was more of a neat freak about dishes than I was.
I was content to leave dishes in the sink for a day or two (always rinsed – I didn’t leave crusted on food). He preferred to wash all dishes before the day was done.
I didn’t want to be that bad ‘roommate’ that figures it’s not my problem if my roommate freaks out and does all the dishes before I do them, so, I started doing them before the day was through. Then I started doing them as soon as we were done eating. Then I started doing them while I was cooking (since I don’t really need to stand there and watch the veggies sizzle).
In the beginning I was doing it because I wanted to help my husband be comfortable in his space. Now I do it because I like having things cleaned and organized as I go.
I think I work more quickly than I would if I had a dishwasher; however, I wouldn’t mind having a double sink.
Jo says
I lived 25+ years without a dish washer. My parents never had one. My grandparents have never seen a dish washer in their lives. But I love my dishwasher. I don’t mind washing the plates and the bowls after each meal, but I hate washing (and drying!) the pots and pans. If I don’t have a diswasher, I would cook less just to avoid washing the pots and pan.
Albert van Zyl says
Very nice and agreed. The only thing that I am not sure about is that hand washing is faster. Have you timed it? Tell you what, I will test it over the next two days and let you know!
Naomi says
Washing dishes has always been one of my favorite household chores. I think it’s partly because it’s kind of a meditative activity, and partly because it’s something my sister and I did together growing up. Our dishwasher was old, so we had to rinse everything off before putting it in the dishwasher or it would never get clean.
It’s easier to wash dishes by hand when you have less stuff, too. If you need a spatula, you aren’t going to wait until you have a full load of dishes to get it clean; you’re going to wash it by hand so you can re-use it.
I’ve lived without a dishwasher for most of my adult life, too, so when I actually have one (like now, in the house my husband and I rent), I still wash at least some of them by hand. My mother and I washed my dishes by hand every night after dinner when she came for my wedding. Maybe it’s genetic!
Meg says
Two different times in my life I had and met the goal of having a dishwasher. I ran into the same problems you did. In my current house there is no dishwasher, just the wand and the drainboard like you use (great minds think alike?) and washing up after every use. I, too, was inspired by Leo’s post on the subject and it began the process of minimalization in my kitchen, which in turn has had a tremendously positive impact on my whole life.
The mindfulness and the simplicity of caring for our eating utensils and food preparation space seems to keep things in perspective in the rest of our home and life. I didn’t think that would be the result–it just seemed to happen naturally. I understand what you mean about not intending to live intentionally, and then end up doing just that. Isn’t it great? :)
Gil says
Our dishwasher was included with our new home but frankly, we prefer to wash by hand. It gives my wife and I time to talk and catch up.
We do use the DW when we have a large group of guests, so it does come in handy at times.