Poll! Dirty dishes in the sink? On the counter? Straight to the dishwasher always?

[Sun]

The single-bowl vs. double-bowl sink thread got me wondering. How do you handle dirty dishes at your house? Feel free to elaborate below, but please also try to answer the poll questions. There's some overlap in the two questions, but I tried to cover all the options that I've seen or heard about!

 

(Woo hoo! Fun with the new poll abilities! Multiple questions! Choices up the yin yang! I may have gone a little crazy with all the new possibilities!)

[Laura Corin]

I said that they pile up for 5-8 hours. That's because I go out to work and breakfast isn't always put away before I leave in the morning. When I'm around, they are put away within an hour or two.

 

Laura

[Embassy]

I think the choices assumed that there was a dishwasher in the home. Dishwashers aren't quite so common around here. Dishes pile in the sink or counter until I wash them once a day. Then I leave the last load to dry in the dish drainer.

[Mabeline]

I hate washing dishes, so I try to do them the least times a day. Usually I can get away with doing them only once or twice a day. Sometimes I will tell myself to keep up with them and not let the dishes pile up. I keep the sink clean for only a Amy or two then I do a cooking streak and the dishes pile up. The last thing I want to do after cooking for hours is wash dishes. I cook almost everything from scratch so I already spend too much time in the kitchen. I really need to get my kids to wash dishes for me, but I hate doing it so much I feel bad making them do it. Lol

[MomtoCandJ]

I hand wash so it's every other day or more depending on how many dishes and how big.

[Karen in CO]

I put them immediately into the dishwasher. If the dishwasher is going I leave them on the counter. I try to wash stuff right away. If I haven't I wash stuff before cooking something else because I can't stand cooking while there is a mess.

 

 

This is me, except they go in the sink instead of on the counter. I also empty the dishwasher first thing in the morning so that I can start fresh each day. If I have to run it before dinner, then I'll empty it again as soon as the dishes cool enough to put them away without burning my hands. I hate dirty dishes. I also treat the laundry the same way, striving for empty laundry baskets and put-away clothes.

[SKL]

It really varies a lot around here. We're workaholic business owners. This means that there are days and times when washing dishes is not a priority. This is somewhat mitigated by the fact that cooking and eating fall lower on the priority list at those times too.

 

My preference is to deal with the dishes (hand-washing is my preference) as soon as possible after they are used. However, if both sink basins are already full of dishes, and time is short, I will go with the flow and pile mine on top of theirs.

[Matryoshka]

Depending on who is using the dishes and the spirit moving, it's different.

 

1. If the dishes in the dishwasher are dirty and there's room, I or dh often put them directly in there, but sometimes on the counter.

 

2. Kids leave them wherever they ate on them until they are nagged, then they will put them on the counter (rarely in dishwasher). Or I collect them - sigh.

 

3. Dishwasher gets emptied/run usually every day, but not necessarily at same time. Usually someone (dh or I) notices too many dishes piling up on counter. If it's because dishwasher is dirty, it gets run. If it's because clean dishes need emptying, we do that and load what's on counter.

 

Dirty dishes do not go in sink. That's for pots and for things that need hand-washing. Sink gets cleaned out regularly.

[lynn]

Dirty dishes get put directly into the dishwasher or hand washed, dried put away. I hate seeing dirty dishes.

[Karen in CO]

 

I would put them in the sink, but my kids have a habit of throwing stuff into the sink because they cannot see into the sink without standing on a stool so I always envision they will smash a bunch of dishes that way.

 

 

ah - my kids are taller now. They did the same when they were shorter. :)

[kdownie]

We hand-wash here (no dishwasher), so they pile up 5-8 hours during the day. They are usually washed sometime in the afternoon and evening. We try to reuse the kids plate (i.e. plates with toast at breakfast get a quick rinse and dry then used again for lunch).

 

 

If we had a dishwasher, it'd be loaded immediately with each dirty dish unless it was running.

 

I hate seeing the dirty dishes, but with 3 littles (3, 2, 2 months), dishwashing gets put off more than I'd like.

[fairfarmhand]

I wash stuff before cooking something else because I can't stand cooking while there is a mess.

Me too! Can't stand it!

[*********]

Here's how dishes go in my house. (I'm gonna be totally honest here.)

 

Everyone is expected to put their dirty dishes in the sink. Those big/old enough to *should* rinse/scrape their plates, but they never do. :/

 

Then I go to the sink when I have time, rinse the dishes, and load them in the dishwasher. I really hate washing dishes by hand, but I do it sometimes to either save room in the dishwasher (we have the world's tiniest, I swear) or because it's something that needs to be scrubbed by hand anyway.

 

My family is kinda spoiled in the dish department, I think. They don't even rinse their dishes ususally. It irks me.

[Robin M]

We have a double sink so putting all the dirty dishes in the left hand side isn't an issue. I always put them in the sink, hubby leaves then on the counter next to the sink. Dishes usually get done after lunch when dw is emptied and after dinner. Hubby does once a day on my work days and I require that the kitchen be clean by the time I get home at 8:00. Otherwise I'm a grumpy momma because I can't relax with dirty dishes covering the counter.

[Guest inoubliable]

Othere - we wash as soon as we're done with something, and we wash as we go along with meal prep. I think dishes have piled up a few times here because of an illness or really late party or something, but I can't honestly think of a specific time that happened. I just don't want to say it never did, because it's possible. No dishwasher here, and I think that's why we really couldn't have it any other way. We have to stay on top of them. We also don't have many dishes. We use the china that I inherited from both grandmothers on my side - incomplete sets by the time I got them and so we have 8 plates, but 12 bowls.

[Miss Marple]

I didn't see an option for piling up in the sink AND on the counter AND on the desks AND in the bathroom AND on the coffee tables....I typically make a run through the downstairs rooms in the morning to collect anything left from the evening before and process those before breakfast. I make another run through the downstairs when clearing up from supper. *IF* I happen to find something upstairs during one of my treks there, I bring it down with me - unless I'm just so ticked off that the men-folk can't figure out how to bring down their dirty dishes, then I create a scene and they all march around the house to find their dishes :glare:

[Parrothead]

Dishes get washed after lunch and again after dinner. I don't like waking up to dirty dishes. Dh does the after dinner dishes and I don't think it is fair that he wash our breakfast dishes when he wasn't even home to get breakfast.

 

The longest when I've not been sick that dishes have piled up is probably 24 hours, maybe a day and a half depending on what was going on.

 

I do not currently have a dishwasher.

[dirty ethel rackham]

In my perfect world, dishes would go straight into the dishwasher unless it is running. However, It doesn't always happen like that (like it needs to be emptied and that is my kids' job.) Usually, unless I remind people, they pile up until meal prep or the meal is over. We often have several things that need to be hand washed (some pots depending on what was in them, water bottles for sports, etc.) That means things can pile up. I have one of those wash bins and we started putting the hand-wash dishes in the wash bin until we get to them - at least once a day. I hate cooking in a messy kitchen so I like things to be cleaned up before preparing a big meal and before going to bed.

[OH_Homeschooler]

DH would prefer that everything go right into the dishwasher, but I think it's easier to wait until I actually have some downtime and load it with whatever is in the sink then. I think I do a better job of loading this way as well.

[sbgrace]

We usually run dishes just before bed. I unload them in the morning. Sometimes I run a second load during the day if needed. We generally put them in the sink until they are loaded but sometimes I'll load in the dishwasher directly after a meal. Dishes in the sink until wash time, though, doesn't bother me.

[Hoot]

I try to hand wash things immediately as they're used. The longest I can tolerate dishes being dirty in the sink is overnight. I cannot stand dishes to be laying around on the counter or in the sink or hour or days at a time. It makes the whole house feel messy when the kitchen isn't in order.

[lovinmomma]

I suck. I have no dishwasher. I work full time. I have 3 kids. I am a college student. My kids are known to ask me to wash a bowl in the mornings so that they can have cereal. I'm horrible.

[somo_chickenlady]

We don't have a dishwasher, so everything is handwashed. I voted "They pile up in the sink until meal prep or meal is done. Then they're dealt with" and "Never. We handwash everything immediately."

 

I was having a BIG problem with my family and dishes piling up, so I instituted a rule that all dishes must be washed by the person using them as soon as they are finished. If they have time to take the dish to the sink, they have time to wash it rather than just leave it there. The only dishes that pile up are the meal prep dishes, but if I have time (depending on how hands on I have to be with the meal) I will wash those as I go.

[UrbanSue]

So, on a good day, they are washed after each meal. Most days they are washed before bed. But I have let dishes pile up for as long as three days just because I was busy. I'm glad I'm not the only one. We hand wash by choice.

[Renthead Mommy]

Most plates and bowls get put in as they are cleared. Before I run the dishwasher there is always a walkthrough. I am always amazed at the number of water and coffee cups three people can create and scatter about the first floor. If the dishwasher is full and needs to be run, is running or waiting to be emptied, stuff get's piled on the counter, next to the empty sink (which drives me crazy! Just put it in the sink already!) But if it's been run, the problem is waiting on my son to empty it. Our biggest problem with that is we don't run it regularly. It can be three to four days between needing to be run. So there is no set empty it time, but we are working on it.

 

However I will say I am amazed at how bad we are when daddy is TDY! He was gone not quite three days last weekend. Cleaning up sunday before came home, I was amazed at how we had managed to get dishes and cups scattered across so many surfaces! LOL! I'm almost afraid to see what happens when he's gone for a week in a few days!

[Dandelion]

They pile up in the sink until after each meal. After each meal, we all do kitchen clean-up together, at which point I put them in the dishwasher (unless it's already full and running). So the dishes are dealt with three times a day. I do like waking up to a clean sink in the morning, so if there isn't enough room for all the dishes in the final dishwasher load after dinner, I'll wash them by hand and put them away.

[Kathryn]

We rinse everything off and put it on a dish drainer that sits on the counter next to the sink if they don't go straight in the dishwasher. Reasons for that would be the dishwasher being full/running, being short on time, or in the middle of cooking and having a whole lot more to go in so waiting for it all to go at once.

[regentrude]

Straight into dishwasher after every meal, unless dishwasher is running (which is usually not the case, as I dislike eating with the sound of running dishwasher and make sure that it is finished before meals) or unless there is company. If we have company I quickly clear the dishes from the course off the table, but do not fiddle with the dishwasher.

Some items must be handwashed; those remain on the counter.

I hate dirty dishes in the sink, because inevitably somebody turns on the water to wash hands or fill a bottle, yuck.

ETA: We only run the dishwasher when it is full, so usually not daily.

[HomeschoolMamaOfTwo]

I chose other because mine would have been this below, except replace counter with sink (on one side, the other is open), and it is usually more than once a day but not at a designated time or around meals.

They pile up on the counter until the spirit moves someone to deal with them. The spirit moves us at least once daily.

[Incognito]

Other - I put stuff in the dishwasher right away, except the kids' morning oatmeal bowls. They go in the sink and soak with some water or some oatmeal gets stuck on them in the washer. I get them out of the sink before DH gets home because he finds it an affront to his exsitence that one might leave a dish in the sink for any period of time. :)

[jessicamcc]

When the meal is done, they go into the dishwasher. I run it every night about 10pm. On crazy days they will definitely wait in the sink for a few hours.

[Whereneverever]

I hate a messy kitchen. Everything is washed or in the dishwasher ASAP.

[nmoira]

I run the dishwasher overnight, and empty it first thing in the morning. A counter near the dishwasher accumulates items while I'm prepping, but these are placed in the dishwasher as soon as I have a minute. I try to have everything possible washed and away or in the dishwasher by mealtime so there's only leftovers, pots, pans and tableware to deal with afterward.

 

There's only one exception: oatmeal bowls. If I need the sink (we have a single) for food prep, I'll wipe out the bowls with my hand and put them in the dishwasher. Otherwise they stay in the sink filled with water until it's time to run the dishwasher.

[Guest]

Ideally, everything goes straight into the dishwasher (or is handwashed for pots/pans). Ideally does not always happen, though. I have a double sink and sometimes things pile up for a few hours, but when I start making dinner, everything has to be cleaned up. I don't cook in a mess!

[dbmamaz]

dishes get piled in the sink and the counter next to the sink. dh is in charge of dishes. He does the hand-wash stuff like pots and pans that dont go in the dishwasher every 1-3 days depending on how much there is. He generally runs the dishwasher after dinner and the boys put dishes away during the day. I sometimes refill the dishwasher when I'm cleaning up before making dinner, but more often just rinse/stack neatly in the left sink. If we get off-cycle, i'll top off and run the dishwasher in mid-day.

[jolley]

Dishes go into the sink. We load the dishwasher every afternoon and hand wash anything left. It's not unusual for us to run the dishwasher twice in a day. The longest we have gone is 2 days IF we've simply had sandwiches or gone out. It's not often.

[freesia]

I'm an other--sorry!

 

Ours pile up until the person (different child each meal) is told to load them--no designated time, sometimes breakfast ones are loaded after lunch. Any hand washable dishes used for breakfast or lunch pile up until I deal with them (usually at 3is but sometimes earlier.) Dinner pots are done by a child.

[Durriyyah]

Everything goes in the dishwasher right away unless either 1) it's running or 2) I need to put away the clean dishes. Another options is I put away all my dirty dishes and my family leaves their dirty dishes wherever they feel like. Ugh.

[hsmom42]

I wash dishes by hand, dishwasher hasn't worked in years. I usually wash the dishes after meal prep, then after we are finished with a meal. Dh will often wash dishes in the evening.

 

Dishes that need to soak are generally washed before I go to bed.

[Rivka]

"Regular" dishes - plates, glasses, cups, silverware - get put in the dishwasher pretty quickly. Things that need to be hand-washed - sharp knives, cutting boards, the kids' plastic cups, the apple slicer, etc. - tend to pile up until the end of the day and all get washed together with the dinner pots and pans. But if there's anything at breakfast or lunch that calls for running a dishpan full of soapy hot water (like bacon or mac and cheese) the other hand-washables get washed then too.

[lailasmum]

We wash up by hand once a day, sometimes more. I am queen of the teetering pile so generally its all precariously balanced next to the sink.

 

I have to say I can't stand it when people fill the sink with water, soak plates and leave it to go cold its so yucky.

[JessReplanted]

I don't know how to vote. We don't have a dishwasher. :( Dirty dishes go in the sink, and I wash them at least twice a day.

[beaners]

We don't have a dishwasher. I actually just set a goal to have all the dishes done before bed every night for a week...because I'm not sure I've ever done that before. I am always intentionally forgetting to wash the dirty pyrex and pots and pans once dinner is over, because I am DONE by that point. My husband suggested getting me a dishwasher for my birthday this year. I am all for the idea.

[Wheres Toto]

I needed other on the first poll - the dishes sit in the sink, overflowing onto the counter, until the next morning when I do the dishes first thing while my tea water is heating up.

 

The longest dishes ever sat dirty was 8 days but it was because we lost power unexpectedly and when we lose power, we lose water. We ended up leaving to stay with family and when we came back, the dirty dishes were still there. (put through the dishwasher twice - once to get them clean and once on the sanitize cycle - it was gross). It probably would have been worse if it wasn't too cold for anything to grow on them.

[lea_lpz]

I am the dish washer! I usually leave breakfast and lunch dishes in the sink until before I start making dinner because it isn't a big pile up. I clean as I cook to minimize how many dishes I will need to do after dinner, then after dinner we put away leftover food and with dh and I clean the kitchen (dishes included) together or I am feeling lazy and do them the next morning. All depends.

[Joker]

Here they pile up in the sink until dinner is done, then dh rinses and puts them in the dishwasher. This is usually always done right after dinner but sometimes we'll have something to do and won't get to them until the next day. I rarely do dishes myself anymore since dh knows I hate them. It evens out though because he hates doing laundry and hasn't had to do it in a really long time.

[KungFuPanda]

I voted, but honestly, on any given day, I can check off a different box. I am NOT a creature of habit. I am feast or famine where physical activity is concerned. So it can all be true at some point . . . . Except at the bottom of the poll where dishes are left for days on end. I couldn't take that and I'm not remotely OCD.

[nukeswife]

They pile up in the sink or on the counter until I either make a smart a$$ comment about being the only seeing person in the house or until my dh or one of my children has been possessed by aliens who apparently like to clean without being asked.

 

I always make sure the dishwasher is loaded and running when I head up to bed.

[creekland]

With ours they pile up on the counter or in one side of the sink until there are enough to run the dishwasher full. This may be 2 - 3 times per day if we have a lot of people in the house or once per week if just one or two of us is home. I do not see a reason to run the dishwasher unless it's full and I hate washing dishes by hand. Having dirty ones around until I can run a full load doesn't bother me at all. (They may be rinsed if they'd attract flies.) I had to vote other.

[Mango]

I voted other. This old farm house doesn't have a dishwasher so I've had to make peace with my dirty dishes.

 

I've learned to wash as I go. I use it, I wash it. That way the sink is clear for the dinner plates, cups and cutlery after mealtimes for folks to put them when they clear their place. I wash, the kids put it away.

 

Dishes are like dust bunnies. The longer you leave them sit the more and harder they get to clean.

 

I still don't like doing dishes. But washing them by hand was the only way I conquered this task. Fortunately I was forced into because there's no machine in this old house. Otherwise I might still be looking for my counters.