Don’t you just love that sound?  I mean, the sound of a dishwasher running, cleaning and sanitizing your dishes.  That sound is the sound of a task completed!  After writing about kitchen housework in my last article, I started thinking about some of our habits that probably help me be able to empty and fill my dishwasher so quickly.  Here’s what we do:

Everybody Carries.  The smallest of children are trained to carry their own dishes from the table to the counter, every meal.  Truly, we only had to train our oldest children.  The younger two have both learned to do this, because they want to be like the big kids. :).  I still have to remind everyone at times, but for the most part it is a wonderful habit.  Even at Grandmas house, the children get up from a meal and carry dishes to the sink.  How does this help?  Well, if you include steps back and forth from the table while you clear all the dishes yourself, you will probably add several minutes to your time.

All Dishes in Easy Reach.  Having lived in 9 houses since our marriage 15 years ago, I realize not every kitchen is perfect.  Here is one thing I have always tried to do.  Put as many of your daily dishes within easy reach of your dishwasher as possible.  In our current home, the silverware, plates, bowls, serving dishes, measuring spoons and mixing bowls are all within easy reach of the dishwasher.  I can stand in one place, and put all of those items away.  I do have to close the dishwasher to get into some of the lower cabinets, but it does work.

Sort Dishes by Type.  Since my drinking cups are all in a cabinet several steps away from the dishwasher, as I empty I simply make a stack of cups on the counter next to me.  When I am finished with everything else, I carry the cups to their location.  The same thing is true of our knives.  We keep our knives up high out of reach of little hands, so I usually gather those up last from the dishwasher and carry them to location. Every saved step saves time!  Even removing and stacking the plates all at once, removing and stacking the bowls all at once, and removing and stacking the measuring cups all at once saves time over putting each item into the cabinet individually!

Don’t Spend Too Much Time Rinsing.  Most modern dishwashers do a great job of rinsing loose food off of dishes!  It is easy to spend way too much unnecessary time rinsing.  Once in a while, see how much you can get away without rinsing.  Put dishes in the dishwasher you don’t think will come clean.  Run a test!  When you must rinse, only rinse the bare minimum.  Let your dishwasher do it’s job.

Rinse and Stack Dishes by Type.  Sorting works going in to the dishwasher too!  I still pre-rinse plates of food and messy dishes, and as I rinse I also sort and stack items by type.  When I start putting those dishes into the dishwasher, all the silverware is ready to go in one place, all the upper rack stuff is together, all the plates are together, etc.  

Concentrate and Work Fast.  It might seem obvious to concentrate on the task at hand; yet too often I find myself stopping to talk on the phone with one hand, or chatting with a child, or helping someone get a drink  All of those things can wait until the task at hand is finished.  A fast, concentrated worker finishes much more quickly!  Next time you clean the kitchen, see how many distractions come your way — then work to eliminate them!  One trick I have is to get all of my children sitting at the kitchen table with crayons or pencils and paper.  This keeps them occupied while I work.  Maybe your children prefer playdough, coloring books, or some other diversion?  When all else fails, try an audio book :).

Time Yourself!  After you have an idea of how long it takes you now, try implementing a few of these ideas and let me know how it goes…