Remember when I declared 2014 to be the Year of the Routines?
I’m sure you’re all dying for an update!
Dishes: The first routine I decided to try was doing the dishes first thing every morning.
And how’s that going? Well, it’s not.
I haven’t been doing the dishes every morning. Or even every day. My sink still fills up like it used to.
Routine #1 = failure. Help me out – do you have a routine that helps you stay on top of the dishes?
Coats and hats and mittens – oh my! The 2nd routine, that I didn’t even get around to telling you about, was another morning routine. Almost every morning, Isaac threw a giant fit when it was time to get his coat & boots on. To remedy this problem, I planned to print out a “winter clothes” chart to hang by the door. I can picture it in my head…cute, simple clip art pictures of a coat, hat, mittens and boots. And maybe a sticker chart, for everyday that he got ready without a fuss.
But then I couldn’t find the perfect clip art.
And then the boys got sick and we stayed home for several days.
And then, magically, he quit fighting. I don’t know what happened, but he just. quit. fighting.
Routine #2 = no longer needed?
So, yeah. As you can tell, I’m really rockin’ the routines thus far. (sarcasm font needed.)
And now, because I simply cannot write a blog post without including a picture, but I have no pictures to go with my failed routines, here’s Isaac, with toilet paper muscles. “I strong, Mom!”
I like to load the dishwasher following each meal & then set the timer to run after we are in bed. I guess this won't help if you don't have a dishwasher let alone one w/a timer... but this is what works for me.
ReplyDeleteTry faking a dishwasher. Buy a dishrack that fits in your sink, put your dirty dishes in it after each meal. Squibble dishwashing liquid over it and rinse it high blast with very hot water with your hose attachment. Then walk away until you're ready to deal with them - should be a much easier process then, too.
ReplyDeleteAlso: countertop dishwasher?
Forgot to comment on your photo: that face! Adorable!
ReplyDeleteoh, dear. oh, dear. I've somehow given you the impression I don't have a dishwasher. I DO! I have a dishwasher and I STILL can't keep up!
ReplyDeleteI am not the best at keeping up with dishes either. Lately, what has been workin for me is to have the dishwasher empty before supper is served. This way as we are cleaning up, the dishes go straight into the dishwasher. Typically, it is then full enough to run. If it is not, then after breakfast the next morning it can be ran. I then empty it in the afternoon when the kids are napping and reload any stray dishes from lunch. Although, you might have more dishes than I do. It is just me and a 4 year old for lunch in my house, and we do leftovers a lot. So i'm not fixing a "meal" for lunch. One last thing, I will steer away from putting large pots, pans, mixing bowls, etc in the dishwasher so I have more room for plates and glasses. I will hand wash those large items right away ( little squirt of soap in the pan and a little water - no need to fill the sink). They are the easiest to dry and put away since they are larger. Hope you find something that works for you!
ReplyDeleteI'm kind of like Rajean... my kids unload it when they get off the bus after school (we have 4 kids, the job rotates every week, so it's not that huge of a deal), and no matter how full, it ABSOLUTELY runs from 7:15am (when we walk out the door in the morning) until whenever it's finished every school-day morning. Like I said, we have 6 people and 3-ish meals in it by then, so it usually needs to be run. It's worth the peace of mind to know that I can fill it however full it needs to get after supper, when I run even a half of a load during the day, and we do have a low-energy setting that works fine if it's not all that full.
ReplyDelete