h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

That's what I do, Paul. Oh, except the putting away As it's just me, I tend to just take the plate off the drainer to use the next night. But then I'm out all day from early morning so no-one's around to see my untidy draining board . I'm better at the weekends when I'm home.

Deb

You shoudln't really dry dishes, etc, with a tea-towel, its just a a very effective way at spreadding germs, onto teh cleaned plates, etc. air drying is best, I just hand wash everythign here, including most of my lodger's stuff, as he's too stupid to do it himself. though, this morning, I came down, to find William had washed up all of the lodger's stuff from last night Anyhow, its more amusing when I do the washing up... I've not got very good temperature recognition anymore in my hands, so I useually end up burning myself when I do it... but, at lest the plastes and stuff get nicely steralised in very hot water useually only take an hour or so to dry on the drainer, then they can go away, before more stuff needs to be washed... constant doing it bit by bit, means it neer..... or at least shouldn't ever build up - like emptiying the kithen bin, I do it every time I notice its nearly full, so I don't get stuff on the floor... lodger just lets it overflow, but, I guess that's only beucase he knows I'll pick up anything that's fallen out of it for him I like housework though. its zen.

My understanding about the shoes was that you get yourself properly dressed, as though you were leaving the house, and this puts you into a different frame of mind. The shoes are part of that process.

Similarly the shine your kitchen sink every day thing isn't about cleaning your sink. It's about making sure it's empty, so *if nothing else* you at least start the next day with one job not carried forward - which, again, puts you in a different frame of mind.

Dishwasher: I get *really* narked if I have to unload it, ever. I do way more than my share of the chores so I don't think it's much to ask that other people unload it. And, to be fair, usually they do.

I get *even more* narked if other people put things in it 'wrongly' because I end up having to move everything around to do the enormous 3D jigsaw which is loading the dishwasher ready to put it on. I don't care if they load it 'wrongly' if they also switch it on, it's the rearranging that bugs me.

2legs, you need a different lodger.

I'm glad you started this thread CD. Hoping it has a similar effect on me ...

Mol

I can't see the point of dishwasers really... =- like this evening, cooking dinner, by the time I sti down to eat, there is hardly anything left to wash p, as its all been washed up as I went along; wehn I finishe eating, I put away the stuff on the drainer, as its basifally then dry, and wash up the few bits, left, which are put away after having dried themselves, well before its bed time, just leaving the one tea cup to wash befor ebed. washing everythign up immediately, it takes no time, as nothing gets baked on, or left to 'set' as it were I useually sweep kitchen after then washing up, though often I'e swept in teh morning too, so it never is too bad, useually. a final whipe of worktops, though they're useually done before and midway through cooking anyhow, and if I've used it, clean the hob every time its used, as it takes no time at all, doing it frequently; again the dirt never builds up. 2 to 4 minutes cleaning kitchen, after every use, and ... that is all it ever seems to need, cept for the extra bits, like mopping the floor, which I useually do at teh weekend; takes less than 10 minutes to mop all of upstairs, (bedrooms, plus bathroom, plus landing, plus top staircase), and the kitche, plus utility room, takes longer to get the bucket and mop out, than it does to actually mop; assuming one does it regularly enough that it doesn't get too bad... - not sure about m otivation for doing such things... I just do them because if I don't no one else will, and, more to the point recently, to try have some atempt at lkeeping teh place clean, and sterile, whilst I've been potentially prone to infections in a fatal septacemia type way

2legs, I wish I had a spare bedroom. I'd invite you to be our lodger. Either you'd end up doing the housework for me, or you'd motivate me to do it myself. Either would be good.

>>I can't see the point of dishwasers really...

I think they become increasingly useful with larger households, but the 'break-even' point is as little as 3 or 4 people; so if there's only two, it's probably more effort than it's worth. If you have regular parties, a dishwasher is very handy.

However, there are advantages anyway, like the level of cleanliness which can be achieved by washing at such a high temperature, and the fact that they tend to use less water than hand-washing, which becomes more of an issue when you're on a watermeter.

2legs >>I can't see the point of dishwasers really...<<

There are 4 of us, I get home at 7:30 pm (having left the house at 6:15am) which means we don't finish eating until around 8:15pm. I go to bed at 10 (usually).

If we didn't have a dishwasher we'd be washing up for just about the entirety of my waking hours at home.

Yes, there are five of us. And when we go on holiday with our best friends, and there are *nine* of us, the dishwasher goes on two or three times a day (we do eat very well while we're on holiday though!)

When my husband lived on his own as a bachelor, he never used to wash up. I visited roughly every three weeks, and he had enough cutlery and crockery not to have washed up at all since my last visit. The 'little and often' approach just passes some people entirely by ...

Mol

I'm finding now that most if the 'big' jobs have been tackled (stuff waiting to be washed since Christmas) its much easier to keep on top of things. For example today with a little help I managed to get the dishes washed, the counters wiped, the bathroom cleaned and the floors mopped in under an hour. The whole house bar the spare room and me and OH's bedroom is clean and tidy. The spare room is waiting on a loft trip and our room will take both of us a couple of hours to sort as all paperwork and thingymajigs are in there.

I'm a great one for lists & procrastinating. Generally I prefer to do things in batches, but I appreciate the physical limitations. When I was convalescent post surgery, I had to pace myself - after one task, a rest. Perhaps a list & a schedule of when you're going to do things might help, with a rewarding activity afterwards. Often when I actually start a task reluctantly, I find it isn't quite as bad as expected.
I must admit I'm tempted to say if it's your husband who wants his T shirt mended, he could do it himself….
My husband has some chores allocated - the ones I hate, like cleaning the shower & the hob - I have to accept they're not going to get done as often or as well as I'd like.

I never go to bed at night with dirty dishes in the sink.