Bornfamous

I was unloading the dishwasher just now, long before necessary to make room for what used to be an overflowing sinkful of dirty dishes–a completely new concept around here–when it occurred to me that I should be blogging about this alien territory I have recently discovered: Clean Kitchenland.

I don’t know why I thought it would be so difficult to manage such a feat on a daily basis. Now that I know the trick, it’s much easier–and nicer–than living with a messy kitchen. For one thing, now I can cook a meal or fix a snack whenever I want to; I don’t have to face the daunting task of cleaning up first in order to have room to work, a pot to cook in, or clean dishes to eat from.

And the trick is sooo easy. All you have to do is clean up as you go along. Rinse the dishes right away after using them and put them in the dishwasher. Clean up small messes while you’re waiting for something to cook, instead of just standing there or going back to the computer. Clean the pots and pans while they’re still hot, before eating the food that was just cooked in them [much easier to clean, btw--and your food won't get cold in the two minutes it takes to do it.] And as Flylady says, “Go shine your sink!”

I really don’t understand why I never “got” it before. It’s not like I wasn’t told frequently, sometimes gently and sometimes not, by plenty of older female relatives. When Aunt Babe said that it was easier to clean up as you go along, it made sense but when I half-heartedly tried it myself a few times, something was missing. That “something” was an empty dishwasher.

Bear with me here. Some of us with more addled brains need to have every step spelled out, and this was the step I kept stumbling over: PUT THE CLEAN DISHES AWAY BEFORE THE DIRTY DISHES PILE UP! That way, you’ll have someplace to put them [the dishwasher], out of sight.

I think I’ll print that out in some huge, attention-getting font and frame it right over the sink. Maybe I’ll do it in needlepoint–or: A STITCH IN TIME SAVES NINE. All these years, I thought those old bromides were made up by fanatical clean-freaks whose idea of fun was MORE WORK, YIPPEE! But now I finally see. The veil has been lifted.

Those women didn’t have dishwashers or even running water. They had to do everything from scratch. They weren’t trying to make more work for themselves; they were trying to make their lives, and those of the daughters they taught, as easy as possible.

At last. I get it.