Washing dishes can be a bore, especially without the aid of an automatic dishwasher.
Luckily you don't need a machine to clear your sink quickly. With just a few small adjustments to your routine, you can easily cut your dishwashing time in half.
1. Pass the time with a playlist
Nothing makes time fly by like listening to an entertaining podcast or playlist. For fun and helpful cleaning podcasts, we highly recommend A Slob Comes Clean and The Minimalists Podcast. If you prefer music to conversation, we've curated the perfect Washing Dishes playlist for you.
For more energetic tunes to put you in a productive mood, check out the rest of our cleaning playlists on Spotify.
2. Pre-soak
Instead of waiting to clean after your meal, start cleaning as you cook. While you're waiting for water to boil, quickly wash off measuring cups, mixing bowls, and cooking utensils. Once you're done using a pot or pan, scrape it off with a rubber spatula and immediately soak it in hot water. By the time you're done eating, the hot water will have loosened the excess food, making it easy to wipe off.
Pro Tip:
Use cold water when cleaning dairy or starches from dishes. Hot water will cause the food to gum up rather than loosen.
3. Don’t crowd your sink
An overly crowded sink can clog your drain and leave you little room for cleaning. Plus, there's nothing more intimidating than a towering pile of pots and pans.
Instead of tossing all your dirty dishes into the sink, keep them soaking nearby in a designated “dirty bin." If you have two sinks, you can use one sink to soak and the other to rinse.
Pro Tip:
To avoid utensils falling down the sink drain, set them aside in a bowl of soapy water.
4. Wash in order
Yes, there is an order to washing dishes. Start with the least dirty items first: cups and glassware, followed by utensils, bowls, and plates. Save the most heavily soiled items, pots and pans, for last.
Pro Tips:
For grease: Use salt as an abrasive to remove grease from pans.
For burnt pots: Add 2 tablespoons of baking soda and 1 cup of water to your pot. Bring the mixture to a boil and then let cool off. Once the pot has cooled, scrub off the burnt bits with a non-abrasive sponge.
5. Save time on soap
Instead of continuously loading your sponge with soap, try using a soap-dispensing dish wand. These handy devices are already pre-loaded with dishwashing liquid, so you don't need to waste time on pumping your soap bottle. All you have to do is press the dispenser button and scrub. Seriously, these wands are magic.
Alternatively, you can dip your regular sponge in a bowl of soapy water whenever you need a soap refill.
