I previously wrote about my desire to have an automatic dishwasher and how my husband bartered for one. That was many years ago and since then we’ve had a dishwasher in the multiple houses we’ve lived in, but they’ve all been really cheap models and just don’t work.
We recently had our garbage disposal replaced and since then our dishwasher hasn’t worked, the water won’t drain. I’m convinced they’re related but the handyman says there’s no way and our homeowner (we rent) won’t pay for any more repairs at the moment. So, I’m left with a dishwasher that hasn’t worked for two months, not that it really worked very well before that. I suppose I could ask my husband to crawl into the cabinet to disconnect the hose and check it, but I really don’t feel like asking him to bother with that because when it did work we had to pre-rinse and usually rinse again after the dishes were “clean”.
When my husband bartered for that first dishwasher we had 3 children, we now have 5. I have less time and more dishes, but it’s not really a problem for me. Not having a dishwasher was a huge deal for me back then but now I just see it as a “meh, whatever.” Perhaps it’s the recent change in thinking I’ve experienced, or maybe not. I have a secret to tell, I’ve always kind of enjoyed doing dishes by hand. My friends back in college used to laugh at me, I’d go over to visit and end up doing their dishes. I find it insanely relaxing to wash dishes. It’s something easy, something I don’t have to think about. I can carry on a conversation with my family or listen to a podcast and still accomplish something.
Eventually we’re going to buy this house, or another house, and I’m going to buy a very good, top-of-the-line-water-and-electricity-saving dishwasher, but for now it’s handwashing for me and I’m ok with that.
Oh yes, I remember when I was rather depressed, and the shrink was talking about mindfulness (Almost wrote midlessness!), and the example was eating a raisin and the other was dishwashing. After that talk, I realised I didn’t really mind washing up. My hands get warm. Things get clean. I’m in my own bubble. I have a dishwasher, that works. I use it when I have guests for dinner, and enough stuff is used at once. For me, batch cooking and all, I wash up. I realise what I don’t like is no bench space cause of untidy/dirty stacked stuff. But I don’t want to run a sink for minimal stuff. I also realise I don’t like the draining rack on the bench (see, I now realise my parents never leave the draining rack on the bench, as they are HUGE dishwasher fans). So now I ‘drain’ dishes in the dishwasher – works a treat!
That’s a good idea! I’ve stored dirty dishes in mine before, especially when I knew the landlord was coming over, LOL! We found out last week that our dishwasher was recalled. The homeowner would like for us to get the repair made, but the repair is only to the heating element. I’m going to have to borrow a wet vac (some rodents destroyed ours, yuck) to get all of the standing water out (I run a bleach cycle weekly or it stinks), and then see if they can fix the problem of it not draining as well…we shall see.