Who should do the dishes? POLL

[Magenta]

I am genuinely curious, why would men suffer more if they did the dishes?

I'm with SweetMorningDew--a guy who does domestic chores--and voluntarily!--is definitely a turn-on.

I've always worked, so I believe household chores should be divided (unless he stays at home and didn't work, then I would expect that he would take care of the house.)

My husband-at-the-time and I were broke college students who were both working and going to school, so we split the chores (I mowed the lawn my fair share of times, too.) When one person cooked, the other one did dishes. Since I did 99% of the cooking, he did the dishes a lot, although we often wound up doing them together.

I still follow that rule, even if I'm invited to someone else's house for dinner. After I eat, I quietly excuse myself and go to the kitchen to start doing the dishes. If it's just myself and a host, we usually wind up finishing them together. But if it's several people, I love it when the host later comes into the kitchen... and is completely shocked to find all the dishes done. (I'll also dry them and put them away if there is enough time, and if I can find where everything goes.)

Hello loveliest of Kims This reminds me of when we would have big family dinners at our house. Now, a lot of people would think having ten, eleven, twelve or thirteen people sitting down at the same time for a meal together would be a big deal, but we did it every day, three times a day Of course, as the elders went off to university and/or got married, it shrank probably down to eight to ten or so on a regular basis By the time I left home at the age of eighteen, there were ten immediate family members (including my parents) living in the family home My mother particularly insisted we have our meals together as much as possible Ahem. That was a lot of dishes to do every day, three times a day!

Any ways, when we had Christmas or Thanksgiving or Easter company, especially Christmas time, there could be over thirty people sitting down to eat at once, and the women would ALWAYS help clean up, and fuss about in the kitchen doing dishes; it was a way for them to spend time together and talk what they talked about, catching up with each other, and as children, us girls LOVED that they did that, because then we were not stuck *doing even more dishes than normal when we wanted to be visiting with our visitors. Of course, visiting with our visitors sometimes also meant being in the kitchen while the women were in there cleaning up after dinner, but it was not compulsory Then we could also show them where everything went

*All those extra pots and pans! Gaaahhh!!! The worst part of "doing the dishes" Grease.

Of course, pots and pans should always be done last. Glasses first, along with tea cups and coffee mugs, then any plastics, then the china, then the silverwear (we always brought out the fine china and real silver for such family occasions), then all the pots and pans, with the bigger greasy ones going in last. (Guys, are you taking notes? haha) When there was so many extra dishes to wash, somewhere along the line you had to start a new sink of water any ways, because the suds was dead and the water cold LOL.

Kim, didn't your hosts wonder where you were when you always disappeared after dinner? Once a week I have dinner with my daughter, her dad, her aunt, and her grand dad (plus their two dogs and four cats ). I have offered to help clean up after dinner, but they shoo me away after everything is brought back into the kitchen, saying the dishwasher will do it

Did anyone mention the dishwasher on the best invention of all time thread?

 

[seoulsearch]

Hello loveliest of Kims This reminds me of when we would have big family dinners at our house. Now, a lot of people would think having ten, eleven, twelve or thirteen people sitting down at the same time for a meal together would be a big deal, but we did it every day, three times a day Of course, as the elders went off to university and/or got married, it shrank probably down to eight to ten or so on a regular basis By the time I left home at the age of eighteen, there were ten immediate family members (including my parents) living in the family home My mother particularly insisted we have our meals together as much as possible Ahem. That was a lot of dishes to do every day, three times a day!

Any ways, when we had Christmas or Thanksgiving or Easter company, especially Christmas time, there could be over thirty people sitting down to eat at once, and the women would ALWAYS help clean up, and fuss about in the kitchen doing dishes; it was a way for them to spend time together and talk what they talked about, catching up with each other, and as children, us girls LOVED that they did that, because then we were not stuck *doing even more dishes than normal when we wanted to be visiting with our visitors. Of course, visiting with our visitors sometimes also meant being in the kitchen while the women were in there cleaning up after dinner, but it was not compulsory Then we could also show them where everything went

*All those extra pots and pans! Gaaahhh!!! The worst part of "doing the dishes" Grease.

Of course, pots and pans should always be done last. Glasses first, along with tea cups and coffee mugs, then any plastics, then the china, then the silverwear (we always brought out the fine china and real silver for such family occasions), then all the pots and pans, with the bigger greasy ones going in last. (Guys, are you taking notes? haha) When there was so many extra dishes to wash, somewhere along the line you had to start a new sink of water any ways, because the suds was dead and the water cold LOL.

Kim, didn't your hosts wonder where you were when you always disappeared after dinner? Once a week I have dinner with my daughter, her dad, her aunt, and her grand dad (plus their two dogs and four cats ). I have offered to help clean up after dinner, but they shoo me away after everything is brought back into the kitchen, saying the dishwasher will do it

Did anyone mention the dishwasher on the best invention of all time thread?

Lady M, I love hearing all these stories from you life (and from other people's lives) so I hope you'll continue to tell us more!! I especially love all the little details, like about the dishes and who was there and all the people who are involved.

I don't have a big family, so it's fascinating to me to hear how people survive amongst so much traffic, laundry, and dishes! (To me, it's a completely different culture, and immensely interesting.)

I have a friend whom I used to trade off with as far as inviting each other for dinner; she likes to fill me in on everything going on (in real life, I don't talk quite as much as I write ), so I would just have her pull up a chair while I finished working. We would usually dry and put things away together.

In larger groups, it was usually older women or older couples, so they'd all start talking about their children or grandchildren, etc. Since many modern floor plans have an open kitchen, I could do dishes while still listening to the conversation. The host might protest at first, but I try to persuade her to just enjoy her guests, and they usually pull her (or the couple who invited everyone) back into the conversation.

Oh my goodness... with two dogs and four cats around, how does anyone get to actually eat? (I imagine there is a lot of begging under the table. )

I have never actually seen real silverware or fine china (well, I think I've seen it in cabinets at people's houses.) My mom had a set of "good plates" but I don't think it counts as "fine china". I have always wanted to attend a "high tea" with real china and all those fancy little cups (I sure hope I wouldn't drop mine.)

Actually, when it comes to doing dishes, someone introduced me to those wands with a sponge on the end that you fill up with dish soap and it changed my life!! No more waiting to fill up sinks with hot water! I just use the soapy sponge to wash the dishes under hot running water, throw them on the drying rack and go.

 

[laura_charlotte]

I used to hate doing dishes and my parents never used the dishwasher even though we always had one because they said it uses too much electricity (true story!)

Growing up we never had a dishwasher in the house ever. It just wasn't part of my parents belief, that a little bit of elbow grease from those who ate, couldn't go up and wash their dishes and put them in the rack to drain at the end. As an adult now, I can totally see why they didn't and I'm grateful they never had one installed only to be left with half done, gritty, dishes that weren't properly washed at all.

Our house wasn't divided by gender in any respect. As children, when we finished our meals, took our plates up the sink, washed them and put them aside. If my mum was busy, my dad would do the dishes. If my mum cooked the meals for that evening, my dad would always offer to help her afterward. My dad worked from home on our property for the first 13 years of my life, he and mum always encouraged me to get my hands dirty and help both outdoors and indoors, whether it was mowing the lawn, helping dad sand down pieces of timbre or wash the walls inside, all aspects of labour were made readily available to me. There was never any segregation between the sexes in our household and for that I will be forever grateful as it's served me so well in my journey with the Lord.

 

[Tommy379]

That's only if you wear an apron over your uniform while doing the dishes.

And if you dry them and put them away, too?

Man, it's all over.

.

 

[WineRose]

Is there an option for using telekinetic powers to do the dishes?

 

[mailmandan]

The dog can do the dishes.

 

[Lynx]

Whoever expelled less energy outside of the house on a given day. If equal, the role should be shared.

This reminds me of a For Better Or For Worse comic strip. The mother and father come home from work and are sitting on the couch, and they are both talking about how rough the workday was and how exhausted they are. Both of them keep going on and on about how deeply they are tired. Meanwhile the little girl asks her brother, "What are mom and dad talking about?" The boy replies, "They're trying to decide who has to make dinner."

 

[Lynx]

Ideally, whoever has time . But none of the guys in my experience even SEE when the counter is full of dishes, much less do them. So in my household it was usually the women who ended up washing them unless we had a set chore schedule (which we did for many, many years). Most of us who cared to improve are pretty professional by now, because I grew up in a family of ten kids, and it was very seldom we had such "luxury" items as paper plates. So dishes were a constant .

Actually it's not that we don't see the dishes, and it's not that we are playing a waiting game to see if somebody else will do them. For me at least, there just aren't enough dishes to bother with yet. I'll get them when there are enough to be worth the trouble of running dish water for them. If somebody else thinks there are enough to bother with sooner, okay. If somebody waits long enough I'll get to the dishes.

 

[Lynx]

Also, if somebody does the dishes before they reach the "worth it" level and complains loudly about how I never do the dishes, that would aggravate the mess out of me. And it wouldn't be aggravation that provokes me to do the dishes sooner next time. It's just aggravating. If you hate doing dishes that much just leave them alone. I'll get to them when I get to them, and no amount of recrimination is going to get them done sooner.

 

[JesusLives]

I got about another 3 years, and then my 2 daughters get the job.
Thank God a democrat was not elected, or there would probably be some child labor law against it.

When my Melisa was 3 or 4 years old she wanted to wash the dishes so I pulled a chair up to the sink and let her stand on it and do her best. I figured better let her do it when she wanted to cause I knew down the road to teenagerdom she would probably fight me tooth and nail not to do them. So I enjoyed it while I got it willingly. lol

My Melisa is 37 now.

 

[JesusLives]

I vote.... tourist does my dishes.

He's mine all mine.....lol

 

[JesusLives]

Is there an option for using telekinetic powers to do the dishes?

When you figure this one out let me know how to do it.

 

[JesusLives]

Actually it's not that we don't see the dishes, and it's not that we are playing a waiting game to see if somebody else will do them. For me at least, there just aren't enough dishes to bother with yet. I'll get them when there are enough to be worth the trouble of running dish water for them. If somebody else thinks there are enough to bother with sooner, okay. If somebody waits long enough I'll get to the dishes.

Shhhhhhhh you're not suppose to tell the secret.......

 

[Monnkai]

Well I don't do the dishes but I do put them away. And it fills me with a unspeakable rage that I do not feel anywhere else in life. I'm not sure what it is but I just get livid when I have to do it. I swear and I feel like breaking the darn things. I've contemplated the possibility that I become possessed by some dish hating spirit when I do it. Who knows lol

 

[cinder]

Whoever wants to eat again sometime in the future should do the dishes. Fortunately in my home (which is just me) there's never any debate about who is going to do the dishes, though sometimes there is debate about if they really need to be done yet. Most days though, it's been incorporated into my morning routine... put electric kettle on for tea, and wash yesterdays dishes while the kettle is heating. Haven't gotten ill from eating off dirty dishes yet so I must be doing something right.

(Fair warning: though I haven't gotten ill from dishes yet, cooking for one has made me extremely lax about using silverware or dishes I've just eaten off of to dish up and store leftovers... so while I haven't gotten sick, you can never be sure that my innocent looking leftovers aren't already contaminated with my germs. )

 

[joefizz]

Is there an option for using telekinetic powers to do the dishes?

Yes it's called the "dish washer" it does the dishes for you.

 

[BillG]

Yes it's called the "dish washer" it does the dishes for you.

How dare you call my wife an "It"

 

[tourist]

He's mine all mine.....lol

You can call ne Mr. Clean.

 

[dailybread]

I believe that both parties should take turns washing the dishes or whomever doesn't cook, should do them. Where I come from, the chef/cook doesn't do the dishes

 

[Lynx]

By the way, speaking of dishwashers... What's the big deal about them? They seem to take more time than just washing the dishes. You have to pre-wash them, load them in the dishwasher, run it, unload and put the dishes away, and by that time I could have washed the whole load.

The pre-washing is what gets me. If the dishwasher isn't good enough to blast food off the dishes, it's not worth using.