PDA

View Full Version : Supper dishes... Are you a bouncer, or a relaxer?



Mrs-M
1-16-13, 10:08am
ApatheticNoMore and I, exchanged pleasantries in another thread related domesticities (dishes at the spotlight), and it got me to thinking about what everyone does in the way of, end of the day cleanup, as in supper dishes.

Are you a bouncer, where soon after supper is served/eaten, you start the cleanup process, or are you a relaxer, where you take a little time for yourself before taking on kitchen duty?

Kestrel
1-16-13, 12:15pm
My preference, when I have total control and can do things JUST the way I WANT, is to clean up after dinner, but NOT do the dishes. I do 90% of my dishes by hand, not using the dishwasher. So, the next morning, after breakfast, I like to wash all the dishes and putter around while watching something recorded on the TV. In my perfect world, after dinner is "our time" together to relax and enjoy the evening.

It's a long long story, but suffice it to say I don't usually get what I want ...

Rosemary
1-16-13, 1:10pm
I clean up everything right after dinner. I like being able to relax once the work is done. If there are dishes in the sink, they are on my mind.

Gardenarian
1-16-13, 2:32pm
We try to get all the dishes in the dishwasher right after eating, but it doesn't always happen.
Dh and I take turns (weekly) doing the dishes, dd puts them away. Everyone is responsible for getting their dirty dishes to the sink (in theory ;)

Bootsie
1-16-13, 3:12pm
Totally depends on who made the supper. If I made the meal, I clean as I go and then do the dishes promptly after the meal. If someone else made the meal, I stay out of way and then send family out of the kitchen after the meal so I can linger and clean on my own. I don't know the reason for the difference, but that is my definite pattern.

Our main meal, however, is usually at mid-day when it's just the kids and I. I usually do the preliminary clean-up immediately after the lunch and then one of the kids does the dishes and sweeps a little while later.

Mrs-M
1-16-13, 9:03pm
Kestrel. I envy your relaxed ways. Does the relaxed/casual part come with being an empty-nester?

Rosemary. I suffer the same fate. Just knowing I have cleanup to do, gnaws on me, so really, even if I tried to relax, I wouldn't be able to, because...

Gardenarian. Pulling together is a big plus. Chasing the guys out of the kitchen (our house) is the biggest thing of all! Once they're out of the picture, us girls can go to work making sense out of what needs done and where to start!

Bootsie. Your post reminds me of a high school friend I had, where her parents took turns cooking, only difference being, whoever did the cooking, the other one had to do the cleaning. I always liked that approach.

razz
1-16-13, 9:47pm
Finish eating and visit for a bit at the diningroom table, then load the dishwasher and cleanup.

Mrs-M
1-16-13, 9:53pm
Razz. Sounds like the perfect evening round-off. In speaking for myself, I know my approach to tackling things (in the moment), is a lot different today, than it was a decade or to ago. My stamina just isn't there like it used to be, so when my brain tells me, "time to get busy, Margaret", I listen.

Kestrel
1-16-13, 10:27pm
My "relaxed, casual ways" :D ... hahahahaha .... no, being an empty-nester doesn't have much to do with it. I've always been pretty much of an even-keel sort of person, and don't like to have to hurry up and get something done ... would rather not waste the the moment on something as trivial as getting the dishes done RIGHT NOW.

BTW ... I don't dislike washing dishes -- in fact I enjoy it very much -- it can be a very calming, soothing, meditative time, just thinking, planning dinner, etc. Or something mindless like watching "Law & Order" or "Downton Abbey" or last weekend's 49ers/Packers game which I wasn't home to see (YAY NINERS!!). I just want to do things when I want to do them ...

Hurry and Stress and Someone Else's Schedule are not my friends!!

Mrs-M
1-16-13, 10:34pm
Kestrel. You've captured me exactly! Other than the "no down time " part after supper! :)

I, too, thoroughly enjoy washing/drying dishes, and always by hand. I enjoy it best when the family migrates down to the basement, providing me with some peace and quiet. Somehow, the peace and quiet settles me and prepares me for the job ahead, and I am more able to get into the meditative aspect of the process, than if people are rushing all around.

And, yes, yes, and yes... ditto the entire last sentence!

fidgiegirl
1-16-13, 10:35pm
I am a "when I feel like it" cleanup person, but my MiL is a "clear the table immediately" person and whenever they visit I always have to remind myself that as the minutes tick by with the dishes on the table, she gets more and more fidgety . . . so I get up and clear. But I'm more like Kestrel in the day-to-day.

Mrs-M
1-16-13, 10:38pm
Darn-oh-darn... I should have incorporated a little guessing game into this thread when I started it, because I would have pegged you as a relaxer, Fidgiegirl! :)

How's that for knowing you?! LOL!

Kestrel
1-17-13, 12:13am
:+1: :thankyou: Thank you for your support, Mrs-M! <3 <--- where's the facebook heart emoticon when you need it???

And yes, the dishes are done tonight because DH had a meeting and was OUT OF THE HOUSE and I could do things at my own pace! Felt really good ... :~) Yep, watched Law & Order -- and yes, I've seen every one of them, but I don't have to pay attention so I like them.

Mrs-M
1-17-13, 11:09am
How about this one, Kestrel? http://www.thedawgpound.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/heart_balloon_heart_smiley.gif