Always waiting on your dishwasher?

This is going to be a slightly embarrassing story… one time, right after college, I shared an apartment in Boston with some friends - it was a great place, huge rooms, close to activities, and it had a DISHWASHER. Now, I’m not ashamed to admit, I had never really used a dishwasher much before. We didn’t have one in our house until I was about 16, and even then, we didn’t use it much.

So, I assumed, the dishwasher must be REALLY full to make it efficient.

*Embarrassment warning* I woke up one day to find that the dishwasher had been run with about 20 things at it. I freaked out, screamed at my roommate (sorry S - you might not even remember this, but I do!) and wrote a nasty note and stuck it to the dishwasher door.

Flash forward 15 years - now I understand how to leverage schedules to my advantage, how waiting is a huge waste of time, and how efficient dishwashers actually are!

Here’s the take home message - you do not need to WAIT until your dishwasher is 99% full to run it. You should not be waiting until the last minute each evening, doing a mad dash around the house to find every cup, and cramming it in to turn it on before bed. What you SHOULD do is find a routine and system that works for you, regardless of the fullness of the dishwasher.

Some things to consider:

1. When do you have time to easily unload the dishwasher?

2. How often are things you need “dirty” inside, and when does this occur?

3. Are you frequently taking things out of the dirty dishwasher to handwash them and use them?

4. What would your ideal “dishwasher” state look like?

Instead of waiting, optimize the timing. If you work from home, you can run your dishwasher after morning breakfast, so you can quickly unload it while you’re on zoom call (no videos, of course). If you find yourself pulling things out of the dishwasher when you are cooking dinner, consider an “afternoon quick-wash.”

_uck traditions (add a B or an F, your preference) - do what works for you and your family, and remember, a dishwasher is SO much more efficient than handwashing, you can run it at 20-50% full and still use less water and energy (heating water).

POV hot take - if you’re about to redo your kitchen - and you have the average 1.9 kids and a dog, I URGE you to look at 18” dishwashers. They run so much faster, fill faster, and I promise you they are not more work.