Washing Your Dishes

Typically, when people wash their dirty dishes they do one of two things. The first is they load everything into the dishwasher and turn it on. Second, if they wash their dishes by hand, they scrub, scrub, scrub, and scrub some more till everything looks nice and shiny. While these methods might work to a certain extent, there is a better way to ensure that you have all your dishes perfectly clean. The method listed below will ensure that your eating and cooking implements are in as efficient of a manner as possible.

1. Prepare. Begin washing your dishes by actually preparing the dishes to be washed. What this means is that you need to scrape off all the excessive food and other materials into the garbage can or garbage disposal. As you do this, stack each of the plates off to one side in an organized manner, so that you can make cleaning the plates as easy as possible in later steps. If there are any really dirty plates that have really caked-on or stuck-on food, then you should let them soak in soapy water (the hotter the better) for at least thirty minutes—or until the food has softened.
2. Water. Once you have prepared the dishes, it is time to prepare the water. Be sure that you use water that is as hot as you can possibly stand it. The reason for this is that the hotter the water is, the cleaner your dishes. Most people can't stand temperatures that are more than 115( F, so if you are going to use water hotter than that, be sure to also use rubber gloves to help protect you from getting burned. As you are preparing the water, make sure you also put a little dishwashing detergent into one sink and keep another sink free from any soap so that you can rinse those dishes.
3. Start Small. It is always better to start small and work your way up to the larger things. This means that you need to start with the flatware, silverware, glasses and cups. Using this method enables you to remove some of the clutter and free up some space for the bigger items that need cleaning, while also keeping your wash water as fresh as possible for your bigger items.
4. Plates. After you finish cleaning the glasses and flatware, you are ready to begin washing your plates. Again, you need to start with the smaller items before moving your way up to the larger ones. As you wash the plates, start in the middle of the plate and work your way outward, while also keeping your eye on the water. You may need to change your wash water at least once depending on the number of dishes you have to clean. Make sure you change your wash water as often as necessary, otherwise you are simply spreading the dirt around to other items.
5. Cooking Stuff. Now it is time to clean the pots, pans, skillets, and saucepans that you used to cook your meal. Use the same method that you have already become accustomed to, starting small and working your way up to the larger items.
6. Rinse and Dry. After you clean your dishes it is time to rinse them off. Simply dip the plates, glasses, pots, pans, or other items that needed cleaning into the rinse water and hand to your helper for drying. If you don't have someone to help you dry, then you might want to get a washboard so that you can allow your dishes to drip dry until you have the time to hand dry them.
7. Clean Up. After you clean your last pot, you are almost done. Before you can truly be finished, you need to clean up any mess that you may have made while you were cleaning. Once you have done that, you are ready to begin putting away your clean dishes.