On Washing Dishes

Our dishwasher is has been on the fritz. Our lives have been pretty complicated lately, so when it broke I suggested that we not deal with it right away. Here's the thing, though. Since the dishwasher broke, our kitchen has been noticeably cleaner. Counters are tidier. Dishes are put away faster. I am not sure why.

I will admit that I enjoy hand washing dishes. If I am alone it is a nice quiet meditative activity. If I am washing them with another the activity has a good pace that is conducive to conversation. Yet, I used the dishwasher the same as everyone else, when it was working.

Part of the reason things are cleaner, I think, is because of the threat of disorder. Things have no where to go and can get out of hand pretty quickly. A few weeks ago there was built in slack. Sure things could get bad, but you can just gather the dishes and cutlery and shove it in the coated wire slots and you are done. The knowledge that you could do that lessens the necessity of doing it.

Another aspect is personal velocity. If you have an expectation that a task will need a minute then you are going to rush the task and you won't have time for distractions and annoyances you might encounter. If you expect to be spending twenty or so minutes in the kitchen and you spot a spice bottle out of place its not a bother to set it right.

I am sure we will eventually repair the dishwasher and resume our proper relation to domestic work. We are after all modern people. We are not heathens.

-- J

(Image is of a painting by Jean-Baptist Simeon Chardin. I found it here. It is in the public domain.)