I don’t normally make proper resolutions at the beginning of the year. Sometimes I write a list of things I would like to achieve, but they aren’t true goals because they aren’t SMART. They’re just a list! Sometimes I manage to tick a few things off, but most of the time I don’t.
This year, I simply stated that I wanted to keep up with my running. Which is not a SMART goal. It is a very vague resolution. But I’m actually okay with it being vague. I still enjoy running, but I’ve decided that serious training is not for me. I may still enter the 5K race I did in April last year, but it will really just be for fun. Once upon a time, I thought about aiming for a 10K, but I don’t think I’m at that point just yet. Right now I am just going to focus on running for exercise and for my own personal sanity. There will be times where I only run 2 or 3K at a time, but that’s okay with me. So “keeping up with my running” should be pretty easy, given the extremely loose parameters I have placed around this goal!
The other day, I came up with a proper resolution. This one is going to be a lot tighter. It’s something I want to do EVERY single day. You ready for this?
I want to do the dishes immediately after dinner each night.
I know!
Anybody who knows me well will know that I HATE doing the dishes. It is my least favourite chore. I would rather hang out 20 loads of laundry than wash one sinkful of dishes. Anybody who has visited my house more than once will know that because I hate doing the dishes, I tend to let them pile up for a couple of days, before Rob decides to wash them. Then they sit on the draining rack for another day or so, until somebody gets frustrated with the lack of bench space and decides to put them away.
Loading and emptying the dishwasher is not a problem. We made a conscious decision NOT to run the dishwasher unless it is full, to conserve water, so we only turn it on every 3 days or so. Which is fine. And we are pretty good about emptying it fairly promptly afterwards.
It’s the OTHER stuff that tends to pile up. The stuff that doesn’t go in the dishwasher. Pots and pans. Tupperware containers and lids. Large utensils. Mixing bowls. Serving bowls and dishes. My good knives. The kids’ lunchboxes and drink bottles. Wine glasses (I know you CAN put them in the dishwasher, but I choose not to).
SO. I have made a resolution (a little after 1 January, but hey!) to wash, dry and put away ALL the non-dishwasher dishes every night, straight after dinner. I want to have a clean bench each night before I go to bed.
I am 2 days in, and things are going well. LOL. Ask me again in a few weeks’ time. I hope I will be able to say that I have stuck to my resolution! I’m very determined!
Oh, and before you all say, “Just make your kids do the dishes!”, you can rest assured that they WILL be helping me out. I’m not against child labour getting kids to help around the house. They do help with unloading the dishwasher, and they have other regular chores like feeding the dog, setting/clearing the table, keeping their rooms tidy (hmmmm), collecting the mail/recycling bin, picking up dog poop (SO glad they are happy to do this one!), putting clothes and toys away, making their beds (hmmmm) and folding laundry (sometimes).
But to be honest, this problem is mine. I’m the one who let things get to the stage they are now, and I’m the one who wants things to change. I also want to relieve Rob of the burden of having to do 3 days’ worth of dishes at a time, because it takes AGES when there are that many! He does it without complaining, too. What a guy.
So while it may sound ridiculous, I kind of want to own this for myself. I want the sense of achievement I will (hopefully) get from keeping on top of a job that I really really really hate. No reason why the kids can’t help me along the way, but I’m the one who needs to step up here and make a change.
Wish me luck!
If there is one chore I do every day its the dishes. It has always been the one thing that gets done each night, as the boys have gotten older its while they are having bath and showers that I do the dishes, when they were younger it was once they were in bed i would do them. The washing on the other hand sit on the sofa for days sometimes waiting for me to fold it and put it away often it gets used again before it gets folded and put away,lol. The only time when dishes dont get done at night is during the holidays when i stay up to late and then cant be bothered doing them but that doesnt happen often, I lvoe a clean bench too much and as there is very little bench space in my kitchen I need to get dishes done. You can do it Hannah
By: Alison on January 12, 2012
at 12:46 pm
Oh yes, those non dishwasher dishes tend to sit on our bench for a few days too until I get around to them – I hate doing them and everyone else ignores them. Don’t have any trouble having a full dishwasher each day though. LOL
By: Vicki on January 12, 2012
at 2:17 pm
Oh I am so glad to hear I am not the only one that doesn’t like doing dishes hehee. You know the most materialistic thing I miss the most from NZ is our dishwasher! Since we have moved to our new place I made a promise to myself that I would try and do the dishes after each meal because I would let them build up for the entire day (or a day and a half!) and it just became such a chore (nearly as bad as my ironing pile!). It does make me smile though when I know I have got a tidy bench in the middle of the day
Here’s to you for keeping on top of your dishes!
By: Rachel C on January 12, 2012
at 3:18 pm
hahaha im the same!!!
i find its like anything….its the thinking about it thats the issue!!! once you get started and then are done….you feel MUCH better!!!!
least when i come to stay i know how i can help you!!!
DO THE DISHES!!!!!
By: mandyb on January 12, 2012
at 3:34 pm
LOL, having a giggle with this Hannah! Sorry can’t only offer you verbal support from the sidelines! Dishes are done after every meal here, and i can’t leave the house unless the beds are made and the benches cleaned/cleared!
By: Trace on January 12, 2012
at 4:18 pm
Whoops! That should read can not can’t!
By: Trace on January 12, 2012
at 4:19 pm
Good luck my friend. We are house chore opposites. I could clean the kitchen all day if I didn’t have to do laundry.
It is the one chore that always gets done. I must say though, that even though I don’t mind it … the children are in charge of the supper dishes. They do a great job!
By: kim @ mommyknows on January 12, 2012
at 4:41 pm
I think we all have a “thing” like the dishes. Mine is hanging out washing, although in the last month I have been awesome at doing that. But that’s my thing. I must confess I can’t stand dishes on the bench, so they need to be done in this house, sooner rather than later. It’s been fun having the kids here as they get to do the non dishwasher dishes (which are only a few). It’s been nice having a break.
By: Janine on January 12, 2012
at 5:05 pm
We have a double dish drawer that always seem to be full and ready to empty and that’s the young fella’s job … so when they don’t get emptied, the bench gets full … it’s a vicious circle … I try and make a real effort to make sure the benches are clear before I go to bed, but guilty as charged your honour for leaving dirty dishes on the bench, cos I can’t be bothered. Sometimes, well let’s be honest here … lots of times, I wish I could blink my eyes and go voila and they would disappear … but wouldn’t you know it … doesn’t happen … gotta work on that one.
By: Mrs Frizz on January 12, 2012
at 8:32 pm
We used to be like that with the dishes too but somehow got out of the habit and now I don’t fee like supper is complete until the dishes are done. Jay and I usually take turns so it never feels like such a big thing.
Good luck, I am betting once you get into the habit you won’t be able to go back:)
By: kamiskhlopchyk on January 13, 2012
at 4:01 am
That is a neat goal. (And I think vague lists can count as goals – in a way).
I usually do all the dishes right after dinner. Not because I love it (although I probably don’t hate it as much as you) but because I really really like walking into a clean kitchen in the morning instead of a messy one. Since the kitchen is the first place I go (to put on the coffee!!!) the state of the place has a tendency to start off my mental state for the day.
Likewise, I always fold the laundry straight out of the dryer. Takes two minutes. And it’s done.
Maybe I just hate pileups.
By: authenticiit on January 13, 2012
at 7:39 am
I can totally relate to that resolution indeed! I used to say ‘if it didn’t go in the dishwasher, it didn’t deserve to be in my house’! But since we’ve been here I’ve got into the habit of dealing with extras straight away – I take my plate to the kitchen and load the dishwasher and wash the rest. Glen usually drys, sometimes the kids, but no-one would touch them if I didn’t take the initiative first. It’s obviously rubbed off, because on the kids cooking nights they do the same:) I try to fill the sink with soapy water while I cook, and get a few things done pre-dinner – but even when I don’t, the hot water sitting there makes me ‘have’ to take action. It is so much easier to clean one or two new dishes each night, than a whole pile that has been congealing for a week. So I am proof that you can make this work – Go Hannah!!!
By: topkatnz on January 13, 2012
at 2:30 pm
I hate doing the dishes, too! Including unloading the dishwasher. Good luck!!
By: Angella on January 15, 2012
at 6:18 am