Dishwashers
The house we recently moved into has a built-in dishwasher. This is the first time I've owned a dishwasher in all my adult life. I remember that as a kid it was still a lot of work loading and unloading the dishwasher, so I always figured I might as well wash and dry them myself. What I now realise is that they do have several advantages:
- You can use them to store unwashed dishes so that they don't clutter up the counter top.
- If you pack things into the dishwasher immediately after you use them, loading the dishwasher doesn't feel like work.
- Unloading a dishwasher when the plates are still slightly warm is strangely satisfying.
- Unloading a dishwasher takes a lot less time than washing the dishes, and can be done at your convenience.
- If you're doing a couple of dishes that don't go in the dishwasher, and you have the dishwasher running at the same time, it feels like you have a little robot helping you out.
It also helps having a small dishwasher, so that you don't have to wait until you've used every plate and cup in the cupboard before you can turn it on.