Once I Started Using the “Sink Caddy” Trick for Washing Dishes, I’ve Never Done It Another Way (It’s So Smart)
The kitchen is the space in my home where I spend the most time, aside from my bed, of course. As a recipe developer, mom of two, and person who generally loves to cook, I choose to spend time in that room of the house even when I don’t have to. What follows all of the delicious smells and sounds of cooking is the not-so-fun part of doing the dishes. But luckily, I’ve picked up some tricks that make that job easier.
I’ve been lucky enough to have a dishwasher in every home I’ve owned, including the one we recently moved into. Sure, I still have to hand-wash the chef’s knives and cutting boards, but I can leave most of the work to the appliance. With that help, there’s no chance that dishes could possibly pile up, right? Wrong. Despite having the dishwasher conveniently installed directly beside the sink, silverware is constantly strewn about the sink.
Once I talked myself back from losing my temper over a few forks and spoons, I tried to think of reasons why this simple task of putting the silverware in the dishwasher proved to be so difficult for everyone in our house (including me). Among the myriad of reasons, I came up with two possible causes: First, the latch to the dishwasher sticks and takes an extra effort to open the door; second, the utensil basket was set in the far back corner of the lower rack, making it difficult to quickly reach in and put the silverware away (especially for kids with shorter arms).
Since I was among those to blame for the sink full of silverware, I tried approaching this challenge with an unusual solution. The single spoon from stirring coffee and knives used for spreading jam on toast never seemed to make it out of the sink, so I decided to bring the utensil basket to them. And that’s when everything changed.
One feature that I’m embarrassed to admit that I didn’t realize is that the dishwasher’s silverware basket is fully removable. I unhooked it from the bottom rack and placed it directly into the sink. Now, there is a sink slot for every type of utensil to go until it’s time to run the dishwasher.
Leaving the caddy in the sink is a visual reminder to everyone to add their knives and forks to the utensil basket after a thorough rinse. We’re already in the habit of rinsing silverware before adding it to the dishwasher after discovering that it helps our dishwasher do a better job of cleaning. We haven’t had any increase in fruit flies or drain flies from leaving the silverware in the sink, even during the peak of summer, but we have noticed a much tidier sink. When the utensil basket is full, we place it back on the bottom rack of the dishwasher and run the appliance as usual.
What unconventional dishwashing tips help you keep your kitchen clean? Let us know in the comments below!
This post originally appeared on The Kitchn. See it there: Once I Started Using the “Sink Caddy” Trick for Washing Dishes, I’ve Never Done It Another Way (It’s So Smart)
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