Clean dishes can save you money! Well, more specifically, washing your dishes can save you money. As chores go, I actually like washing dishes, it's true! With the right kind of soap [moisturizing], and water temperature [hot, but not too hot], it can be like a mini spa for your hands! Well...not quite, but I thought I would try to glam it up a bit and sell it that way. Anyhoo, I definitely did not like washing dishes as a young lass, but now I do really enjoy it, but my husband still doesn't believe me when I say that.
As a result of belonging to a large family, my mom assigned weekly dish duty to her six children when we were all old enough. As it so happens, we Rivas children, are divided evenly into 2 groups - 3 boys and 3 girls. I was the washer on the girls team, since I was the oldest. As a youngster who would rather go outside and play, this was such a drag!
I especially loathed washing pots, pans, and silverware, which make up the bulk of what needed to be washed after a major meal. My sister Lauri would dry, and Teresa would put the dishes away, they got off easy, as far as I was concerned!
As a result of belonging to a large family, my mom assigned weekly dish duty to her six children when we were all old enough. As it so happens, we Rivas children, are divided evenly into 2 groups - 3 boys and 3 girls. I was the washer on the girls team, since I was the oldest. As a youngster who would rather go outside and play, this was such a drag!
I especially loathed washing pots, pans, and silverware, which make up the bulk of what needed to be washed after a major meal. My sister Lauri would dry, and Teresa would put the dishes away, they got off easy, as far as I was concerned!
Getting To My Point. . .
See this sink full of dirty dishes? What would you rather do when dinner time rolls around, after you've had a hard day at your job, or an exhausting day of running errands and executing other household chores: deal with this mess, or go out to dinner? Why go out to dinner of course! It's so much easier, especially with that wonder of modern living known as - the credit card. Truly, it's bad enough to spend money you don't have, but there is a little thing called interest that is attached to your bill as a result of using these all too convenient little pieces of plastic, and it adds up as quickly as, well, a sink full of dirty dishes! If you go out to eat every night and lay down that sliver of debt inducing plastic, you are not doing yourself, or your family any long term favors. Sure... you had a great time at your favorite restaurant, but what is still waiting for you when you get home? Dirty dishes! And if you have a dishwasher, then there is even less of an excuse for this irresponsible behavior. To be honest, I really don't like going out to a restaurant, unless it is nearly empty, the music is off, or not set at hearing loss levels, and I have a really good coupon. I know, I'm kinda unique concerning dining out, don't judge. ; )
Check Please!
When my husband and I were newly married and had only ourselves to worry about, going out to eat every night was no problem! We had money to burn and boy did we burn it! But when we decided to start saving to buy a house, because rent was getting to be as much as a mortgage, my husband realized just how much we were spending on eating out, and it was astounding! Let's do the math. Come on, get out your calculators, er, your phone with the calculator app, or whatever. If a family of four went out to eat every night for 5 nights, spending between $50-$70 (that's being conservative) per night, that adds up to $250-350 per week! Times four, that's OMG! $1000 - $1400 per month! Does anyone do this? Good Lord, I hope not! Then there is that evil bankers invention they call compounding interest, which gets add on.
Robert realized that just by taking our lunches to work instead of eating out, we would be saving $200 per month, and that was only the two of us 15 years ago (as of 2013). Does this mean you should NEVER go out to eat again, in order to save money? No. My point is that if you decide to go out to eat, just make sure it is for the right reasons, like a special occasion, and not to avoid doing something as simple as washing the dishes.
Robert realized that just by taking our lunches to work instead of eating out, we would be saving $200 per month, and that was only the two of us 15 years ago (as of 2013). Does this mean you should NEVER go out to eat again, in order to save money? No. My point is that if you decide to go out to eat, just make sure it is for the right reasons, like a special occasion, and not to avoid doing something as simple as washing the dishes.
A Clean Kitchen Is Cooking Ready
When your kitchen is clean, and your dishes are done, you can immediately begin cooking instead of using that valuable energy washing a sink full of dishes. And getting the family to chip in and help with cooking is beneficial in many ways too. "Many hands make light work", as the saying goes, which not only eases your work load, but also, the theory is that you will raise children who eat healthier foods. And in the process they will learn how to cook and clean, and hopefully will learn how to work as a team too. And of course, the main reason for this article, you will save money! Now that is what I call a win/win situation!
"But my kitchen is a galley type, so two people are a crowd." I used this silly excuse as a reason for not allowing my family to help me cook, what a HUGE mistake! If only I could go back in time, I would remedy this monumental error. So please, don't do what I did, let your family help you, even if your kitchen is small, I promise, you will be glad you did. Besides, many fine restaurants have kitchens that are the size of a walk-in closest, and they do just fine cranking out food for packed dining rooms.
So, if you want to save money, develop family bonds and foster good eating habits, then for goodness sake, don't let your sink pile up with dishes, wash them right away! As for hand washing vs. using the dishwasher to save money, well, that's another topic for another day.
"But my kitchen is a galley type, so two people are a crowd." I used this silly excuse as a reason for not allowing my family to help me cook, what a HUGE mistake! If only I could go back in time, I would remedy this monumental error. So please, don't do what I did, let your family help you, even if your kitchen is small, I promise, you will be glad you did. Besides, many fine restaurants have kitchens that are the size of a walk-in closest, and they do just fine cranking out food for packed dining rooms.
So, if you want to save money, develop family bonds and foster good eating habits, then for goodness sake, don't let your sink pile up with dishes, wash them right away! As for hand washing vs. using the dishwasher to save money, well, that's another topic for another day.
Dish Washing Tips
Thankfully, most of us have hot running water and soap at our fingertips, so don't be shy, use them! Washing dishes as you make them between meals makes good dollars and sense! Another helpful tip is to fill the sink with hot soapy water and place the dishes to soak in their 'hot tub' while baking or cooking. Then once the bakery item goes into the oven, or the cooking is well under way, don the golden gloves upon your hands and get to scrubbing. If you have an energy saving dishwasher, then by all means, put it to work for you, while you have a nice cup of tea! |