Let's talk about...loading the dishwasher

Ok. I don't know about you, but loading the dishwasher tends to be an issue in most households.

There seems to be one person who is determined to load it in an orderly fashion where all the plates and bowls are lined up like the terra-cotta army in Xi'an. I don't know about you, but I have never reviewed the instruction manual for our dishwasher to see the proper way it should be loaded. And honestly, I never intend to.

But there is almost always someone who feels it is a badge of honor and quite important to maximize a dishwasher's capacity and to ensure it is not run until completely, and properly full.

I am not that person.

Don't get me wrong, I am all for making sure the dishwasher is full before running it. I am just not convinced it needs to be loaded in any particular manner. In fact, when I load the dishwasher, I look for two things: 1. The big chunks of food are rinsed off; and 2. The dishes get in the dishwasher.

So, if someone wants to come and reorganize it, that's fine. And although I generally am a curious person, in this case, I just can't get excited about loading the dishwasher "properly." I respect your sense of order and economy, but I have no desire to make any adjustments to my method. If the dishes are in, I am good. Top racks, bottom racks, flip down shelves, baskets...they really aren't that important to me.

So, when I hear the big sigh and see the dish army start to form in the hands of my husband, I just walk away. "This is where the plates go.., see how they all line up?" Sorry, I have already walked away and started doing something-very-important.

In the end, after that not so quiet "quiet" dishwasher runs, which seems to be for hours, everything comes out sparklingly clean. No matter how it was loaded.

Now, if I can only get someone to unload it.