Living without a dishwasher has opened my eyes to the most trivial bits of our dishwashing habits.
In the normal course of life with a functioning dishwasher - a drying mat (this is new to us as we used to use a tea towel; but this works better) was placed to the right of the sink on a tiny slice of counterspace about sixteen inches - and it worked fine. Which was great because I usually hand wash dishes from the left (washing) to right (rinsing/drying).
In the normal course of life without a dishwasher, that tiny slice of counterspace wasn't cutting it. So I had to switch up and go from right to left so the dishes ended up on the larger bit of counterspace to the left of the sink - do you know just how hard it is to make a switch like that after a lifetime of doing it one way?!
At first, I thought maybe I washed dishes from left to right because I am left handed. But then, the more I thought about it (see what happens when I'm left to my own devices? I overthink the most trivial things); I remember growing up we always washed from left to right...and my parents were right handed. Although, recalling that kitchen set up, perhaps that's why we did it that way.
And that got me to wondering; does EVERYONE generally wash from left to right?
And since Elisabeth and I are both on the same left/right page today, I'll also ask - are you right or left handed and do you think that has anything to do with the way you hand wash dishes?
I've wash right to left now, and I'm a leftie. However, it's more a function of counter space. Lots of space on right for dirty dishes, and that's where the dishwasher is. Before we remodeled years ago, we washed left to right because that's how the sink set up worked best. When I wash dishes for my kids school, it's left to right in 3 big sinks and a drain board.
ReplyDeleteI'm beginning to think it is function over preference. Meanwhile, while I have made the (hopefully, temporary) leap from going right to left; The Husband is still washing left to right and then reaching back over to place the dishes to dry to the left.
DeleteThere are so many left handed bloggers in our blogging community!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWhen I grew up, our sink was on the far right arm of a peninsula, with a small slice of counter on the very rightmost edge, so the dishes went left to right, washing to drying. In my old house, there was more free counter space on the left side of the sink, so that's where dirty dishes went before they were rinsed, and then if I hand washed them, I would spread out a towel on the island for the clean dishes. In the new (current) house, there is more counter space on the left, and I've trained everyone to put dirty dishes to the left of the sink so that's where they go... but I also tend to spread out a clean towel to the left of THAT for freshly washed dishes. In all three houses, the dishwasher has been to the left of the sink, so that probably has something to do with the dirty dishes placement.
Maybe because we are all introverts? Or wordy? Who knows? The brain is fascinating.
DeleteCome to think of it; all of the dishwashers I've ever had (minus one) have always been on the left side of the sink.
I've always been right to left, and I'm a rightie. Growing up, the dish drainer went on the left under the dish cupboards to make it easy to put dishes away (I'm guessing). Now, when I hand wash a few things, I just do it that way out of habit, but trust me--something drastic has to happen for me to hand wash a dish. I figure, I have a MACHINE to do that for me, so I'm going to use it. And I don't have a dish drainer, either. For wineglasses, I knitted an all-cotton, double-stranded drying mat. For anything else, I spread out a dishtowel if Rick isn't available to dry.
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed I get my dishwasher fixed/replaced soon so I can go back to having a machine do this manual labor! No dish drainer here either. Even if I always hand washed everything, I don't want to look at (or spare the counter space) for one.
DeleteOh, we use a tea towel, too. We have a drying rack in half of our sink, but frankly nothing ever dries there and we end up setting everything on a tea towel. I have bookmarked this drying mat for future consideration!
ReplyDeleteI love the drying mat; they absorb the water and they dry quickly! I'd never heard of them but saw them both at my MIL and SIL's houses when we last visited. Currently, the ones patterned with the lemons are out of stock; but they have a bunch of nice patterns.
DeleteI'm a righty, and the dirty dishes get piled to the left of the sink, the drying rack is on the right. That's the way it was when I was a kid, and that's how Mom had it set up when I moved in with her here. But it's also how I had it set up in my condo.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly the way we did it when I was growing up and the way I have continued to do it (until recently). It makes the most sense to me.
DeleteI'm right-handed and always wash left to right. Doesn't everybody?
ReplyDeleteIt does seem to be the most common.
DeleteI prefer for the dishwasher to do all my washing. BUT, when I do hand washing, I go left to right and I'm right handed, so I'm gonna say this is the ONLY proper way to do it. ðĪĢ
ReplyDeleteI'm going to agree!
DeleteI'm right handed and I go left to right. I have a big drying rack that just lives on my countertop. It did in my old house too. I just wash so many dishes - there are so many things I don't put in the dishwasher - it doesn't pay to always be putting the drying rack away. Also I hate drying dishes so I allow them to air dry mostly.
ReplyDeleteI hate to drying them too!
DeleteI'm right handed and do both! Let me explain. By default I go left to right (this is how it was always done in my family of origin) BUT, if I am washing dishes and want to load the dishwasher, I can't stand at the L side of the sink or it impedes on my access to the dishwasher. So sometimes, if we have a lot of dishes and I'm concurrently loading the dishwasher AND washing dishes, I will wash in the right sink and rinse in the left.
ReplyDeleteBut I always drip dry all our dishes on a dish rack that sits on the far right of our R-hand sink. It's a little strip of countertop exactly wide enough to hold a drip tray, butting up against our fridge (in other words, mostly wasted space).
We also have several drying mats which I use if I have to drip-dry more dishes and then I just spread those out of the main countertop.
These questions and conversations are so fascinating to me. Like Suzanne, I'm surprised by how many people are left-handed in this blogging community!
Paper plates before there is divorce or homicide?
ReplyDeleteMay 2024 be good for you!
Hmm. I'm left handed. I don't wash dishes very often. We have two dishwashers. It is glorious. I think my dishwashing habits stem from the way the sink is set up. The garbage disposal is on the left side of the sink, so I start there, scraping and washing. Then I rinse in the right side. I also have a huge and wonderful drying mat.
ReplyDeleteI am right handed and I wash dishes from left to right. Maybe we do it that way because that's how we read - from left to right. That's how my parents always did it. They did it that way because the cooking/prep area was to the left and all the dishes to wash were placed there with the other dirty items. My kitchen is set up in a similar manner and that's how we do it. In thinking back to my husband's home, that's how they did it as well. It also might have to do with the fact that the clean dishes (in all three houses) were stored to the right of the sink. Hmmmm...so much to ponder!
ReplyDelete