10 Reasons I Do Not Leave Dirty Dishes in the Sink

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10 Arguments for Hand Washing Dishes Immediately After Use

1. SHOWS CHARACTER

The habit of handwashing dishes immediately after using them shows personal responsibility and consideration for others. In the absence of clear dish-doing duties, washing one's own dishes is evidence of strong personal character and respect for others. 

1. It is a mark of social maturity not to assume that someone else will clean up your mess. (E.g., Necessitating "Your mother doesn't live here" signs.) 
2. It also frees the sink and counters for others to use communal kitchen spaces. (E.g., it's tough to rinse lettuce in a sink full of dirty dishes.) 
3. It also allows for the re-use of favorite dishes throughout the day. 

2. PREVENTS CRUSTIES

Dishes are often more difficult to clean as food hardens on them over time. (E.g., post-smoothie blender.) Even electric dishwashers can struggle to clean dishes that have sat out for more than a few hours.

Exceptions to this principle include the following examples:

1. When you are going to be doing dishes in a batch (e.g., for your whole family), it can save time and effort to gather it all together before digging in. But even so, the sooner you can get the tough stuff soaking, the easier it will be to clean.
2. Some pots and pans require time to soak in soapy water to loosen grime. However, this is included in the immediate hand-washing process. Soaking dishes shouldn't reasonably require more than 24 hours to soak.

3. THE MULTIPLICATION EFFECT

Dirty dishes beget more dirty dishes. Psychologically, it's easier for me to leave dishes in a pile that already exists. It would be fun to see how many people agree with me.

4. AVOID MENTAL WEIGHT

It can be emotionally taxing for me to see a pile of dishes; knowing that, sooner or later, I'll have to clean them. The higher the pile, the more it weighs on my mind.

5. TOUCH IT ONCE

Cleaning-as-I-go reduces the number of touches of each item making the process more efficient/faster. Each second I spend picking up and setting down a dish can add up to significant time costs. ("Touch It Once" principle testimonial video, flowchart.)

Reusing dishes is a double-time saver! When I need a dish and pull one from the drying rack, I have saved the time I would have spent putting that away. Additionally, the drying rack is typically more accessible than the far reaches of wherever that dish is store. This time is increased for every tool I pull from the drying rack.

6. MULTI-FUNCTIONAL SINK

The sink serves more functions than just a repository for dirty dishes. When the sink is occupied, it is challenging to use it for other daily activities. E.g., refilling my Brita water pitcher.

7. CESSPOOL STINK

Piling dishes cultivates a cesspool over time. When dishes and food chunks cover the drain, the soupy, greasy water that collects a the sink bottom can smell and spread bacteria. (Cesspool growth is expedited because I use a drain guard.)

8. CESSPOOL FILTH

Related to the cesspool stink, dishes covered in sitting water require more time and effort to clean than they would had they been cleaned immediately after use.

9. REDUCE SPILLS

Countertop spills are more likely to occur when dishes are forced to be washed above the top of the sink line.

10. SAVES RESOURCES & TIME

In my experience, dishwashers use resources but don't offer effective results. I have two main reasons for not using washers:

1. I'm always skeptical of whether or not dishes have been adequately cleaned after coming out of the dishwasher. Every dishwasher I've had access to has been trash. I try my best to remove crud beforehand, but if any hardened food remains on dishes upon going it, at least part of it is often on there even harder after coming out. Perhaps, if I had a better washer, I would use it more regularly than once or twice a month.
2. The more time dishes spend in the washer, the fewer opportunity I have access to those tools. With a small family, I rarely fill the dishwasher to its maximum capacity in one go. And when I do run it when it's full, the washing quality seems reduced even further.

Time is my main argument for not using an electric dishwasher. A few extra swishes of the dish brush can replace all the time spent loading, washing, and unloading the dishwasher. 

I will use a dishwasher on three occasions:

1. If there is limited drying space on the countertop.
2. If I feel like the washer would adequately clean the dish faster than I could. Or, honestly, if I'm just feeling overwhelmed at that moment.
3. If I haven't run the dishwasher in over a month. Note: unlike other appliances, the less you use your electric dishwasher, the more likely it is to break down. When the dishwasher is not used for long periods of time the water evaporates, seals dry out and leaks and motor problems become likely. I think the longest I've gone without running it is two months.

Note: I did find a dishwasher money-saver exception as I researched my assumptions for this post: If you use your dishwasher efficiently, you are almost guaranteed to use less water than dishwashing by hand. According to a 2011 European dishwashing study of 200 households, the average amount of water used to wash eight full sets of dishes in their dishwashers was equivalent to the amount of water used when running the sink faucet for 2 minutes on full. (Woman's World.)

However, in my American experience, most people use way more water than is necessary when preparing dishes for the machine. These people use just as much water "rinsing" dishes before putting them in the washer as they could to completely wash them by hand. Then, after all of that, if the washer didn't adequately clean the dishes, they re-run the same load in their less-effective washer, in the vain hope that it will improve the outcome.

This was mentioned above, but another minor waster of time/energy/water is running loads that are only partly filled.

Conclusion

My 10 reasons are not going to work for everyone, but they have certainly served me well—especially as a single person (with roommates), or as a member of a small family unit. Surely, some of these reasons spoke to you more than others. I'm curious to know which ones resonated, and which new ones were less convincing, and why? Let me know in the comments.

ANTICIPATED REBUTTALS

Me: "Why do you put off doing dishes (by either resting them in the sink, on the countertops, or in the dishwasher)?" I imagine three negative responses to this question:

1. "I don't feel like it right now. It isn't necessarily a conscious choice; it's one that happens naturally. I find myself feeling this way when I don't have anything pressing to do, and yet, doing anything else seems more attractive than doing dishes. Why do a chore now when I could do it later?
1. That's a fair reason. (Incidentally, I felt that way growing up.) You may not want to change and that's fine. But if you do, here's how I did it. When I decided I wanted to change this behavior, I had to change it from an issue of lack of momentary willpower to one of habit adherence. I was able to avoid having to make the hard decision in the moment by making it into a decision-less habit.
2. If the habit approach doesn't work for you, consider another rule taught in the book, Getting Things Done, which is much easier to follow, "Every time you touch it, move it forward." While this isn't the most efficient method, it is better than putting it off.
2. "I just don't have time," is the second-most common argument I hear for putting off immediately doing dishes.
1. I would argue that, in many cases, if we were to try, we might just find that we did have the time after all. Additionally, the perpetual perception of busyness could also be viewed as a lack of preparation.
3. "I need to do something more important/pressing." Some fall back on their moral high ground; whatever their alternative—not feeling well, fun alternative activity going on, a crying baby—it is more important than spending seconds upholding a habit.
1. While values are important, they can set up false dichotomies. For example, if you really care about your house guests, you will sacrifice everything else of lesser importance. My mom's mom would be appalled by this notion. She would say, "people are more important than things," and "a good host is never seen doing dishes, let alone allow their guests to clean up after themselves." However, while it may seem rude to those with a traditional sense of propriety, 
1. people, these days, respect good habits/boundaries. In fact, when you kindly explain to others why you're doing a certain thing, it might even strengthen your relationship with them. In our current milieu, asking others to step into your life by inviting them to assist you with common household tasks, like washing dishes is a great way to connect. The key is to do it together; not Tom Sawyering them.) People often jump at the chance to connect with you and support you in your goals.
2. Even if you were to excuse yourself and leave your guests alone momentarily, dishwashing only takes a few minutes; you'd be back with your loved ones in no time.
3. There's no rule that says you have to give the dishes 100% of your attention. In open kitchen layouts, it's easy to attend to your guests/values while maintaining your habit.
4. If immediately cleaning dishes really is a habit you desire, you will feel good about yourself for making it work under unique circumstances rather than giving yourself a pass. 

Bonus: My Personal History with Dishwashing

As a child, I was given an ultimatum by my mom—"finish washing the dishes, or you'll have to stand at the sink FOREVER."

The Sandlot, 20th Century Fox

Ever since then, I've had a fear/fascination with efficient dish washing. That scar accumulated scars of its own in college. When I lived in BYU's Foreign Language Student Residence, I woke up late one morning and was forced to wolf down a bowl of cereal to fuel me for a full day of work and school. I didn't even have the 30 seconds required to both wash my dishes and run across the street to start work on time. With my apartment's native speaker watching me, my consequences were to either get a verbal warning at work or potentially getting kicked out of the FLSR. I chose to get my hand slapped at work. After that experience, I've made time to do my dishes as a part of the meal process.

With this new habit ingrained, it was difficult living with roommates who left their dishes in the sink for literally weeks. [Insert epic-sink-to-ceiling-dish-tower photo from Monticello, 2007.] That was the worst dish-related anxiety I have ever experienced; it caused me to move out.

Since getting married, I've talked with my wife about my dishwashing history and preferences. She has been incredibly understanding and respectful of my idiosyncrasies and accommodates my sensitivity. Gratefully, in recent years, I've discovered helpful strategies to avoid or healthily respond to dish piles.

1. Everyone knows that cleanliness issues bother the party with the least tolerance first. Since my wife has a more comfortable relationship with dirty dishes than me, I am the one who first struggles with my feelings about them. I have a number of coping mechanisms:
2. I regret ever doing this first coping strategy; it was passive-aggressive and counterproductive. I would attempt to change my negative attitude about the ugly pile of irresponsibility left by my roommates as a gift of raw material for me to craft into household art. It only took me a minute or two to construct my dish creations, which is coincidently the same time it would have taken to clean them. However, I never would clean up after others; I didn't want to encourage any future slothfulness in the dish owners. This strategy never worked. In fact, it only damaged relationships. Here's a masterpiece I created c. 2016 in the Pioneer neighborhood home (1182 S. 1750 E. Provo, UT 84606) I rented and sublet to three other roommates
3. Nowadays, I take a deep breath and remind myself that my reaction is not commensurate with the situation. I tell myself to chill.
4. I challenge the egoistic bias that my way is always the best/only way. Recently, I've been much more accepting of others' dish-washing preferences—especially since getting married.
5. When self-denial doesn't work, however, I can typically squelch my inner turmoil by happily volunteering to bang them out. Small acts of service are a great way to express my love. (Unfortunately, since my recent shoulder surgery, I haven't able to do dishes. #praisestacia)
6. When I can't do them myself, and the feeling doesn't subside, I'll tell my wife about my inner struggle. She's usually really good at helping me talk through my feelings and grounding me.
7. Occasionally, I turn to my blog as a release. (Which is totally NOT what I just did for the last 2 hours.)

“On Fire.” Photo: KC Green