A Better Way - Dishwasher Load
Our four oldest children have 3 assigned chores that they are to do each day. Each week they rotate to the next set of assigned chores. The chores are simple and include both daily and weekly tasks.Â
One daily task is to load and unload the dishwasher. For some reason this has long been a “least favorite” task. This mindset has led to a few dishwasher “re-loads” as the urgency to just “get it done” compromised the quality of how it was done.
Asking them to “do again” something they didn’t want to do in the first place is of course met with groans, rolled eyes and comments about the necessity of doing so. I have come to love these “teaching moments” because they afford me the opportunity to teach and teach again principles of leadership and excellence.
Admittedly there is no “right or only way” to load a dishwasher….but there is a “better way” and perhaps even a best way.  And doing your very best is the surest way I know to not end up having to doing something over.
A new year is before us. It invites us to consider how we will live each day of it. Like the dishwasher we might rush and live it poorly and get through it. But if instead of just getting through it, we want to get from it all the great things that this year of life has to offer then we must work towards the better way.Â
Like the dishwasher there is no right or only way to live this year. To do this will require us to be more deliberate and disciplined. To say “No” to lesser things so we can say yes to the more important ones.
So let’s plan to load and live this year in a better way by and take the time to live and be our best each day…because unlike the dishwasher….we won’t get to live it again.
Kirk Out
January 6th, 2010 at 11:28 am
Reading about your children’s haste in doing a job they dislike reminded me of the same ‘issues’ I had with my children. When faced with a situation like this I would always tell them, “If you don’t have time to do it right, then you certainly don’t have time to do it over.” Of course this too was met with groans and eye rolling, but now that they are adults, they have all admitted that despite hating to hear it, it did sink in and has helped them in other aspects of life.
January 6th, 2010 at 3:34 pm
Kirk - I think I have a ‘better way’ for your family to load the dishwasher. This was always one of my least favorite chores as well, but as the matriarch it seemed to always fall on my shoulders so…. when we moved into our new house 19 years ago, with our new dishwasher, we got a new rule. Everyone loads their own dishes instead of piling them in the sink or on the counter. This made everyone claim responsibility for their own dishes and cleanup.
Did we ever have a situation where someone did a dump (on the counter or sink) and run? Yes - but infrequently.
Did someone have to police the final few dishes to make sure they were loaded properly before running the dishwasher? Yes, but that fell to the child who had the ‘dishes’ chore.
This really reduced the amount of time spent at the sink for everyone and kept our kitchen cleaner. It also reduced the groans and eye rolling and made this seem less like a chore and more like just a task. Even though my kids are grown now and on their own, to this day everyone still loads their own dishes. Even my difficult to train husband!
Thanks for the ongoing words of wisdom.
Patti Stauss