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I have a confession. I’m a little obsessive about one thing. (Okay, no comments needed here, maybe there is more than one thing.)
I know you just want to help, but don’t. Step aside. Let me do it!
I don’t like anyone else to load my dishwasher. Certain dishes go in certain places. I can’t stand for someone else to put dishes in the dishwasher, because they never put them in the right place.
After dinner, I don’t mind help rinsing the dishes, but don’t load them! I will do it. Let me do it, I know where they go. No, no, you can’t put the bowls there! They go here. This is where the dinner glasses go. Plastic cups over here. Large spoons and ladles go here.
My husband understands and accommodates me. He does a great job of putting in his breakfast dishes. If lunch doesn’t involve a lot of dishes, I’m okay to let him place the pieces in the dishwasher.
But dinner is another story. By this time space is limited. It takes a calculated perusal of the situation to get the maximum number of dishes in and allow them all to be cleaned. Several rearrangements occur. Once I’m satisfied with the location of each item, soap is loaded, the cycle started, and my job is done until the next round of used dishes and utensils.
So I ask, is there anyone else out there who has this obsession with loading the dishwasher just right?
elsie tries writing 
Love it!
This made me laugh for several reasons. I all but arm wrestle my favorite daughter about loading my dishwasher. Please! Do not load my dishwasher! I have trouble not reloading hers….many discussions over this very subject…… so I feel your pain.
You have an open invitation to come and load my dishwasher anytime! 🙂
Yes, I don’t like plastic in the dishwasher or wooden spoons. Sometimes I give up though, I’ve got kids, it’s inevitable they won’t do it my way. 🙂
I don’t know if I would say it’s an obsession but I do have a certain way I like it done and have tried to be sneaky to rearrange for maximum loading and I also think about how I want to unload it so I might sort my silverware when I put it in. Obsession? You decide.
After years of putting the silverware with the eating part down, my husband has recently started putting them the other way. I switch them out before I run the dishwasher! 😉
I love this! The funny thing is, as I read your teaser, I wondered if it was loading the dishwasher! This is also a problem I have. I have been known to rearrange it all when someone else dares to load it for me. Glad to know I am not alone in this craziness!
When I read this this morning, I thought, “Yes, Elsie.You have issues.” Then when I opened the dishwasher this evening so my husband could put his dinner dishes in, I rearranged all of the glasses in the top rack and ordered them by size and aligned them in each row. Hmmm….No, Elsie. You don’t have any issues. You are ABSOLUTELY, PERFECTLY normal!😉
I would have never guessed this about you!
I just had a conversation with my sister in law about this. There’s always seems to be one person in the family who is the loader. My dad will rearrange everyone’s dishwasher anywhere he is. – at home, he lets my mom do it, then as soon as she walks out of the room he’ll rearrange. My brother *thinks* he is good at it – but my sister in law has learned to wait him out and rearrange it herself.
Maybe this is why my husband doesn’t put his dishes in the dishwasher. I don’t think I’ve got an obsession about it, but there is a certain way to load the dishwasher.
Hummmm…I find this an interesting true confession! 🙂
I’m always trying to get in just one more piece. I’m sure there are things I am obsessive about, and if you asked my husband I’m sure it would be more that one!! That’s what makes us special, right?
I was dying by the time you revealed what you were talking about! I have to leave the room when my husband loads the dishwasher, it makes my spine tingle. I completely understand. They just don’t get it. 🙂
Would you believe we have a dishwasher but never used it? After 30 years I would be afraid to because of causing a possible flood in the kitchen. I admit that Kathy is a bit OCD about some things so those I just let her handle.
Ah! First world problems.
I’m a little like you. Mostly I try to fit everything in… it’s a challenge, kind of like Tetris! But others load plastics that I hand wash – also certain knives and wooden utensils – those all get hand washed.
I loved your opening. I thought it would he a post about letting kids do what they are capable of doing about how important that is. A “who’s doing the work” type of post.
I think my obsession is more around laundry. Separate your colors. Not too many clothes at a time and pull them out and hang or fold right away when they’re dry!
Great read this morning.
more proof that Michael is a saint.
So funny, but no I don’t care how they go. It actually is something silly, among so much more, that I miss since Arvie is gone. It was his job to load and unload, so every time I do either, I miss him. I do remember that one of my grandmothers (with no dishwasher) would not let me put away the dishes I dried because I didn’t put them in the “right” place.
I am about to find out whether I am obsessive or not – getting my first dishwasher next week.
I totally know people like this! I am not one of them…if someone wants to help me with the dishes, have at it! I am particular about lots of other things, but this is not one of them. 🙂
I am dishwasher-loading challenged simply because I do not have one! We hand wash dishes every day, several times a day. When I am at my sister’s house or my mother’s I always pass the loading chore on to someone else because I just can’t do it right! I think I may have a slice in here somewhere. 😉
I don’t think you are alone on this one Elsie! Your post made me very jealous though. Oh, what I wouldn’t give for a dishwasher. We are moving back to North America at the end of this school year and it is probably the thing I am most excited about. I HATE doing dishes and in Asia, they just don’t exist in the tiny apartments. I have told my husband that we are not buying anything that is not dishwasher safe because I plan to never wash another dish for the remainder of my life!
You would never let me touch your dishwasher. I throw the dishes in there willy nilly. But, my father-in-law, he is very particular about the placement of dishes. It is a science and an art. Honestly, I always feel a little bit lost on how to contribute to clean up when I’m there. Your slice makes me feel better about the whole thing. I love how you can laugh at your obsessions and your opening inner dialogue was perfect 🙂
When I load my mother’s dishwasher, (or even my own and she happens to be in the room) she will often rearrange things. I will admit that she is more organized. I love the honesty in your slice.
Ha! This is fantastic! The dishwasher is a constant battle at my house–my husband isn’t quite as well “trained” yet and I’m finding that I need to let go more and more as my 3- and 5-year-olds have started trying to load their own dishes. You’re definitely not alone!
Yes – I have the same obsession. I move pieces that others have placed (especially on the top rack) almost daily. Even worse, I was UNloading from the “wrong side” once and I had to move around to the “right side” to get things out more easily. And I know I am right about all this. ;o)
Yes…my husband! If I don’t load the dishwasher according to his requirements, he will simply rearrange everything. Whatever!