To Use The Dishwasher or Not

That is the question. Last week I didn’t use the dishwasher at all! Why is that notable enough to write about?

Because I kept the kitchen clean without it.
I hate washing dishes.
It’s my mother-in-laws dishwasher.

We live under my in-laws, literally in their basement. I have a kitchenette area with everything I really “need”, but no dishwasher. My mother-in-law lets me use her dishwasher, and I use it more than she does. I have 5 people, she has 2. You do the math. When my little sink and counter overflow I fill up my dishpan and carry things upstairs to her dishwasher. I figure that a couple trips up and down the stairs are good exercise; plus the dishes get done faster than if I stood at the sink.

I resisted for the first year we lived here. It seemed like cheating to me. My husband looked at me like I was crazy and said, “Just use her dishwasher.” I think he got tired of me moaning about doing the dishes. Or he got tired of not having any clean dishes to use. Do you think it’s cheating?

Last week I managed to keep up with the dishes by using paper plates and disciplining myself to spend 15 minutes a night cleaning up the kitchen. This week…well…let’s just say that I’m out of paper plates, the silverware drawer is empty, and the dishwasher is 3/4 full…again. I have, however, managed to totally get rid of the guilty feeling – regarding the dishwasher.

Is it even possible to cheat at housework? Has anyone else ever had that feeling?

P.S. In this video you can see my little sink.