I hate cleaning up after I cook. I really hate it!
Over the years, I’ve worked to reduce the number of mixing bowls, utensils, and pots and pans that are used in the production of meals to try and limit how much I have to clean up. Most of the time, my wife and sometimes one or two of the kids, do the washing and cleaning of all the stuff that I use.
But I am officed out of the home, so when I travel into the kitchen for something I see last night’s pots, the unloaded dishwasher, or the countertop that needs to be wiped down. It bugs me, but I just can’t seem to beat my hatred of cleanup.
Some time ago, I did learn that cleanup is faster if the pots that didn’t get washed last night are soaked. They don’t take nearly as long to come clean. So I innocently started to load up the sink and fill it with the hottest water I could muster along with some dish detergent.
Sometimes I do this the night that the pots and pans are used, honestly believing that after my workout I’ll go in there and finish the job. Once in a great while that does happen. Psychologists call that intermittent reinforcement. Getting a small, irregular payoff for an action leads to an increase in that action’s occurrence. At least that’s the way that I remember from my undergraduate years. You would think I would have a better definition, having been a psych major for three years.
The important point is, I started soaking pots to make them easier to clean. I upped the ante when I started soaking pots while I was working out, engaging in what should be very effective multi-tasking. The only hangup is that I have to actually go back and wash the darned things after the workout.
But I don’t.
To be honest, it’s become a joke in our house. “Oh, Dad’s soaking pots” means that all kitchen cleanup by me is done for the night. Sad, but it’s a true statement.
What makes it worse is that our kitchen gets into the high 50’s or low 60’s at night during the winter. Those well-soaked pots are no longer in hot water in the morning. I’m the one in hot water with the rest of the family. The water is cold and icky. I have to repeat the soaking process just to get the pots anywhere near hand-washable. And once I’ve soaked the pots nobody else will touch them. They won’t drain the water from the sink, so the pots sit there until I do them. Or my wife uses some tool to drain the water and then scowls (rightfully) at me the next time she sees me.
You would think I’d learn, but nope. In fact, I pulled the dreaded double-soak last night through noon today. I set the pots to soaking last night, and this morning they were cooled down. So I drained the sink, re-filled it with hot water and detergent and let it sit. I did all that before I drove my youngest to school this morning, with the intention of washing the pots and pans when I got home. So what really happened? I forgot about the sink. I got started on laundry and computer/blog stuff. So when I went in there at noon the sink water was cold.
I chastised myself and drained the sink. As soon as I finish writing this post I’m going in to wash everything by hand.
Kind of explains the long blog post, eh?