Only a Yook would do something like this! (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
There are many important things in life. Your money is somewhere at the top, along with faith, family and friends. Where you place your dirty dishes would be somewhere in the middle; above chewing 27 times, but below putting the seat down. At least, that’s where it is for me.
Far and away the majority of people I’ve met in my adult life like to fill up their sink with dirty dishes before cleaning. Well, this Zook thinks all you Yooks are completely wrong. I am a firm believer in placing dirty dishes on the counter, leaving the sink completely functional.
You may never have considered the benefits of leaving dirty dishes on the counter. Perhaps, you’ve never really cared. That’s why it’s my job to inform you of proper dirty dish placement and scold the masses who have transgressed with their dirty dish relocation.
Do You Know How Dirty the Kitchen Sink Is?
What surface carries the most germs in your house? It’s not the toilet. It’s your kitchen sink.
What surface would you like to have the least germs reside? May I suggest your plates, cutlery and glasses?
So, why do people want to marry the surface with the most germs with the surface they’d like to have the least germs?
I Don’t Like Placing My Hands in Food Sludge
I like placing my hands into massive piles of cash, warm fuzzy mittens and the soft fur of my yorkie Sprout. Mounds of residual food muck and saliva does not even rate. As Boris Karloff once sang; “I wouldn’t touch you with a 39 and a half foot pole.”
I’d much prefer handling food scrapes one plate at a time as opposed to running water over the whole lot. I’m all about minimizing the food sludge.
Out of Sight; Out of Mind
It is my experience that those who place dishes in the sink are doing so with the intention of cleaning them later. It makes sense to place them in a location that is not easily seen to avoid looking like a slob. Being a slob myself, I can vouch that the strategy is quite ingenious. The problem is that this often leads to procrastination. Being a procrastinator and someone who doesn’t like to put their hands in food sludge, the whole exercise ultimately leads to a very distasteful cleanup exercise later.
That’s why I put my slobbery on display on the counter. At least there is shame to be had when I let the dishes fester.
I Need to Use My Sink On a Regular Basis
Whether I need to wash my hands, my produce or fill the Brita tank with new water, I need to use my sink on a regular basis. There are few things more annoying than having to move the dirty, food-caked dishes out of the way. Perhaps the solution is a bigger sink, but before I get there, I’ll need to keep my dishes out of the work zone.
In summation of my case, placing dirty dishes on the counter is far superior to placing dirty dishes in the sink. Zooks; feel free the throw support in the comment section. Yooks Repent! Those needing an education in Yooks and Zooks – try Dr. Seuss’ Butter Battle Book.
Top Ten Family Finance Posts of the Week
With my treatise on proper dirty dish placement complete, we move to the top ten family finance posts. A subject that can actually help you with your money (something close to the top of the list of important things).
- See Debt Run may or may not know the proper placement of dirty dishes, but they do know the right method for soiling them. A pot roast that is tasty and saves your family money.
- Lance mulls the pros and cons of paying off the car loan on Money, Life and More. More importantly, how do you get a car loan for less than 1% interest?
- Try as we may, we parents don’t always have our finances pulled together by the time our children go to college. Empowered Dollar covers options available to families when Mom and Dad have bad credit scores.
- If you are doing well managing your family finances, you should have money in the stock market. Of course, this means, you’ll need a broker. SB of Finance Product Reviews makes a great argument for why you don’t want ScotTrade for your online broker.
- Kurt’s entire blog is a wealth of information for your family finances. This week, may I recommend checking out the ten things the Money Counselor doesn’t get?
- Couple Money tackles wills, guardianship and estate planning. It’s easy to put off, but it’s necessary if you have children.
- Afford Anything explains why buyers set prices and how that gives the consumer power to win or lose.
- Corey of 20’s Finances is harvesting his vegetable garden and showing how much smarter he is by using fences to keep out critters. Let’s just say, my family has been fattening the deer for hunting season. Hunters; you owe us this year.
- Getting a mortgage is usually a good idea for families. What Mommy Does explains why it’s good to pay off the mortgage quickly.
- At least one person sees work as their friend. Find out if you should make friends with your employment as well.
All good things come to an end. The Top Ten Family Finances posts included. Until next week, put your dirty dishes on the counter all you Zooks!
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Thanks for linking my post, John! Regarding dirty dishes; we usually put them in the sink because I can’t stand to see them out on the counter! In the most perfect world, they would go directly into the dishwasher…but since you need a truly masterful investigator to determine whether or not the dishes in the dishwasher are dirty or not, I just ask the kids to put them in the sink…and I will take care of it!
Enjoy your weekend!
So… Yooks use their kids as slave labor now too? jk
In regards to the dishes dirty or clean in the dishwasher. My wife’s family had a system. If the dishwasher is fully closed, they are clean. If it’s not closed all the way, they are dirty.
Thanks so much for the mention
So happy I made the cut! As far as dishes go, I love washing them right away and putting them in our dish rack besides the sink! Hate having to look at a kitchen with dirty dishes!!
Very nice, but it does beg a very important question. Do you place them in the counter or the sink, right before you wash them? Or are you saying you are a Xook; someone who leave the dishes on the kitchen table before cleaning?
We are the same. I hate leaving things until later to do. I like to just get them over with. We always clean the kitchen after dinner and start the next day fresh.
That’s hilarious John, thanks for writing. And thanks for the compliment and mention!
No way dude – keeping dirty dishes on the counter is WAY more gross! My husband claims dishes go neither on the counter or in the sink..he says they go straight into the dishwasher! Personally, I think that’s a big waste of energy and prefer to put everything in one section of the sink until I have enough to load up the dishwasher. That way, I can avoid opening and reopening the dishwasher AND I can strategically load the dishwasher once I know exactly how many & which dishes I am dealing with. ;=)
Thanks for the mention! I feel honored to have made the list!! Dish debate to be continued….
But…my dear Zook, how does one see what dishes they are dealing with if it’s all piled all the way down in the sink? Would it now be easier to assess the dish situation from a loftier perch…say the counter?
Ackkkkktualllly, our dishwasher is so small (in my opinion) that we can’t let the pile get too high or we’re looking at two loads! I always say that my dream house includes two dishwashers! How deep is your sink anyway?
Since I am a clutterphobe, I could never stand dishes on the counter. They need to go right in the dishwasher. Sinks are dirty though. Why do people keep a toilet brush by the toilet, but nothing to clean the kitchen sink? Good job on making me think of way too many things I don’t need to think about!
It’s a talent of mine to make a big mountain out of even the smallest mole hill. I wear it as a badge of pride.
Are you saying that your dishes go directly from the kitchen table to the dishwasher? I suppose then that we can be friends since you clearly avoid and abhor the Yook culture as well
Thanks for the mention John!
What is a Yook? (I mean besides someone who puts dishes in the sink?)
According to the historical writings of Dr. Suess; a Yook is someone who eats their toast butter side up, while a Zook is someone that correctly eats their toast butter side down. The factions fought a cold war in the Butter Battle Boook. While Dr. Suess maintains that neither side won, we all know that the Zooks were ultimately victorious, because their cause and dish washing habits were better.
I totally agree. I do my dishes right away to keep the sink clear of clutter and to keep my home clean and nice.
When you say Yook, do you mean this guy?
I suck at the whole dishes thing. I drive roommates and any one else I live with crazy. Fail.
Paper products perhaps?
I’m with you: I do the dishes now so that I don’t have to worry about them later. If I save them for later, I’ll continually procrastinate, until whatever is on them is all hard and it takes twice as long to get off the plate!
It wasn’t long ago that I was a student so appreciate this!
Dishwashers don’t make a difference in my opinion as dishes sit around for just as long – plus you always get the one person who refuses to give the plate a quick clean first.
They quickly turn into the perfect method for spreading bolognese sauce over every clean dish I own.
Jon @ choose your accountant
Thanks for the mention! I was out of town and just recently got back! I got the car loan at 0.9% because of a Honda promotion.
That is an awesome interest rate. It’s scarcely an interest rate at all.
[...] to poke fun at me in the comments. John at My Family Finances made the piece one of his “Top Ten Family Finance Posts of the Week“. In the same article, John makes a very funny argument that “only yooks put their [...]