Following on from the "softly softly" thread, a question for you.

LOVE IT MERLOT....Sounds like us too !!

phoenix, that is pretty much the way my mother taught me to wash up though she used to throw all the cultlery in to the bottom of the bowl first where it woud soak as everything alse was washed and hardly needed so much as a rub at the end.

Nowadays I soak difficult things like lasagne dished with baked on food overnight and place the whole lot in the dishwasher. We also have a new rule for wine, beer or spirit glasses. They always get left on the side overnight as we have broken too many trying to clean them 'a drop taken' as the Irish say. That is pretty disgraceful of us, I know, but it keeps the lovelier glasses intact. The others go straight in Mr Dishywasher.

Same order as you Phoenix - that is when not using dishwasher!! Must have been how we were taught as young girls!!!!!

Gotta say that my nan who was in service, taught me the same as you do your washing up, always glasses first, then cutlery etc.etc. However, I have had a dishwasher for a great many years and although a lot of the washing up is done in it, if I go to people's houses for dinner and they don't have a dishwasher then that is exactly the way I wash up. Also just as a throw in when I do my shopping at the supermarket, at the checkout things have to be packed in the bags in a certain order.

I knew I should have proof read! comes

We have a dishwasher so I rarely wash up but if I do have to it's cutlery into the bowl while it's filling, glasses, if there are any, are washed before the cutlery coes out, then Phoenix's order.

But usually everything goes in the dishwasher except for saucepans if there's no space for them. The only thing that's a real no no is crockery with any sort of metallic trim (not that I have much of that, just a couple of old big oval meat dishes which are rarely used). I have a number of very old glasses, either passed down from parents and grandparents or bought from junk stalls (I can't resist old glasses); I have no qualms about putting them in the dishwasher and have never had any problems with them.

I love my dishwasher, it did away with a huge bone of contention as my DP wouldn't wash up the dishes from our evening meal (main meal of the day) until the following morning and I hated seeing dirty dishes stacked up; I like to see my kitchen clean and clear last thing at night.

I have some misgivings when I see dogs in pubs licking the plates.......

We have a dishwasher, and it has to be said that Mr H does quite a lot (most ☺) of the stacking/putting away, but he WILL insist on flinging in delicate glasses which then end up with chipped edges. I swear he is "the old dog" that can't learn new tricks, no matter how often I point out (nag)this to him, he does it again the very next time. Quite a balancing act for me, do i really want to do it myself, or do i want perfect glasses?

I believe it was the way we were taught at school in Home Ec classes. In this order (that you mentioned) because of the dirtyness issues. Can you imagine washing up glasses in the muky water after everything else has been done? No, exactly. Thia is also why most men do the drying up - they don't know the correct order for washing. (ha, ha - who have I upset now?)

I would do the same, Merlotgran. But my dishwasher has decided to pack up on me so I'm back to washing up in the sink. But I leave things to drain and dry - my daughter once told me there are more germs on a teatowel than one could dream of, which is quite true, Im sure, but it saves me all the drying!

Mostly we use the dishwasher - only since moving to this house 6 years ago have I had one and I'm still in love with it. I fill it, DH empties it.

Referring to an up-thread post, we call each other darling too.

Witzend, "Merlot" is such a great name for a dog!

I do mine by hand in exactly the same order as you Phoenix. I can remember writing the order down in my exercise book as instructed by Mrs Reid, our Home Economics Teacher at Ware Grammar School in the late 1950s!

I do same as Phoenix don't want dishwasher washing up is relaxing

I'm a total dishwasher fan, DH still isn't ? so he'll hand wash and leave a bowl of festering water 'for anything else'.
I've had my dishwasher for a few months now, anyone know how long it takes to train a less than D at times H to use one?

Merlot, our dog would love licking anything she could get at in the dishwasher, and she was a brilliant pre-cleaner of anything like roasting tins - would stick at it for 20 minutes, holding it down with one paw in case it tried to escape - until not a molecule of anything tasty was left.
Who needs Brillo pads when you've got a dog?
She was especially fond of any saucepan I'd made cheese sauce in, and as for a fish pie dish - heaven!

Should add that all these always went in the dishwasher afterwards!

Hello Merlotgran - just to say we really enjoyed your message about the dishwasher and DH's favourite mug! It could have been our house! Do you find if DH puts the dishwasher on its always on the coolest wash? Elaine

For my first Brownie badge, we went to Brown Owl's mum's house and did her washing up. We did it in the order Pheonix describes. I know I got a badge (I think it was 'home-maker' or some such other anti-feminist title), but I couldn't help feeling a bit let down that it wasn't the 'making a bonfire', or 'climbing a tree' badge.

Phoenix i was taught to wash up in the order you set out. Now thank goodness I have a dish washer.

My husband had a spell when he thought he would wash up as he thought that 2 people did not need a dish washer. He wanted to do it in one sitting, whereas I fill the dish washer throughout the day. The mugs stayed brown inside. He did not do saucepans if they were left on the stove.

If he forgot to do the washing up I promptly filled the dishwasher and now at last he is happy to let the dishwasher do its job.

When I empty the dishwasher I put another tablet in straight away. I always feel it's the last straw at night so I pre empt. Some of my circulon frying pans are not dishwasher which makes me miserable.

It is rarely 'darling' with me (usually when I'm being sarcastic) and never with him. Usually 'dear' or 'love'. My d-i-l always calls DS 'darling'. We are all northerners. I am fussy about the way the dishwasher is stacked - hate the way DH does it (haphazardly). Everything is rinsed before it goes in. Only cheapie tumblers go in - all other glasses are washed by hand. I dug my heels in when we first thought about getting a dishwasher - I didn't want one - but we are on our second, and I wouldn't be without one now.

Merlotgran your washing up description really made me laugh, thanks for cheering up my morning. I have 3 dogs one of which is a JR so can relate to you.

well we're as southern as the day is long ann and its love here too . If I called Grampy 'darling' he'd look over his shoulder to see who I was talking too .

We have 2 dishwashers. One is called Grampy and the other is a machine. I don't know what methodology Grampy uses because I have my feet up , drinking coffee when he works his magic but the dishwasher stuff gets scraps in the compost bin, everything else slotted in and voila !!

On second reflection I have decided my Northern roots are really showing as it is "love" in the as household.

This is merely an observation and is not to be taken any other way but as I read this thread and the one previous, it occurred to me that phoenix and her H are the only couple I "know" who call each other "darling " in conversation. It is so not my circle of friends that I had a long think but can't think of any of them using the endearment.
Sorry to digress.

We had washing up lessons at school along with lessons on washing one's hairbrush.

Apparently glasses should be done first as the water is hottest and cleanest!

We have a dishwasher so the only things I actually hand wash are some glasses and wooden chopping boards. i must be really slovenly as I never presoak and barely pre wipe.