Appliances

We got our first full months electric bill.

Let me just say that it wasn't pretty.

So I started thinking about what appliance I could do without to maybe help ease the pain.

It's too cold for a clothesline and I do too much laundry to use the inside one for everything.

We kind of need the refrigerator because its nice to eat non-frozen/non-rancid food.

The electric heaters in the added-on master bedroom and bathroom are already turned down as low as possible without creating icicles in the rooms. (ok, so there may be a few icicles)

That left only one large appliance left.

The dishwasher.

Which really if you think about it is just a place to hold dirty dishes anyway.

So now, I just fill the sink at the beginning of the meal with super hot sudsy water (that way by the time dinner is over, kids can stick their hands in without complaining about their skin falling off).

Then each kid is responsible for their own plate and utensils.

Dish duty for the rest of the dishes is then rotated weekly.

I decided against daily since I really wanted to give the kids a chance to master it.

And I didn't want complaining that so-an-so didn't do the dishes the night before so now they have more to do than anyone!

I like to think that my kids are learning a skill that they might need some day.

Who knows, there might still be places in the world that don't have that dirty dish holder thing.

So far it is working beautifully.

I think it makes my kids feel good to accomplish something that they think of as hard.

I'm not sure that it will really make that big of a difference in the bill, but so far I love the difference in our family.




And one bonus I didn't count on - not getting into bed and having to remember - "did I turn the dishwasher on? "