We live in town and pay for the water used our household. Then the sewer charges are calculated off the amount used. So basically, we pay for water in and out even if it doesn't leave through the sewer lines! I know we need water but paying a water bill is still fairly new and bothersome to me.
No automatic dish washer here, I wash dishes by hand. Cooking from scratch most of the time creates many a dirty dish! So I try to save on the dish water as much as possible.
I hand wash my dishes and stack them on the empty side (left side of the picture) of the sink. Once the water is dirty, I rinse ketchup plates, lasagna pans, chili bowls, the Foreman Grille or any other messy items and place them back on the dirty side. By rinsing the dirty dishes in the dirty water, I can really maximize the next batch of clean dish water. The water stays cleaner longer allowing me to just keep on washin'. :)
The next step is to rinse the clean dishes. While filling the dish water for the next load, I rinse the dishes from the left side. The water can not be running wide open for this. The sink ends up half full before I am done rinsing. I usually use only about 1/4 of the pressure available. (It is amazing how much clean water is drained down the sink just for rinsing.) Then I stack them on a clean towel laid on the counter top to dry. Once dry, the children are responsible to put them away.
It always feel sooo good to have all the dishes done and put away at the end of the day. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen in Hughville very often!
