working wife w/retired husband support group

[Sarah in SC]

I do the dishwasher myself because that way, I get the results that I want and I don't have to supervise anyone. And it is important that the dishes be sorted by color, that way it makes them easier to put away.

Can you tell me why your dishes must be put away by color? I have Fiestaware in 4 colors and it never occurred to me that the red plates would be sad if they were intermixed with the yellow or blue ones.

And as for some of you guys--your wives are saints is all I can say. I married an equal slacker and we seem to always have at least enough clean dishes to eat and drink.

 

[W2R]

Can you tell me why your dishes must be put away by color? I have Fiestaware in 4 colors and it never occurred to me that the red plates would be sad if they were intermixed with the yellow or blue ones.

OMG, we need a Fiestaware intervention! Those poor abused red plates, forced to be shelved between yellow and blue plates like that. They need to be rescued! I'll bet sometimes you throw them against the wall too, for sport, just to see if they chip.

 

[rescueme]

My; and I thought I was the only one anal about how to properly load a dishwasher, and equally important - to select the correct options (e.g. pot-scrubber, hot rinse, etc.) depending on the type of food left on the surfaces.

I also drive DW crazy since I'm the one who does not like dirty dishes, pots, etc. on the countertop or in the sink, waiting to be loaded. My wife will want to grab an additional few left-over pieces of a meal (e.g. 2nd helping) and she will leave the room for a minute or so after her first "plate". By the time she returns, I've already packed up the left-over’s, rinsed her plate/utensils and have everything in the dishwasher (in the proper spray-pattern order, of course)...

 

[Texas Proud]

The best advice I have for this thread is that in ER (and any other significant life change, like empty nester) everything should be up for re-negotiation. People change, and they should have a chance to change the deal.


Early in our marriage, when I was [-]young & stupid[/-] much more idealistic than I am today, I made an offhand comment about optimal dishwasher packing.

30 years later I'm still in charge of dishwasher loading. But it's optimal...

Since I am still 'newly married'... I was almost old & stupid... I made an offhand comment out how she was putting the dishes in all wrong... she said that if it was a problem with me I could do it... I recognized that way to fast and slowly left the kitchen without touching the dishwasher..

Now, I just don't look...

 

[Moemg]

And yet, if DW nests two bowls and runs it, and I leave the one that now has baked on crud on the counter for her as an example of what poor packing leads to, it's somehow my fault? Such is life.

-ERD50

Boy do you live dangerously !

 

[ERD50]

Originally Posted by ERD50
And yet, if DW nests two bowls and runs it, and I leave the one that now has baked on crud on the counter for her as an example of what poor packing leads to, it's somehow my fault? Such is life.

-ERD50

You know when she murders you, no jury will find her guilty.

Well, I never purchased a big life insurance policy. Why temp fate?


-ERD50

 

[harley]

Can you tell me why your dishes must be put away by color? I have Fiestaware in 4 colors and it never occurred to me that the red plates would be sad if they were intermixed with the yellow or blue ones.

And as for some of you guys--your wives are saints is all I can say. I married an equal slacker and we seem to always have at least enough clean dishes to eat and drink.

It's OK to not put them away all reds, all yellows, etc. But you do have to keep the order the same (red, yellow, green, blue, red, yellow, green, blue, etc). Otherwise, the world will dissolve into chaos.

YouTube - Biblical Proportions

 

[Moemg]

Can you tell me why your dishes must be put away by color? I have Fiestaware in 4 colors and it never occurred to me that the red plates would be sad if they were intermixed with the yellow or blue ones.

I love fiesta ware . It takes so much abuse and still looks great ! Of course I only have red no mixing dishes for me !

 

[FIREd]

Hopefully you guys don't eat out of radioactive red fiesta ware

YouTube - Geiger Counter Measuring Vintage Radioactive Red Fiestaware Dinner Plate

 

[Sarah in SC]

I'm going to be totally honest here about my Fiestaware. I started with red, only wanted red, but my mother in law, when told by DH that I liked it, decided that since I didn't seem to match anything else (her explanation), that I must want unmatched Fiestaware and bought me place settings in green, blue, and yellow. While I was irritated, I'm too cheap to pass up free tableware.
So thanks y'all for reminding me that my MIL doesn't think I match, LOL! And to be honest, I do kinda like the other colors, sorta.

 

[harley]

Hopefully you guys don't eat out of radioactive red fiesta ware

YouTube - Geiger Counter Measuring Vintage Radioactive Red Fiestaware Dinner Plate

We've got a bunch of old (pre-war) Fiestaware from DW's grandmother. I took some of the red dishes in to the lab back in college. You can definitely detect the radioactivity in the red plates, but my research after that found that it's basically background radiation levels. Not dangerous. We don't eat off them, though. Too valuable. So they are in the garage in boxes (neatly stacked in order of color), waiting for the day we run out of money and have to sell them on eBay.

 

[M Paquette]

Hopefully you guys don't eat out of radioactive red fiesta ware

YouTube - Geiger Counter Measuring Vintage Radioactive Red Fiestaware Dinner Plate

They switched to depleted uranium starting in 1959 for red Fiestaware when the US government released it's block on civilian use, so you're safer, knowing that the red coloring agent has passed through many stages of centrifuges to separate out the more potent bits.

I like the look of uranium glass, myself.

 

[obgyn65]

Living on my own, I do the dishwasher myself too (but in my case it is not important that the dishes be sorted by color). However, I have begun a new relationship with a great woman recently. And when she comes over to my place during weekends, she takes care of the dishes and cleaning. I am so lucky !

I do the dishwasher myself because that way, I get the results that I want and I don't have to supervise anyone.

 

[ziggy29]

Can you tell me why your dishes must be put away by color?

Segregation?

 

[TeeRuh]

I emptied the dish washer this morning.

Oh, sorry, I thought this was the "what did you do today" thread.

t.r.

 

[FIREd]

The real question is: do you pre-wash the dishes before loading them in the dishwasher?

 

[travelover]

Since this has [-]devolved[/-] [-]morphed[/-] rambled into a dishwasher thread, I'll relate a tip. My dishwasher started making horrendous noises and quit getting the dishes clean. I checked the filter and it initially seemed OK, but on closer inspection the micro fine screen was plugged with the remains of a jar label. It seems the glue on the jar label dissolves enough to plant itself firmly on the fine screen.

Oh, and yea, I do most of the household chores for my w*rking DW, including properly loading the dishwasher.

No Fiestaware.

 

[Nova]

The real question is: do you pre-wash the dishes before loading them in the dishwasher?

Oh yes, I do. Wondered whether anyone would mention that. Actually, we only run the dishwasher every other day. I always hand wash pots and pans (lots of cast iron, most is enameled) and I never put knives in the dishwasher. I can't stand the thought of "residue" on the dishes sitting in the dishwasher overnight, so everything gets rinsed in the hot soapy dishwater.

DH is responsible for drying what I hand wash and for unloading the dishwasher He takes offense if I hand wash everything. DH much prefers to unload dry dishes from the dishwasher.

As for how it's loaded, don't get me started. I learned a long time ago not to complain when someone is helping. I (almost) never re-arrange what he puts in the dishwasher...actually, I try not to even look.

 

[Nords]

The real question is: do you pre-wash the dishes before loading them in the dishwasher?

Why would the appliance still be eligible for the name "dishwasher"?

We put our dishes in straight from the table (or wherever they're found). As empty nesters we seem to be running the dishwasher every 10-14 days. About the only thing it won't clean right the first time, with no rinsing, is microwaved egg batter.

 

[freebird5825]

The real question is: do you pre-wash the dishes before loading them in the dishwasher?

Spray with warm water only so the fine mesh screen in the sink catches the food particles, not the dishwasher's filter.
No soap was involved in the making of this dishwasher movie.