Have you ever reached into the dishwasher for a clean dish and stuck your hand in something slimy? I did it yesterday, and I was not pleased. And it’s not like it’s the first time this has happened. With a whole team of people loading and unloading the dishwasher, it has become nearly impossible to keep track of which phase we are in.
We used to employ the “if the dishwasher is locked, the dishes are clean,” approach, but training the kids to stick to that rule has become a battle, and well, I have to choose my battles. Plus, in the meantime, there’s the slime.
I just found a pretty cute, clever, and completely silly kitchen accessory that has inspired me. The clean/dirty magnet comes in several forms, but I’m pretty fond of the one that reads “eww” on one side and “yay!” on the other. Start the dishwasher, flip the magnet to clean. Stick something slimy in there and flip it back to dirty. And my kids will be tricked into thinking it’s fun because, well, it’s a magnet.
Of course, you don’t have to fall for the marketing hype like I have. (Or you simply may not want to spend $3.99 plus shipping and handling on a magnet.) Now that I’ve discovered this clever yet rather obvious idea, I realize that I can simply tape an index card to the dishwasher and achieve the same purposes. Either way, I’m inspired. Of course, my kids won’t find the index card nearly as exciting, but they’ll live.
Tell us, how do you monitor dishwasher status in your home?
- Robin
