My Dirty Little Secret

Okay, true confessions time. I'd rather blog than wash my dishes.

Right now, as I happily tap away to you, my breakfast and dinner dishes are piled up waiting for me. I think some of last night's dinner dishes may be lurking in there also. I know this sounds horrible, but I'm seriously thinking about just surfing for a little while longer and then going to bed...without doing the dishes!

I know some of you are horrified, and I'm sure to lose readers do to my sudden 'coming out of the cupboard', but I value honesty and I must come completely clean with you (except for, of course, the dishes.) I hate doing dishes, always have. I love cooking and otherwise piddling around in the kitchen, but dishes stink.

Unfortunately, leaving my dirty dishes presents me with a few issues;

With a sink full of dishes from the get go, I probably won't be able to make lunches before I go to work. The kids will get hot lunch at $7.40 (that's for 3 kids, two of which always get seconds) My husband will also get lunch out for another $6 - $10. I will also be hungry and I will probably buy lunch myself for $2.20. Right off the bat, my dirty dishes will cost me $16.60! Ouch!

After school the kids will still be hungry, and so will I. We will pass a Subway, McDonald's, Burger King, Sonic, Starbucks, and Asian drive thru. They will all look incredibly tasty and cheap as we drive past them. I will probably be convinced to stop and drop around $25 in one of them, bringing our total to $41.60. Double ouch!

Then, after we're home I will look at the pile of dishes and feel overwhelmed. Instead of washing, I will get involved in homework, filling out fundraiser forms and agreeing to donate blood. The dishes will sit, except now they are no longer dormant... with each sip of water and discarded snack plate the dish mound will grow...and grow! About then dear hubby will call and ask if we need anything on the way home. I'll ask him to pick up a pizza for $8 each from Sam's Club He'll get 2 for $16. Grand total for the day of dirty dishes? $57.60!

This sounds like a lot to spend in one day, but this is actually a pretty normal, dishes-not-done kind of day. Trust me; this is one of my areas of expertise. It seems silly to clip coupons to save $10 on groceries (my meager savings for today's trip) when I'm spending $57.60 because my kitchen is messy. So, my belated New Year's goal is to always have a clean sink. And you all are going to help me. No, my plan doesn't involve you washing my dishes for me.

They say it takes 21 days for a new habit to become established. For the next 21 days I am going to post a photo of my sink every night so you all can see it. I invite you to comment with constructive criticism and encouragement. Of course I'm not going to want the blogosphere to see my messy kitchen, so I better get in there and clean it. See where I'm going with this?

I've been washing dishes, and in 15 minutes look at all I accomplished! I'm nearly done already!

Twenty minutes later and I am finished with wiped counters and ready to enjoy a cup of tea. I feel good, and I know tomorrow will be pleasant because the heart of our home is clean. And, in only 35 minutes I saved $57.60, no clipping required. So here's a photo of the finished product and my first photo for Operation Clean Sink...

Shoot! There's my unwashed tea cup!