We told you this was going to be a big one!
The wonderfully generous folks at LG are offering YOU the chance to win an all-expenses paid trip to
NEW YORK CITY!!!!!
You will be joining Vanessa (you didn’t think we’d let you go without us, did you?)
on October 12-14 (that’s next month!)
at the
That’s right…Food Network!!
(how many exclamation points do you think we can get away with using in this post?)
Can you believe it? Neither can we!
LG is a proud Sponsor of this amazing event in which you will “Eat.Drink.End Hunger.”
Have you heard about their new TrueSteam Dishwasher??
Have you heard about their new TrueSteam Dishwasher??
You can read more about this amazing new product in Vanessa’s review post.
Let’s get back to the GIVEAWAY though now shall we?
Your prize includes:
Round trip airfare
2 nights Hotel accommodations
Ground transportation (airport to hotel and return)
Ticket to the Wine and Food Festival
$250 Spending Money
That’s a total prize value of approximately $3,000!!!!
Do you know who you will be rubbing elbows with at the Wine and Food Festival?
Ummm…only people like Rachael Ray, Paula Deen, Bobby Flay, Ina Garten, Giada De Laurentiis, Guy Fieri….shall we go on?
“What Name would you give your Loading Style AND How Would You Describe Your Loading Style?”
So, put your thinking caps on folks and get those creative juices flowing!
But, more than any of that, we are so thrilled that we get to host this awesome Giveaway knowing that one of you, our readers, will get to win this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
We want to know, what is your “Loading Style”?
Space Maximizer- get the most dishes in so that I don’t have to wash any by hand
That’s {not} the way uh huh uh huh I LIKE IT — you have to sing the title otherwise it looses it’s affect ; )
What is my loading style? I have love/hate feelings towards my loading style… why you might ask? Because I have NOTHING to load dishes into. I know… I’m playing the sympathy card here right? It get’s better I promise. So sometimes when I’m washing my dishes by hand all Lucy Ricardo style I pretend that my little metal dish drainer (which doesn’t even fit properly) is a dishwasher… I like to think that instead of washing the dishes I am simply rinsing them and loading each one into the world’s smallest dishwasher. hehe. During this process I, silently of course, sing to myself “that’s the way uh huh uh huh I like it” because it makes me feel like I’m loading my dishes in a dishwasher. This is done in complete and utter chaos I might add. WHY? because I am busy busting out in mental song..I might even do a spin, jump, land on the floor and pop up like Michael Jackson… ok fine that part isn’t true, but if I could, I so would!! I put those dishes in my “dishwasher” however I can fit the most because I am, after all, loading the world’s smallest dishwasher.
Ashley, I hope you win. 😉 This story is great!!!
Ahh you’re too sweet Hilani! Thank you!
A place for everything, and everything in it’s place! I don’t need to use a guide, but I do need clean dishes that come out in out in one piece! So no clinging and clanging of the dishes!
Dishwasher Diva – I load the dishwasher with all of the same size dishes together, all facing the same way. All of the glasses are lined up. Very type A…very OCD. I’m a diva because I hate to unload the dishwasher. If LG could only come up with a way for the dishes to put themselves away after the wash…now that would be cool!
Wait, there’s a “loading style”? Okay, if that’s what you want to call it, my “loading style” is this: Immediately after dinner, quickly gather everything from the sink, counter top, island, and cook top and put it into the racks of the dishwasher. I try to keep things that are similar together and facing the same direction because my OCD won’t allow me to do it any other way. I also try to avoid putting stacks of mail, school books and crafts supplies which have been inadvertently scooped up in my haste to load it and still have enough daylight left to photograph my latest project.
Puzzle Piecer: I will arrange (& rearrange if needed) the dishes to make everything fit so there are no dishes left in the sink. No dish gets left behind in my sink!
My loading style would be Sweet Reckless Abandon! Since I don’t own a dishwasher, I LOVE doing dishes at friend’s houses-it’s such a treat to just throw them in the dishwasher and forget about them! I would do the dishwasher jig if I was able to load dishes into a beautiful new dishwasher in MY home!
Crammy McCramster — I want as much in that baby as possible. I will clean out the fridge just so I can put more in the dishwasher! My kids will load the dishwasher and leave one or two dishes on the sink because “there is no room”. My motto? “There is always room for one more dish.”
Pile and Pray- I shove it all in and pray it comes out clean 🙂 I would love to win this girls! IT’s hubby’s bday and he would love a free trip to NYC!! his style is Directions ARE included-he loads it the way the pictures show! Opposites attract I tell ya!
The Sardine Shuffle — I try to get all the smaller dishes strategically packed in there like sardines with no room left to spare. I was always good at Tetris so I am pretty good at loading a dishwasher to the max. I had no idea there were directions on how to properly load a dishwasher! Learn something new everyday. What an incredible giveaway!
“Right Face I Stand”- Whether I’m loading my dishwasher or my daughter’s, I always have dinner plates, soup bowls, and frying pans facing to the right. I never change my application while loading my dishwasher standing to its right side, or my daughter’s dishwasher where I stand to its left side. Just writing this comment makes me feel like an “independent” loader.
The Mary Poppins: Just when you think there’s not enough room, you can manage squeeze in a hat rack.
The Mega-pile with a Spin- Everything gets put into that dishwasher whether it fits or not. And then the final test- a spin of the blades just to be sure that nothing is blocking them. If something is, I make a few adjustments, spin it again, and close the dishwasher door quickly before anything falls out.
suzy
My loading style is”super-mom”* style : super fast, super tight, super messy dishes, super full for a family of five the dishes need to just make it in and make out -super quick. *super-mom does not refer to me being super-mom, I in no way claim to be super-mom. I think any mom is a super-mom and each mom has and/or needs these super-mom styles whether you stay at home full time, part time, work, have small children, grown children, neighbors children stopping by, etc. Also note that “super-mom” capabilities is part human and part machine, typically enhanced by a liquid. The more sophisticated the machine,I.e. a stainless steel LG dishwasher, enhances the supermom capability as compared to supermom style via sink and faucet alone.
I am the Dish-Washing Dynamo! I sing and dance while filling up my dishwasher. I like the dishes to be super clean and highly organized. Each utensil has an assigned space for ultimate efficiency when it comes time to put the dishes away.
“Dirty Dancing” is my loading style. Try to load as quickly as possible without having the sneaky toddler grab the dirty dishes and run like the dickens as I chase after her with “dirty” hands. It really is a dance and thankfully they both usually come out clean, the dishes and the toddler. Well….most of the time 😉
I’ll be with Heather at the Southern Bloggers Conference … so sorry Vanessa! I can’t join the contest — an possibly you — this time around! Makes me sad. How I hate to have to choose between the sisters. But my SBC is all booked …
🙂
Linda
I would have to call my style: “The Precision Pack.”
And I’m probably going to fly my OCD colors a little too candidly, here, but I’m the kind of gal who will RELOAD THE DISHWASHER if anyone tries to “help” me. :/
Growing up, we didn’t have a dishwasher
(my parents would always correct that statement with a quick ‘Yes we do, we have the Mia-and-Bethany-4000-model’!)
and from scarring years of handwashing twice a day- once before and once after dinner- I have to confess that I don’t pre-rinse a single thing before loading at my house. Because of this, I demand the ultimate efficiency out of a dishwasher.
I load it with great care and order: always like items together, graduating sizes, even color coded. For example: Silverware. Those little cubbies are for sorting out types, people! Forks? Together! Spoons? By themselves? Knives? Separate. Also? Put those dangerous, pointy ends UP so they get washed well! You’re not going to get that organic Adam’s peanut butter off a knife if the end is tucked down hiding away with all of his buddies! Don’t whine at me about your kids potentially cutting their sweet hands when they help you out- THIS IS NOT CHILDREN’S WORK. It’s an art.
My [superior] technique is not just about efficiency in thoroughly washing the most amount of dishes per load, but also for optimal UNLOADING efficiency.
I dare say that if there were dishwasher loading & unloading Olympics- I would probably dominate.
I am an “Intentional Effecient” loader. I make sure the dishwasher can do the job so I don’t have to. The dishes need to come out clean so I don’t waste money on water or electricity to run the load again. So I don’t squish or crowd things and make sure the soap dispenser is not blocked. Too many times, AFTER I emptied half the dishwasher I would discover the soap had been blocked and never popped out. Then I have to try to figure out which of the dishes I just put in the cupboards have to go back in! Emtying a dishwasher is a chore many woman dislike so I group like items together to speed up the process. All the bowls cup each other according to size in the smaller area & dinner plates line up like soldiers in the larger space. I can grab a stack of them this way & do the job faster. It is not that I am crazy organized or anything…just a well seasoned cook! (Pun intended) Suzi pblapere@att.net
How exciting for you Vanessa! Congrats lady!!
My style would be “Everyone Face the Center,Please”. I like the the “faces” of the plates, etc. to be toward the place in my dishwasher where I think the water comes spraying out (in that dark private place with the door closed, I really don’t know what goes on in there) with the most force. All cups and glasses must also have their inside facing the center also to get maximum water spray power. No spoons can actually be “spooning” in the utensil basket…mixed company (forks, spoons, knives) is allowed in each plastic utensil cage because the different shapes will allow water and soap to get to each surface. My dishwashing pet-peeve is to be at someone’s house who washes the dishes before they put them in the dishwasher…what is the point? But as a guest I keep my dishwasher theory to myself to avoid conflict…everyone seems to have a different dishwasher technique.
My name would have to be the “Rerun Expert”. It seems that I rarely get the dishwasher completely emptied and I just keep adding to it. I keep adding to the dishwasher that is until we do not have any forks or spoons available in the jars on the counter. I do that because my husband cannot seem to remember what drawer they are in but that is another story altogether, bless his sweet little heart. I chaallenge that dishwasher to get all of the dishes sparkling clean!
My style is “The Odd Couple” based on the old show (and Neil Simon play) of the same name. My husband is the Oscar Madison character — He puts the dishes, bowls, cups and utensils in any which way. Sometimes, I think he might just drop things in the top and let them settle wherever they fall. He doesn’t pre-rinse in the sink, so after a day or two, if we haven’t run the dishwasher, it starts to smell like the home of another famous “Oscar”. But hey, I’m really not complaining. I’m grateful that my husband does dishes at all!
I’m the Felix Unger character — Each and every bowl, plate and utensil has a specific place. Everything is organized, categorized, and perfectly arranged to maximize space. I rinse everything before it goes in, so you won’t find any science experiments growing after I’ve been there.
Like the characters from the show, my husband and I don’t really see eye to eye on our dishwashing methods. Not wanting to ruffle any feathers, I’ll usually sneak back into the kitchen when “Oscar” isn’t around to rinse the dirty pieces and rearrange in my OCD “Felix” fashion.
First of all..what a great opportunity to be able to rub elbows with the best of the best food and wine experts in the most exciting city in the world!….
My style…Well, I would say that I am the DISHWASHER “L”OADING “G”URU…..I can take a seemingly full loaded dishwasher and still find room for more dishes!…It’s all in the placement and with the new LG steam dishwasher with all the wonderful features of the upper baskets and the variable heights of the racks..I know I can load even more dishes, etc. into the machine…and what a savings that would be…to not have to run additional loads, when you can fit more into one…Who would have ever thought that loading a dishwasher is an art form!!!
Unbelievable giveaway!!!….Thanks LG!!
I say people would call me a ‘Freeloader” when it comes to stacking the dishwasher; any dish stacked any way I can get it in there.
My loading style is not a science, I just try to fit as much in, in a manner that will enable every piece to be cleaned and come out in one piece! I grew up in a family of engineers and they would wait to start the dishwasher until there wasn’t another possible way a dish, glass or spoon could fit. I think they enjoyed re-working it every time a new dish was dirtied!
“Less is Best” style. I like my dishes, glasses and cutlery very clean and my way of thinking is not to overload the dishwasher and put larger pieces in the back and smaller pieces in the front. I am constantly taking pieces out that my husband adds to the dishwasher because he not only overloads but puts pieces in the dishwasher in any way that he can cram a piece in. This horrifies me. My husband thinks I am thinking of him by doing “all” the work but I just like to do it my way and not cringe when I see him overloading the dishwasher and try to take things out without him seeing that I have changed anything.
My name would be “Mrs. Clean Reloaded”. I dislike dirty dishes on my counter and sink so I’m always loading and unloading the dishwasher. Even though I know the dishwasher can handle it, I can’t help but rinse. I also have a habit of reloading and rearranging any dishes put in by someone else. I’m always polite thanking them for helping but as soon as their not around I’m reloading the way I like it. I have homes for all my dishes and like it neat and not overly crowded.
“Doing what comes Naturally”
Life seems far too complicated when we feel we have to streamline everything we do and seem to forget that we have a natural brain which works to our benefit if we forget all the programing the world seems to scream out to us to do. Also using common sense I use it only when necessary and love the fact that I have one. I am now going to view their video provided in this blog.
We have just celebrated our 60th wedding anniversary and that also follows ‘doing what comes naturally’. It would most certainly be a welcome gift and we could make it ‘our diamond wedding trip’ n’est-ce pas?
Bless you and your most generous sponsor for providing the chance to be a WINNER.
Joyfully,
~Sylvia Faye
I do not have a blog…..
on a wing and a prayer! 😉 … since Everyone in the house in responsible for their dishes & making sure they get them into the dishwasher it doesn’t Really matter how i try to arrange things, once the guys get to shoving & squeezing (you don’t Really think they would opt to wash by hand if they can’t get it in do you? 😉 lol) their dishes in it pretty much comes down to a wing & a prayer …. they “winged” it & i’m Praying it actually came Clean! =)
My style: “Contortionist”
I have trained intensely for years to develop this visual art and skillful performance which can be humorous, athletic, shocking and sometimes weird. My choreography is to always rinse, get everything possible in, leaving nothing dirty on the kitchen counter, while never placing anything sharp in an upright position!
Many thanks to you and LG!
“I’ve Got the Old House No Dishwasher Blues!”
Since moving into our “cottage,” I have not had a dishwasher. I haven’t been w/o a dishwasher since the 1970s, so it was quite an adjustment, to say the least. I turn the ceiling fan on full blast to dry the dishes in the sink. It’s become a little joke around here. “Hey Jane. Are you drying your dishes?”
In my previous life, I was a “rinse them until they’re clean before ya load” kind of girl. The dishwasher was for sanitizing and hiding, in my mind. Wish I could go to NYC with Vanessa, but it will be NC and Heather for me!
Now if I could just win a new dishwasher……and a new kitchen at the same time!
Style would be “if it fits, it’s in “.
Try to get as many dishes in so whatever is left is only stuff that won’t fit. Then we wash those by hand. :Try to not waste water
Style: “OCD AND XYZ” The dishwasher gets loaded by myself or my husband. However, if my husband doesn’t fill it up and leaves it, I sneak in and finish filling it because he doesn’t see the pots and pans on the stove. Not sure why, his vision doesn’t go that far, plus, I switch up his arrangement for optimal placement and get the rest of the dishes (ie XYZ)in there and TURN IT ON! 🙂
Stlye: Don’t mess with the best
Seriously, if my husband tries to help I love it but the dishes still have food all over them in the morning, cups are filled with water and I usually cut myself on a knife here and there that is facing up, not kidding! So….don’t mess with the best!
Do you know how excited I am about this????????? We are trying to come up with something to do for that weekend which is my 40th. WOWZA!!! XO
Style: Jigsaw puzzle solver; dishes are jigsaw puzzle pieces, we have them, so they must fit–if done properly. In other words, if you can’t get all the dirties in, you’re overlooking how some fit together. No, of course you can’t put that big pot up there, that’s where short mugs and such go, silly. And so on, you get the drift. BTW, it’s next in turn to die since it is the only kitchen appliance not replaced in the last 20 yrs. or so. And, yes, because it’s how I roll, I still have the manual! Not to say we use it…..
Janet
My style is:the safe-food handling approach. Which means that I make sure there is enough room between each fork, knife, spoon, bowl etc. so that they can get thoroughly clean. I don’t let things overlap or bowls nest inside each other etc. I think this comes from still having young kids in the house and wanting to make sure everything has a chance to get clean (no cereal or greek yogurt still stuck to my bowls or spoons when I unload!) So, my approach is a little over the top, but it gives my husband a good excuse to let me do it because he admits he could never get it “right”.
Eclectic Effeciency – I bring unity to a diverse group of dishes, bowls, silverware, and appliances in a way that maximizes both space and energy.
What a fun giveaway! 🙂
Ah yes….my loading style…. HALLELUJAH HALLELUJAH MY DAUGHTER IS 13 HALLELUJAH! { sung to the tune of the Hallelujah Chorus }. Yep…that job belongs on the chore list now baby! Been waiting a while for it! 😉 She has been given pointers in not putting plastic on the bottom rack, make sure the cups are upside down, don’t block the little spinny thing, and rinse the plates…other than that, as long as I hear the sweet sound of the chime letting me know they are done, load away my love!!! 🙂
I’d LOVE to do this except we have scheduled a huge costume party for that Saturday and have folks flying in from everywhere. That said my loading style is ‘careful’–my aim being to protect everything while maximizing the machine’s ability to clean it. I’m all geeky that way.
The Cram n’ Slam. With two boys who has time for precesion. My life is full of crazy and in-between make believe games, wrestling, and let’s be honest some good ol’ fashion brother fights I try to just get it done.
My name would be Picky Petuna, because I’m very picky about everything being rinsed off first, then loaded the same way each time.
I am a “Reloader” when loading our dishwasher. My husband loads the dishes he uses soon as he is done eating, I leave them in the sink, scrape food off, rinse, repeat and than load, but first I have to reload the ones that my husband already loaded.
My Style: I’m a “Little Bit Classical & a Little Bit Rock & Roll” (my “not so famous”spin off version of the Donny & Marie classic)
I begin loading my dishwasher,(wearing a lovely,starched and pressed, ruffled apron) rinsing each plate, every piece placed logistically, calmly and organized. (Of course, there is serene music gently wafting in the background) like Food Networks Ina Garten. At the end the day, I am stacking the dishes fast, with a fierceness. (Of course, now there is rock & roll reverberating throughout the room) And I am wanting to get out of this “dive” (aka kitchen), as quick as I can, with my hair standing on end like Guy Fieri!!
(P.S. did you all notice the Food Network reference? Pretty subtle, huh?)
My hubs loading style is “Fingers Crossed” since he just hopes the door will close once he’s done!
My loading style is “Bless His Heart” since I then have to reload everything the poor guy tried doing himself!
I won’t be around that weekend but my hubs would love to win so I will gladly give him the tickets in the hopes that LG can teach him a thing or two about loading while he’s there!
Kelly
Half Rinse Crammer
i think
my title is rather
self explanatory
but
i sorta kinda rinse food off
but because i hate doing dishes
i sorta kinda rush through
and then cram every single thing
that can possibly maybe fit
into the dishwasher into it
alison
Belly Full-I pack in so much, I feel like I’m going to burst!
Spousal Support…Load & Wait
Unlike everyone else writing in, our roles are reversed. My husband is ruler of the dishwasher, so I do my best to rinse and place a dish where I think it should go…only to return later to find that my husband has removed, reconfigured & reloaded creating “ultimate spacial maximizing strategy” in our humble old dishwasher.
The LG looks amazing…our little old rust bucket is on its last leg and in dire need of an ugrade!
minimalist. Try to touch as little of the offending dish as possible. By the fingertips touch the cleanest part…drop it in. If I can use 2 forks to pick up a dish…that is acceptable. Load the dishwasher in whatever way it falls in. And hurry and start it before someone comes along and sees me acting like a girl.
Attack and Stack! Since housework is a battle, I have to be the general in the kitchen — this includes mustering the troops (dirty dishes) and making sure they fall-in-line in the dishwasher. My soldier cups and glasses need to stand at attention on the top rack, while my plates and bowls need to fall into formation on the bottom. This will ensure a victory in my war on stuck on food and water spots and assure a victory over the enemy (residue and germs). Next, man the torpedoes for cleaning the microwave!
Dishtobots – Sounds like transformer Auto-bots right? Because it transforms our daily dining life into a mechanical solution. to achieve better quality of everyday life. So life is really good.
i call mine “the sink style”. you know why? that’s where i do the dishes!
I am the Persnickety Proper Packer. I like everything packed in the correct way (read-my way). I let my daughter help with all other chores, but I can’t let her load the dishwasher because nobody can do it “right” besides me! My sister was over with her family one day and her hubby nicely started loading after eating. I graciously told him to go sit and visit and I would do the dishes. He stops and says “Oh, you’re one of those, just like your sister” Guess it runs in the family!
My title would be, All About the Layers!!! When you wait till the sink is full you have to get creative…skinny cups layered with larger bowls…stuff until it all fits! I’d LOVE to win this fabulous giveaway! Oh my gosh we’d have fun! XO, Aimee
My loading style I would call Eclectic Mayhem. I would describe it as starting out with good intentions, but then cramming as much stuff into any cranny I can find just to get the sink empty! Thank you for a chance at the NYC trip giveaway–what fun!
Mmmm…these days my style is definitely rinse first and then “Pack ‘n Pray”. Our dishwasher is almost 7 years old and has been used everyday, sometimes twice a day,(except when on vacation of course) since it was installed in January of 2006. It is getting close to being on its last leg so everything must be rinsed first and then I simply pack in what I can and pray that it can handle the load!
My loading style? In-Slow-Out-Fast. I load the dishwasher fairly slowly no matter what. I’ve had the same flatware for 27 years, the same everyday dishes for 16 years, so I always load things pretty carefully. And I rarely fill the dishwasher up at one time–sometimes I open it up just to pop in one dirty glass or cup. Several years ago I realized that I might as well load the dishwasher carefully since it’s a slow process anyway. . . so I started grouping like items together. All the knives go in one compartment, the forks in the next, the teaspoons in the next. The dinner plates stand proudly together, the salad plates all in their own row, the cereal bowls neatly placed side-by-side. You know what’s great about this method? The time it takes me to UNload! I can get those clean dishes put away faster than you can say Bob’s-your-uncle! Seriously, I often set the timer just to make sure I’m unloading at maximum speed.
Hmmm. . . if I’m having fun unloading the dishwasher, maybe I need a trip to New York! 🙂
My style would be the “Slam,bam,all done Ma’am.” I just want to get it done. Fortunately, I must be a decent loader because I seldom break or damage anything. I don’t dirty a lot of dishes so I tend to load as I go. It’s whatever will fit wherever without breaking or melting. Can I load my suitcase now?
No Crevice Left Unfilled: I fill mine to the max…using every inch possible {and then some}.
What an amazing giveaway!! Fingers crossed…I’d be giddy to travel with ya! 🙂
Organized Chaos because I want it all to fit in so I am constantly re-arranging to make sure I can fit the most pieces in where they still get clean. I guess that will be the new theme of my life–Organized Chaos… I am constantly organizing and re-arranging so everything will fit into our life and still be nice and clean. I so want this new appliance — it looks like we will be moving soon and it would be so fun to put in a new remodel project…
GREAT video Vanessa!!! (did I use too many exclamation points?)
“My Way or The Highway” is my style. I am often known to reload the dishwasher after my family has done their chore of loading. Re-stacking, moving, adding dishes is what I do and I’m really good at it. There is a (seemingly elusive) way to load the dishwasher that is known, evidently, only to me as my family can fully load a dishwasher yet leave behind an entire sinks worth of dishes. I swoop in and begin the magic re-loading process which somehow manages to fit the rest of those dishes into the depths. It is an acquired talent and the performing of it is a sight to behold.
My Style: Kiddo Collaboration ~ Wahoo! 90% of the time the kiddos rinse, load and put away the dishes… love it! I’d also LOVE to go to NY. Going there in the fall has always been one of my dreams… so pick me (pretty please, wink)
What an awesome giveaway!!!! NYC in fall = yes please!!!
My loading style is definitely ‘The Mullet’. Party in the back and business in the front. All those awkward shaped party platters, serving trays, casserole dishes that fit kinda wonky go in the back and then the front is all nice and tidy with plates and glasses that all line up in a nice row.
This is all, of course, back in the day when we had a dishwasher. Would do the happy dance if I could join the ranks of modern conveniences again!!
My loading style is “Cram It All In and Wash It All Up”. We have a lot of dishes to load and I don’t like loading the dishwasher, so I make it easy for myself.
“Third time’s the Charm” is my style. I hate prewashing and so I will run something through three times before I will finally take it to the sink and scrub it if it didn’t come clean. I load pretty much by the manufacturer’s specs.
ladyscientist at yahoo dot com
A dishwasher that cleans my dishes the first time! 🙂
My loading style is “Dishwasher Tetris”
Yes, I made it a game…it did not start out as a game…but at least it makes loading the dishwasher more fun. I love my mother but she did me no favors by not teaching, or rather ignoring the finer points of any domestic training. I had no idea how to cook when I left home and I definitely did not know how to load a dishwasher (but I could clean a toilet). Every time I start loading the dishwasher, it is like playing Tetris…it starts out smooth and easy, the pieces all fit together and then as it fills up, I get nervous and I start flipping things around trying to make it all fit (because I have to do a full load…I live in an area with water shortages!)…in the end I have things twisted and contorted and stacked up and just before I lose…I plop the soap in and shut the door…if the door shuts, that means I win (ha…beat you again dishwasher Tetris!)
LOADING STYLE: The Hunger Pains: Dishes on Fire
SUMMERY: This novel idea came about when a young boy, let’s call him “Can’t Miss Never Cleans,” would eat and eat and eat, but never clean up his mess. So, his mother decided he would need to load the dishwasher himself, and created a game called – “The Hunger Pains.” To win this game, Never Cleans would need to clean up his dishes before the next meal began. At first, Never Cleans scowling face painstakingly dawned on the plastic gloves, slowly carrying each dish into the dishwasher as if it were a diseased tribute from another district. However, Never Cleans drew motivation by his hunger pains and soon learned that speed and skill were his allies. Now, days later, he is mastering the game. As he dawns the gloves now, he is handling each dish into the dishwasher with a keen swiftness, as if the dishes were on fire. He places them in the dishwasher with no order, and no pattern, but with no complaints from the capitol, because the dishes do not break. Most of the time.
I’m the “Delegating Diva”… If I can get out of it by making my 13 year old or my husband do it, I do…
Otherwise, it’s “The Washer of Oz”… Might as well have been a tornado that put the dishes there… Cram ’em in and let ‘er rip.
My Loading Style is called “Dish Bliss.” I wrote a haiku summarizing it!
“Placed in one by one
All in the same direction
Each in harmony”
I always adopt a Zen attitude toward loading up the dishwasher. While not quite to the level of OCD or Type A, I love having everything neat and in its rightful place. My style is all about artfully arranging the dishes in harmony with one another. Nothing puts me at peace at the end of a hectic day like a blissfully loaded dishwasher. Now that’s Nirvana!
_______________
Thanks for the wonderful contest!
– Alexis
alexis ka 39 at yahoo.com
alexiska39@yahoo.com
I would call my loading style Chinese fire drill. My husband, two sons and I all grab dishes and stick them in, shifting them around to make everything fit. We have an island in the way so we kind of circle it in the process. It reminds me of the old Chinese fire drill game.
Cramming for a Test.
Because I cram every stinking piece of kitchen riff raff into my dishwasher in the attempts of getting it done in one load! I always have to test the spinning power of the spinning thingie to ensure that it will still spin despite it’s overloaded state. Why do I do this? Because the thought of having to unload and reload in one day is just – too overwhelming.
(Of course, if I didn’t let the dishes go for three days before LOADING the dishwasher, perhaps the test wouldn’t be so hard…)
The Perfectionist – I meticulously place each piece not only where it fits perfectly but also that I can fill it as full as possible.
Well, my style used to be “ducks in a row” ~ everything had to be put together by size, category (dishes, cups, bowls) and shape, mother duck to the far right then down to baby duck, so that there was complete symmetry in the dishwasher and so that when I put everything away I could do it all rhythmically starting with the upper left kitchen cabinet working clockwise to finish at the bottom left. Now, my style is ‘dreamy’ because I haven’t had a dishwasher in over 5 years and I ‘dream’ of having one again especially with a house full of boys who go through a lot of dishes….my hands are always pruny from hand dish washing!
My style would be called “The RIGHT way”, duh! Everything alike is all lined up, facing toward the middle. As opposed to my husband’s style, which is just all willy nilly. Plus, he leaves dishes in the sink and I come in behind him and find a place for them.
One day he was loading, and I had already loaded a few, when he says “I hate the way you load the dishwasher” and I said, “Well, I hate the way YOU load the dishwasher!” Then we just burst out laughing.
My Loading style would be called the OCD (Only Correct Dishwashing) style. Because no matter who puts what in how, I rearrange it. But if you do it my way, not only do the dishes all fit, but they also come out clean!! Yay. Or really they should if the top rack worked. But everything on the bottom gets clean!!
Our loading style would be “Hubby Scrubby Crammer Rammer” 🙂 I have to give my husband a 10 for being Mr. Mom when it comes to consistency in his dishwasher style, but probably a 5 for overall performance. He tries to cram them in there even if they are stacked on top of each other 🙁 and then ram the door shut hoping the latch will close so when I open it up out pops plastic cups and lots of surprises of unknown origin.
Sarah A.
sales@swankyoutlet.com
Wow – so many fun and creative names! How will you ever choose?! My husband is the lazy loader – seriously, everything is in the front of the dishwasher because he can’t be bothered to open the door the entire way and pull out a dish rack. lol! Drives me insane. My loading style is more of a “disciplined display”. Everything facing the correct way, similar dishes paired and silverware/utensils spread out (not all crammed in the first space).
So hilarious reading through the comments! 😉
I would have to say that my style is “There is a right way to load the dishwasher and why don’t you ever do it that way?” I am very picky about how the dishwasher is loaded: everything much face the center, and I don’t want dishes crowding each other. I will admit that I have re-loaded the dishwasher many times because I think most people don’t know how to load a dishwasher correctly. I think I will have to write a post about this some day… 🙂
“Once bitten twice washin’ babe” – Once I bite your head off once, you WILL learn to wash the dishes once with sponge and soap- and Then Load into the dishwasher for it’s second round of washing! — Run a tight ship? That I do! 😉
By the “Great White Mom”- {of 3 boys who do the dishes!}
I think our style would be something along the lines of ‘Don’t stop believin’ style because we keep thinking that one day the dishwasher will actually wash all.the.dishes.
We just keep on loading up the dishes, running it and keep on ‘believin’ that the dishes will someday ALL COME OUT CLEAN. We used to be meticulous. There used to be more of a loading method to our madness… but since the dw gets just about the same amount of dishes clean no matter what we do… we just load away- knowing that about half of them will need to be run again… and again. My son and I have pulled the dw out – you tubed how to clean all the parts and put it back together so many times- we don’t even have to pull it up to know how to do it any more!
But… we ‘don’t stop believin’ that it will work properly someday!
A trip to New York? Tickets to the Food and Wine Festival? Meeting Heather and Vanessa? And possibly…a love story (I’ll explain if I win). Why, that sounds like a fairytale come true!
I like to load my dishwasher Cinderella-style. You see I start by opening my kitchen window to summon my little helpers with song. “Ahhh-ahhhh, ahhh-ahhhh,” and then, just as you might imagine, nearby birds, mice, squirrels, and other helpful critters join me for a dishwasher loading session. I sing, “Whistle While You Work,” and wouldn’t you know it, they sure do. The woodland creatures demonstrate their astonishing mechanical dexterity by using their tails, feathers, and other attributes to help get the job done. After we’ve rinsed all the dishes, the birds load the top rack, of course, while the nut-lovers and bunnies properly organize the bottom rack. The mice usually just hum along to the happy working song until its time to add the soap, and then they form a little assembly line to deliver the detergent pouch into its receptacle. It’s really quite impressive. You wouldn’t believe how excited the raccoons get to push the start button. When we’re all done, we like to celebrate by twirling around a few times.
Thanks for reading! In this scenario, The Food and Wine Festival is The Ball, the flight is The Carriage, Vanessa and Heather are the Royals, and yes, there is a prince in this story, but I need your help to meet up with him.
Free style,
I think freestyle is the best description for me, I can freely Put my dishes in with style , not just any style but mine.
I stylishly put all glasses all the same color together, Cups are placed freely with the upmost Style. Sometimes I even
surprise myself, Carefully I start the bottom rack Plates are rinsed in style and freely put in order they are color coordinated
at that .Then lets not forget the bowls, all freely coordinated and placed with the upmost style. Then comes the best, I place
all the silverware in,I separate all forks they are freely placed together,same with spoons & knives. this makes putting the
silverware up so easy cause you can freely grab all forks together without fumbling to separate cause they were placed
with style together , grab the spoons, Knives * freely put them up . then I am free to do what ever I choose all in Style
It may not be much but its my Style
lcfalcons42(at)bellsouth.net
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absolutely enjoying your blog and look forward to new updates.