Pot Washing — A Philosophy
Early Experiences
When I was a child, washing the pots after dinner was the most annoying chore my parents forced me to do. My sister and I would take turns each night washing or drying.
Drying? What a pointless task: rubbing a hygienicly questionable cloth rag over the wet surfaces of plates and pans, etc, in a vain attempt to quickly dry them. It’s just not possible. The rag (curiously called a tea towel) was seemingly never absorbant enough to effectively dry anything, but also managed to become sopping wet within a couple of minutes use. I couldn’t see the point, when simply leaving the pots, pans and dishes to dry naturally, by evaporation, would require zero effort; and by this method nor would they carry thereafter the unpleasant odour of the hygienicly questionable rag.
When I embarked upon my adult life, subsequently living in various rented accomodations from my late teenage years onwards, the unclean state of the kitchen was always an issue. For decades I loathed washing pots; the task never seemed remotely alluring; until I adopted the revolutionary habit of washing them immediately after using them.
Piece By Piece vs The Whole Sinkful
Whilst commencing preparation of your meal, shield yourself from all external distractions, irrelevant thoughts and preoccupations, by consciously becoming fully immersed in the activity. Keep the mind openly focussed and ever-present. Wash the utensils, pots and pans as soon as you finish using them. Be disciplined. It’s simple.
Does anyone really feel like washing a sinkful of greasy pots directly after consuming a delicious, satisfying meal?
— There you are, half a glass of wine in hand, genial conversation, satiated, reclined in a comfortable chair, perhaps on the balcony, soaking up the warmth of the last fading rays of a glorious sunset…..finishing-up with a small chunk of rich dark chocolate and a short, bitter coffee to induce the inner dance of the digestive tract. Mmmm…..blissful.
Until the inconvenient obligation of pot-washing compromises your indulgent stupor with a merciless slap across your docile face. The pleasurable moment abruptly ends.
This is when you realise that the “wash-them-as-you-use-them” method is one of the greatest habits you ever nurtured— you return to the kitchen and wash a couple of plates and forks while the coffee readies.
Perhaps you might have a serving dish or salad bowl to tackle also, but this is a trifle compared to the monstrous sinkful it could’ve been.
A Meditative Process
In washing pots enjoyment can be found.
It can be a soothing engagement, if you don’t rush it; if you haven’t already decided that you hate it. Your mind needs to be thoughtless, in a state of non-judgemental observation.
Enjoy the water streaming over your hands, as your fingers caress the curves of each pot, gently tilting their bodies under the flow from the tap, removing the residue of foodstuffs and detergent suds. Mindfully focus your musculature when scouring away stubborn charred detritus, or hard dried food debris from the bases of pans. Breathe deeply and allow your body to dance with the motion of the activity. Smile. If it has to be done, why not find joy in the doing? After all, you will likely spend hundreds of hours, during your lifetime, washing pots.
The reward from realising an uncluttered environment, with clean utensils and kitchen ware, reflects immediately in a feeling of well-being, personal gratitude and liberation.
Community Spirit — Dirty Pots Ownership?
Sharing a kitchen space with others can be challenging when it comes to pot washing perceptions and individual habits.
For example, why do people fill the sink with dirty pots and leave them there? How many times have we had to remove a pile of greasy dishes and pots, make space to stack, and rinse the sink clean before it becomes possible to wash our own?
At times people can be lazy, irresponsible, or manage their time poorly. For these reasons the kitchen can become a mess of crockery, mugs, cutlery, etc.
‘They’re not mine’, you might think to yourself, ‘why should I wash them?’
Become the solution — wash them. Don’t complain. Wash them, happily. Don’t let the scenario trigger anger or frustration; your emotional state is your responsibility. Wash them, happily. Create a better environment for yourself, for everyone.
Liberate yourself from the drama; dissolve the concept of dirty dishes ownership and optimise your environment by changing the script.
Elbow Grease vs Machine
I consider the dishwasher machine an abomination. That we destroy mountains to extract the necessary raw materials to make the components which comprise the construction of such an unnecessary device, simply for our own personal convenience is a flagrant act of violence against the planet and its inhabitants.
Also, after washing they leave the surfaces of glasses and plates with an unpleasant smell and odd texture, and thus require further rinsing under running water before use.
Choose the self-soothing, guilt-free, personally-liberating manual pot washing method over planetary destruction. Just a suggestion.
The only therapeutic possibility a dishwasher might proffer, I suppose could come from sitting down, leaning against the metal monster with your scapula absorbing the machine’s vibrations, eyes closed and ears immersed in the sound of sloshing water, against a background of whirring electronic white noise. But at what ecological cost?
Final Thoughts
I suppose people have been washing pots (or dishes, whichever term you prefer) since the invention of clay vessels, some 20,000 years ago. You’d think by now we’d have refined the art for ourselves to such a degree that it becomes a sublime daily experience we anticipate with a unique personal measure of excitement.
I’m interested to know how you approach this aspect of your daily life…
