Sunday, April 1, 2012

Washing Dishes Without a Kitchen Sink

I'm betting that it will be another 3 weeks before we have a kitchen sink.

Even using paper plates and plastic utensils I still need to wash dishes. Especially because it's milking season.


The toilet is to the right of the wash station, which is great because I can dump any gross water down the toilet without worrying that it will plug the drain in the tub or the bathroom sink.

I always add about a tablespoon of bleach to the wash water. It keeps the washcloth from stinking, and it makes me feel better about washing all the milking equipment by hand.

It's actually nice to be able to wash by an open window instead of the middle of the kitchen. I love hearing the birds in spring and breathing the fresh air.

Only three more weeks.... I hope....

3 comments:

Diana Renata said...

I find myself in the curious situation of living in a studio that has no kitchen what so ever, and therefor no sink to wash dishes in. I liked this post and your solution to living without a sink, even temporarily. :)

TJ said...

Thanks! My friend washed her dishes in a 5 gallon bucket. We lived in a studio apartment for about 5 months a very long time ago. We had a refrigerator and a hot plate, but no kitchen. I remember washing dishes in two basins in the shower :)

VeggieNutr said...

My kitchen sink, which is a double sink, tends to clog up. Once, it was out of order for four months and now, several years later, it's completely clogged up again. I still use the sink but I learned to use it in a different way. I removed the plumbing underneath the double sink and I put a five gallon bucket under each sink. I use a dishpan placed in one sink to wash the dishes in and I then rinse them in the other sink. The rinse water drains down into the 5 gallon bucket underneath. I empty the two buckets out as needed. I just throw the water outside as I live out in the country where I can do this. Hey, it works! I can make-do like this for an indefinite period of time.
To unclog the sink, I've tried baking soda with vinegar and hot water, ammonia and hot water, plain hot water and a plunger, all with no luck. Then, out came the 50 ft snake and still no luck. I just leave the snake in the drain and twist around on it at my convenience hoping that I will someday bust through the clog. If I don't succeed, I can keep on using buckets.
It's good to know how to make-do with what you've got and to be thankful that you've got it to make-do with! Always look at what you have and not at what you don't have.