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Wash one plate, before stuff dries on, under the hot water tap, just by rubbing it with your hand. Stand it in a dish drainer to dry. Save your bar soap chips to soap up your hand a little if you feel it is necessary, but actually, if you use the same plate every day, it is never necessary to wash it with soap. Each day, your meal will re-absorb yesterday's residue, before it sits long enough to do you any harm. Ditto for spoons, cooking pots, etc. Just clean them up immediately after use, before anything dries on.
I go thru a bottle of Dawn liquid like once per year, and I probably got it for less than $1 with coupons and on sale... so I don't see a big hit to my pocketbooks by actually using a little soap and getting dishes and spoons clean. I guess if you're really frugal, just lick your plates clean and save the water.
I use disposable plates and utensils. It's probably wasteful of me but I just prefer them.
I use a bottle of dish soap every three weeks, sometimes more than that. And I run the dishwasher every other day, or every day sometimes, depending on what I've been cooking. But I just feel unappreciated and miserable when everyone else is doing whatever they want and I'm stuck in the kitchen washing a pile of dishes, after I've already been cooking for an hour or two. So somehow the disposable plates and utensils make me a little less resentful of having to pick up after everyone.
I rarely use paper plates -- in fact the last time I remember using them was when I moved to my current house, which was almost 3 years ago!
I am surprised at those who talk about "saving time" by not having to wash dishes. Even a sink full of dishes takes me literally 5 minutes to hand wash (I have a dishwasher but rarely use it). My kitchen window overlooks my huge and beautiful back yard (that back yard was what sold me on this house!) so I find it very restful to wash dishes, gaze at all the trees, and contemplate life.
I have heard that not running your dishwasher at least semi-often can cause it to corrode and become unusable. I do not know if that is true or not but I run mine every couple of weeks just to be sure.
I go thru a bottle of Dawn liquid like once per year, and I probably got it for less than $1 with coupons and on sale... so I don't see a big hit to my pocketbooks by actually using a little soap and getting dishes and spoons clean. I guess if you're really frugal, just lick your plates clean and save the water.
That's not the point. The point is they don't NEED to be squeaky clean. So why waste a) money on paper plates, or b) time washing china ones. The poster said he didn't want to wash one plate, and I observed that washing one plate is no big deal, as long as you are willing to minimalize. My cast iron frying pan goes years between washings.
Frugality is just like everything else -- it needs to be tempered with common sense.
My brother does this and leaves dirty paper plates all over the house. Usually these have 'clean' ceramic plates under them. The ceramic plates all get washed, too.
I think that people who use paper plates are using lazy thinking. They still make a mess, but if you are a lazy person about cleaning your own messes then you are probably not cleaning up other things, too.
I absolutely use disposables when a crowd is over for a cookout. My M.O. is to enjoy my time with guests, not worry about a mounting mess to address in the kitchen.
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