My History Doing Dishes
I never, ever, did any dishes until I was 9 years old. I was spoiled living with your Lola Anching and she always had maids or she or Lolo Pons did housework themselves. But when your Lola Vangie (my mother) died when I was 7, my father, your Lolo Nesto, got a bit crazy and did some unconventional things. Well, he really was that way girls, he wasn't a Republican then ( I forgot to ask him if he voted for "Conan" ; ) ).
ANYWAY, It was in 1979 that your Lolo Nesto, my dad, took me from my comfy life in Kapiligan (Lolo and Lola's big-ass house) and brought me with him to his farm in Mindanao. And that's where I learned A LOT OF STUFF, like eating veggies, appreciating tuyo, spicy dishes, but they're gonna be future stories. ;)
ANYWAY, it was in living in our farm, in our literal "bahay kubo" in Lumbia that I learned how to wash dishes and what is a well-washed plate or implement. And you don't know how tough it was to achieve the proper criteria: 1. squeaky clean, no left-over fats or "sebo" and 2. doesn't smell like laundry soap. Yes, we only used laundry soap then as that's what people used during those days.
And what made it harder to achieve the "squeaky clean" criteria, was that we used plastic picnic plates. And fat stuck to it like crazy. So you have to use a lot of soap or make multiple passes with the sponge to get all the fats off.
Once all the fats are removed, now comes the arduous task of removing the soap. In my experience, this took AT LEAST 3-4 rinsings to remove the smell of Tide.
The whole process consumed a lot of water and time, as well making you end up with dry, coarse hands over time.
So with that little bit of history, you can now appreciate the fact that technology has made melaware cheap (plastic plates easy to rid of fats) and dishwashing liquid - DWL ( waaaaaaaaaaaay easier to rinse than laundry soap, believe me) a reality. DWL's easier rinseability allows you to work faster, making it easier for you and your hands over the long term. ;)
HOW TO WASH DISHES, THE TONY AGUDO WAY (wink, wink)
This process has been a distillation of my experience in washing dishes over my lifetime. This has adjusted mulitple times to accomodate innovations and circumstances that I encountered at one point or another.
1. Make sure you only get on your plate what you can and plan to eat - Having a lot of left-overs isn't only wasteful, its hard to dispose and can clog your drain if you're careless. I usually dont leave even a single bit of rice on my plate. And if there are bones, I usually eat the soft ones (they're good and full of calcium) and leave only the very hard ones I cant chew off. As you can now see, easier dishwashing starts well before the actual chore. If you have little or no left-overs, your dish-washing process is very much made easier. ;)
2. Gather all leftovers in one plate THOROUGHLY. And dump in a compost bin or designated organic waste bin. DO NOT dump in any drain. This will accumulate over time and create serious clogging that will cost you a lot to fix.
3. Rice remnants harden, especially when you leave it dry for some time on a plate. If it applies, soak the dishes first in a tub of water with little bit (a few drops) of dishwashing liquid. This will work to soften the rice and the DWL will strip some of the fat off your washables. Let it soak while you rest a bit after the meal.
4. Starting the Dishwashing Process - Rinsing - Hand-Rinse each item thoroughly. Any solid remnant can be a breeding ground for bacteria and also attract roaches. I usually separate the spoons and forks and knives and put them in a tall-is container, like a big plastic cup or glass. Also, do not plan to remove the "gunk" mostly with the sponge. You will end up with a grimy, bacteria-ridden sponge in no-time.
5. Soak your sponge and squeeze out the water a few times. This rids it most of the bacteria that was germinating in it while not in use. If you smelled it before doing this, chance are, it would smell too good. Even with the "antibac" soap. Remember, the run-off from this GOES STRAIGHT DOWN THE DRAIN. Its very dirty. Once done, I squirt a few diluted DWL onto the sponge to get it ready for work. ;)
6. Starting with the bigger items, I run the sponge through each thoroughly til I finish with the smaller ones. So you end up piling the smaller ones on top of the bigger ones. Elegant, isn't it? :D Then, individually "sponge" each spoon, fork, and knife - SFK - then put them, heads first, into another, "pre-sponged" glass. There's a reason for this.
7. Done with the "spongeing/soaping", now comes the rinsing. Have an empty plastic tub, or preferably a dish-drying rack within reach. This is where you will put your rinsed items.
8. Over a controlled stream of water, wash the small ones first and put them directly on the dish rack, til you do the bigger ones. As for the reason why I put the SFK head first in the glass is because I don't like touching the heads after I've sponged them. Since DWL can easily be removed by running water, I just run a few batches of streams of water into the glass with the SFK to rinse every item inside. I then thoroughly check by sight and smell if there are still anything left on your SFK, any fat, dirt, soap, etc. Segregate the guilty ones and re-do them AFTER you've done with rinsing your main batch. Re-doing them mid-stream will again get your hands covered in soap and maybe contaminate your previously rinsed items. Even a little soap tastes bad. Trust me.
9. Once everything is drip-dried, store everything in a dish keeper with a lid. this will prevent bugs from easily getting to them.
----- You're Done! YAY! -----
So when you go to bed at night, you won't worry about some roaches and rats on your sink feasting on the leftovers of your plates. Their filthy tongues licking on the very items you use to eat... EWWW...
TIDBITS TO REMEMBER:
- NEVER LEAVE DISHES UNWASHED - any longer than necessary. This will attract roaches, bugs, and RATS.
- Use proper water flow for rinsing. Too strong a flow is wasteful and will result in getting you wetter than necessary. You really shouldn't need an apron for this. If you think you do, your flow is too strong. Do us all a favor, save water and adjust the tap to the littlest you can use for the same output. Efficiency, my dears.
- NEVER LET THE DISHES PILE-UP. Cultivate the good habit of washing them after you've eaten. This will also help the food "go-down" faster, Also, a point to remember, this can be a point of argument with whoever you're living with. ALWAYS attack dirty dishes as if its an opportunity. It actually is, read on. ;)
- Use your dishwashing time to meditate on a problem. When you are focused on the mundane chore of dish-washing, your mind will be "free-er" from external noise, so its likely you can find some gems while thinking of a problem while "sponge-ing". ;)
- Meditate, "zone-out" during the process. Focus only on the task. Each and every movement. A deliberateness. This will give you some quiet time that every soul needs.
- Pay attention to every mentioned here. Come back and re-read the article from time to time. You will likely pick-up something new every time. Happens with me with books. ;)
So NEVER RESENT that you get to do the dishes. Its actually not a bad thing, in fact, its a gift, in an unlikely, simple, albeit, grimy garb... DO YOU NOW FULLY UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT? IF YOU DO, THEN LITTLE GRASSHOPPER, THAT'S THE ZEN IN IT. You've grown a little bit wiser... Rinse then repeat. Wash-on, wash-off... ;)
Love,
Dad
No comments:
Post a Comment