Around the House: Complete Dish Duty Faster Than Ever With 10 Simple Tricks

By Yehudit Garmaise

Disposable aluminum pans for serving work well for freezing and serving during Yom Tov, but what about all the cooking pots and pans and plates from many multiple-course seudas a day during the fall Yom Tov season?

Dishes can get done in a snap by adhering to the following routine.

1. Using a large spoon, first, empty out pots and pans by placing all leftovers in containers for the fridge.

2. Immediately fill those cooking pots and pans with hot water and a squirt of dish soap to soak while doing other dishes.

3. Then, fill the sink's basin halfway with hot water and a small squirt of dish soap.

4. Scrape all the dirty plates into the garbage before placing them into the sink to soak for five to ten minutes.

5. While the dishes are soaking, add the dirty silverware to the soapy water in the sink to loosen all the bits of food and get the silverware 100% clean.

6. Lay out a few dish towels on the counter, and grab a dish scrub brush or a sponge that has a scrubbing side. Add a little water and a drop of dish detergent to the cleaning implement and scrub each dish until it is clean on both sides.

7. After rinsing each dish, lay it down to dry on the towel.

8. Ask a child to finish drying each dish on the towel. The child who volunteers to dry and then put away each dish gets to tell uninterrupted stories to Mommy or Tati while drying.

9. After cleaning each piece of silverware, empty the dirty water in the sink and start soaking the drinking glasses for five minutes so they can easily be washed and rinsed.

10. Now that the cooking pans have been soaking for a while, they should be easier to clean. For anything cooked on or burnt onto the pans, rinse out the pan, fill it a quarter full of water, and add 3 T. baking soda. Bring the liquid to a boil, and let it simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, after which time the burnt food should have loosened enough to enable you to scrub the pots and pans sparkling clean.