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Believe me, I'm an expert of washing dishes by hand, and there really are two ways to choose from that get the job done properly. People have machines these days for so many things, dish washing amongst them, and while dishwashers became a status symbol back in the seventies and early eighties, what people failed to take into account was that these machines use so much water, and that in rural areas such as I live in actually do harm to septic tanks. After more than 48 years of doing dishes, my methods work very well indeed.

Sorting the dishes.

One of the first lessons I learned about washing dishes is a common sense one that was taught to me in Domestic science at school. Sort all the dishes out, get rid of as much waste as possible from the dishes, and the order of washing should be something like this, though of course depends upon the meal served:

*Glasses
*Cups and saucers
*Side plates
*Dessert dishes
*Cutlery
*Plates
*Casserol es and utensils
*Pans

No kitchen is ever so regimented that people are going to stick to order of washing up, but the common sense rule outlined above shows a pattern in that the dirtiest and greasiest dishes are left until last for the purpose of keeping the water clean as long as possible.

The washing process.

While a double sink with a washing up bowl and a rinsing bowl is ideal, not everyone has this luxury. The reason for particular rinsing of items is that you certainly don't want your food to taste of detergent. Running a bowl of hot water, use a small amount of good quality detergent, and instead of running a whole bowlful before starting, run only half in the case of a single sink, so that you can rinse under the tap as you go.

Before starting the dishes, soak those harder to wash casserole dishes and pans so that when you get around to cleaning them, they are easier to handle.

Glasses, cups, side-plates and relatively clean items.

Glassware is always first. It needs hot water and the best results come from water that hasn't been used for anything else. Ensure that you wash the lips of glasses since lipstick smears on glasses really are not nice. Wash, rinse under hot running water and place on the draining board. Follow the same pattern for cups, plates, etc., being sure to clean all residue from the insides of cups, and follow these items with dessert dishes and cutlery.

By this time you have quite a bit on the draining board, and drying it and putting it away at this stage gives you a chance to clear the decks for the next items. Do use

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