When I cook hubby does dishes right after, when he cooks I do what he hasn't already done...unlike me he cleans as he goes...

Clean as I cook, whatever is last used the husband washes or loads into the DW after the meal. We rinse - living in FL invites ANTS if you leave anything out, so it's either rinsed in a closed DW or clean.

I do the dishes when my husband doesn't.

We eat in for most meals...when I start my day I make sure my sink is clean and ready for me when I start to cook. When someone finish a meal or a drink the dirty item goes into the dishwasher, if I am cooking, any utensil or item I am done with goes right into the dishwasher. When the dishwasher is filled then I will do the dishes. Now, unless I have company or the children for dinner and I'm not preparing a large meal, I seem to be able to do the dishes around 7 P.M. and put the dishes away in the morning. But there are always a few last snacks that end up with a dish or a cup in the sink ready for the next day.

If I had a dishwasher everything would get rinse and put in the dishwasher but as I don't, and I am exhausted at night, I do it in the morning when I have energy.

I do mine after supper. We don't have a dishwasher and I don't miss it. There's just the two of us now, both retired, so not too many dishes. I love to walk into a clean kitchen first thing in the morning.

Meal prep starts with a clean sink and counters; clean as I go; clean a dish used and no longer required. Meal ends with clean kitchen. Let stuff accumulate between meals. Gold star to those who rack their own dishes.

OMG - WHO keeps dirty dishes in a DRAWER or in a BASKET under the SINK - totally Not ok. BIG HEALTH issue - Bugs -- Either wash, place in DW or stack them in a sink with soapy water but to put them in a DRAWER in your kitchen?? r u kidding me- that is a BIG NO NO and BIG health issue and invites nasty Bacteria and Bugs . PLS STOP doing that.

When I run out of clean dishes or the sink is full which ever comes first. JK. Usually in the morning, by hand.

Sometime after dinner but before bedtime. I like to wake up to a clean kitchen.

Our electricity rates change based on the time of day, so as to entice people to consume during the mid to low periods. We only use our dishwasher during the low period (which changes seasonally), so we adapt to that optimal time. It was hard to get used to, but so worth it. Hand washing is done during prep or after meals - our kitchen is close to the front door and I hate to have dishes on the counter.

I don't have a dishwasher either - unless it's a friend who does the dishes. Ideally I'd do the dishes after eating but find it somehow subtracts from the experience.....like to bask in the food and the eating experience for a little longer. So I rinse everything off, hopefully, and leave the stuff in the sink. I like the feeling of the warm/hot water on my hands in the morning.

I use my dishwasher at least once a day and what doesn't fit in at the end of the day; usually waits until the next day. Depending on my energy level - I sometimes clean up right before bed or as soon as I get up. I also don't like getting up from the table to clean. I like relaxing with my wife or family after a meal. So even when we have guests, they know I'm not going to clean up until they leave so they don't even ask to help wash dishes. When we remodeled the kitchen two years ago I got a big, deep sink - it can hide a LOT of stuff until I'm ready to deal with it.

Regularly! I hate dirty dishes. Always before bed, first thing in the morning & many times throughout the day since having teenagers means dishes!

No dishwasher, but I don't mind doing dishes. There's just two of us so like many others on this list, I do them all at once after dinner. I like getting up to a clean kitchen. Also, most of the nastiest critters are nocturnal and just in case a random nasty is out scouting, I don't want them to find anything in my kitchen during their nightly rounds that would encourage them to either come back or worse - tell their friends!

I make an evening swing around the house to collect stray dishes and put them in the sink. The next morning, while the coffee is dripping, I wash what is in the sink and am done about the time the coffee is ready to pour.

Right before the cleaning ladies show up!

ldgcom. I disagree. Sure, if you live in a house that invites ants or cockroaches, but I very rarely see an insect in my house, and as long as you've scraped any food off that might mold, you probably don't need to worry so much about germs. I just leave dishes in one of my double sinks till I have enough to warrant washing, which isn't all that often. Then I usually do it while watching TV or listening to music. I enjoy doing dishes, but why waste water if there's no need? I'm in my sixties and never get sick; exposure to common bacteria builds up your body's natural immunities, and scientists are now realizing that the lack of needed bacteria is causing illnesses - hence the big business of probiotics. The other big business of disinfectants and the overuse and mis-use of antibiotics is what has caused the proliferation of 'superbugs' that we don't have cures for. Why do you think flu shots have to constantly be evolving to keep up?

My dish washer has a delay setting. Electricity is cheaper from 21:30 to 5:30 am. So, dishes are washed anytime after 21:30

We put dishes straight in the dishwasher. Anything left on the bench, in our temperatures, would attract insects. When the dishwasher is full, we turn it on. Then the next person who needs to put something in should empty it so the process can start again. Sometimes that's once a day. Sometimes it's three times. It depends how many pots have been used for the cooking.

The maid does the dishes. She comes at 9 am.

When we run out of clean dishes and my husband threatens to withhold whatever fantastic meal he has planned. ;)

I have learned to run dishwasher every night, no matter if it is full or half empty, also clean sink and counters at night after dinner. Unload dishwasher every morning. All day just put each dish in as it is dirtied kitchen stays clean and neat

This is why I had children: the 16-year-old boy is assigned kitchen clean up each night and it was his sister's job before she went to college. I don't know what we'll do when the boy goes to college... O_o

Dirty dishes go into the dish washer immediately after eating each meal. As I'm preparing a meal, I immediately put any dirty utensils, bowls or pans into the dish washer, or wash them by hand - which ever is appropriate. Dishes never sit in my sink - never! Even before I had a dishwasher, the kitchen was cleaned and all dishes were washed, dried and put away immediately following each meal. I like things neat!

I'm single & busy so I only get to cook about once or twice a week. I stack my breakfast & lunch dishes (lunch box dishes) in the sink until it's a night I cook or the weekend. I rinse the dishes before putting into the dishwasher and run it once or twice a week.

I rinse up dishes after I get home from work usually and put them in the dishwasher, while dinner is cooking. Then I rise up those dishes right after we eat. If the dishwasher is sitting with dirty dishes, dishes are rinsed and put in as the are used. I like having a clean counter and sink!

I only hand wash pots and pans because our washed does not clean them well enough.

judyrud, thanks for the defense. I live in the Pacific NW and rarely see insects in the kitchen. We have tiny ants for a few weeks in the spring. They are looking for water and like clean but damp counters. We have fruit flies for a few weeks in the fall which like fruit. Neither is attracted to scraped and rinsed dishes on the counter.

I have been trying out a Sterlite bin under the sink for those scraped and rinsed hand washable dishes. It is working out well. I still leave the wine glasses on the counter since they break too easily. Now I have more counter space near the sink for food prep.

I don't like to leave anything dirty in my sink and be confronted with it in the morning, so it's done just after each meal.

ASAP AFTER THE MEAL UNLESS SOMETHING NEEDS TO SOAK - RARELY WITH TODAY'S DISHES.

Dishes go into the dishwasher as they are dirtied. Electricity is cheaper after 7 pm, so that's when the dishes get washed.

No dirty dishes allowed in my sink.I never wanted a dishwasher,I want everything clean and put away when meals are over.

Being single, my routine is to rinse off dirty dishes and leave them in the sink overnight. In the morning, I put away yesterday's hand washed dishes, hand wash any dirty dishes I left in the sink overnight and place them on a dish drying mat next to the sink, then dry and replace all silverware...all while my coffee is brewing.

I clean the kitchen after each meal (counters, etc.), but a lot of that involves putting the bulk of the dishes in the dishwasher. I do hand-wash certain items. Typically I start the dishwasher just before I go to bed and put the dishes away first thing in the morning. I'm pretty obsessive about getting up to a clean kitchen.

Still waiting for a plumber to be unbusy enough with everyone else to complete the work in my kitchen.....gas line to cooktop, plumb sink and dishwasher. Been waiting since June. In the meantime I use small sink in basement (kitchenette) and limited number of dishes there. I do hate doing dishes and have had a dishwasher for years so since I get no help....I tend to wait until all options are out and then do one binge wash.

I wash as I go throughout the day. Hate clutter/mess....

Just one person eating so I wash dishes every night.

It is funny to me, I must really be a morning person. If I have a party, I have much more energy to tackle the cleanup in the morning. I can't face it at night. I do clean up after each meal during the day, but many times leaving dinner things for the morning. Just scrape, stack and soak the night before.

I lost my dishwasher when I sold my house. I wash dishes by myself and do it when I run out due to bad knees!!!

Dishes go in the dishwasher after being used. The dishwasher is run at night to wake up to a clean kitchen in the morning. Our son puts away the dishes and reloads it from breakfast, as part of his morning chores.

When I can't stand the kids ignoring their dish duty any longer.
In theory one unloads in morning and we all load as we use things.Then the other one loads cooking pans and set the washer to run on delay start in the evening. But the dishes become the pawns in a sibling rivalry blame game. " but I couldn't load because she didn't unload.... he didn't. ...."

I do them religiously on the 1st and 15th of every month, whether they need it or not. Sometime I might have to do them a little earlier or later depending on two things: what's on tee-vee and whether two many flies are hanging 'round the sink.

yes and when lonos has leftovers to wash she mails them to me. if i don't get them done in a month or when they are really nice and crusty, i mail them forward. its a system, it works for us and we are sticking to it!

I knew I smelled something.

You got mail! ; - )

I put stuff in the dw as it accumulates during the day, start it last thing before going to bed.

Oh the pleasure of waking up to clean dishes that I had nothing to do with!

I spend a lot of time creating unique delicious meals that Take time and effort that I find on the Internet. Then I enjoy the meal with my husband who usually loves it. I'll be darned if I'm going to wash the dishes right after the meal. I soak the pans and usually wash the dishes the next morning but don't go ballistic if I don't. I'd rather enjoy the rest of the evening with my husband than walk into a spanking clean kitchen!

We are an empty nest couple, empty nest being a misnomer since we usually have 2 of our 5 grandchildren in our home on any given day. We wash dishes after meals and while we are cooking or baking with the grandchildren. We live in a 1,000 square foot home so our kitchen is cozy. We keep it tidy but lived in and loved in.

Post Script: We don't own a dishwasher. We joke that we are the dishwashers. LOL! Buying and installing a dishwasher would mean we'd lose a whole cabinet. Handwashing has it's merits. You get to talk to each other and share the stories of the day while handwashing dishes. Love in the soap suds.

I load the dishes into dishwasher after every meal, but make sure kitchen is completely clean before going to bed for the night. Getting up in the a.m. to a messy kitchen gets my day off to a crummy start...like I'm already behind the 8 ball !