I do them right away but my kids will leave stuff. I will come home to dishes. Tired of it. dad's been on them they are getting alot better.

I like the drying rack in your photo

(No dishwasher in our home, no dryer, either). Once a day. Preferably in the morning. I have zero interest in washing dishes after a nice meal at the end of the day. I do like to see the dishes "consolidated" and organized rather than spread evenly over the entire surface of our very limited counter space and do that as I tidy up and put away dinner leftovers.

I leave a few dishes but never a pile. I do have a dishwasher.

hey bevballew!! :)
I have a wood drying rack for our French presses but it seems to fit really well where I wouldn't put anything else.
I wish I could put everything away sometimes and then I leave the room and fuggetaboutit :)

Dishes in the dishwasher immediately and then I hand wash anything that needs it in the morning. We eat late and I just can't face hand washing at 9:00 pm.

honestly? I wish someone would clean my house :)

Sssssh, don't tell anyone...I'm having the dishwasher disconnected and removed. It's nonfunctioning from previous owners.

Going to put another refrigerator drawer unit in its place. Much more convenient access for the "gossip corner"...ehem breakfast nook.

It's just as easy for me, I've found over the years, to wash/dry/rack by hand. Dad & I would laugh over using dishwashers. We'd do just as much scraping, rinsing & blotting dry as if doing it all by hand. So why bother. (It gave us Father/Daughter chit chat time doing dishes together!)

I dunno if I'd say I LIKE to see a pile, but that's often what happens in my house. It's a work in progress to improve everyone's habits. ;)

(I don't particularly mind a small stack of dishes in the sink as long as it's a tidy stack, though. Rinsed dishes stacked up waiting to go into the dishwasher when it's finished a cycle don't particularly bother me as a temporary thing. It's when people pile them up and they still have food stuck to them - ketchup is the WORST - that I go complain at everyone. I mean, I understand that sometimes you get out of sync with when the dishwasher is being run, if there were extra dishes for some reason or what have you, but at least scrape your plates into the trash and then give them a quick rinse so they're not sitting there just being gross at anyone else who wants to use the kitchen.)

I don't like washing by hand, though. I have grip issues and even though I don't often drop things, when I'm handling slippery stuff trying to scrub it I worry I'll drop things, and that makes me tense up and makes my arthritis hurt more. So the only things that get hand washed voluntarily when I'm on dish duty are items that can't or shouldn't go into the dishwasher, like good knives and cast iron. (Which helpfully also tend to be easier to grip than plates, even when wet and soapy.)

I have learned to relax and not stress over much. Sometimes I unload the dishwasher and add dishes as they are used and sometimes I let them pile up until later in the day or even the next day. There are only two of us but we sure do go through the dishes. I used to think the best thing would be to have only two place setting of dishes and silverware and cups, etc. Then nothing would be able to be "collected". But that idea never saw the light of day. As I've aged I figured out that no housekeeping chore is as crucial as I used to think it was...especially living with 3 dogs and 2 cats. When I was first married I actually ironed my husbands shirts!!

I wash my preps as I cook each meal and after eating I only have the dinnerware to wash. I let the dishes air dry while watching a show. My sink is the first thing in view as I walk into my apt so I keep my counters and sinks bare unless being used for a meal. I enjoy housework, for me it is relaxing.

We eat, then we wash dishes immediatly thereafter. Where does the pile of dirty dishes come from ? Please enlighten me

I used to think everything had to be cleaned right then, but then I got sick and a few years later my dear husband got cancer ( cancer free now ) and house work is not that important now. I still clean as I cook if it is a huge meal, but we eat out a lot. A few dishes in a sink means nothing to me, if rinsed off, we taught everyone to rinse off. Enjoy life, there will always be dishes to clean!

I think I'm somewhere in the middle. My husband hates dirty dishes and whish to wash right away. I'm a person who can wait for few hours before cleaning dishes. We don't have dishwasher and we also don't have so many dishes in our 2-person household. I answered the question that I like pile. It's not really true, but I don't mind to do dishes later in the evening or the next morning. Still I find it relaxing and so I choose a time when I can enjoy it.
When I cook, I wash dishes after I have finished or while the food is preparing in the oven. I don't like to interrupt my cooking or baking.

Only two of us now so I do them when I get around to it. Busy days they pile up, sometimes I'm washing every meal. Have never used a dishwasher even when we've had one. We redid our kitchen last year and it looks so nice when all clean that I try harder now.

I voted for letting them pile because that's the reality of what happens in our home though ideally I prefer a spotless sink. But we are a homeschooling family of seven... That translates to at least 6 people home for all three meals (plus snacks) during the day. I can't load my dishwasher as we go because it's usually running. My dream kitchen has two dishwashers so I can have one running and another getting loaded. :) I am thankful that I have a nice, deep sink and we do rinse dishes and try to stack them neatly at least. I do not handle my kitchen looking like a disaster well at all.
With the volume of dishes we use, running the dishwasher is a lot more economical than hand washing and I only use disposable dishes very occasionally. The dishwasher runs, FULLY loaded, 2-3 times per day. And we're too busy schooling and doing other housekeeping chores and extracurricular activities to stand around doing dishes by hand. (We rarely have takeout, and we don't use many convenience foods) I suspect that when our children all leave the nest I will be able to load the dishwasher and then run it when it's finally full, thus keeping an empty sink. :)

It varies. Mostly I like to keep my counters totally empty and my sink clear for the next job. Sometimes, though, it gets late, I get tired and dinner is just way later than I want. Then I stack the dishes in the sink and go to bed. I do them when I get up when I will enjoy the job rather than struggling through something that I am just too tired for. This is good for me and keeps me from chipping dishes from handling them when I am just too tired.

I haven't even a touch of OCD where dishes are concerned. After cooking, I'm NOT staying up to wash dishes. I actually like the warm, soapy water on my hands in the morning (arthritis).

If you like, or have open planned living a spotless kitchen is a must.

I wash the dishes after each meal. I don't wash the odd tea cup or sandwich plate that appears throughout the day.

Two kids and mom and dad in full-time jobs means they don't always get done right away. I try to do them at least once a day, but sometimes a day gets skipped. While I like everything neat and tidy, I have a slob for a husband and I've had to learn to pick my battles.

a novelist could get a lot of material from some of these threads....note to self:wish you were a novelist.

I hate seeing a pile, I like a clean sink, but a)I'm lazy and tired and can't bother most of the time, and b) it's so depressing to go in after 1 meal and see how dirty my husband leaves things I just can't stand to wade in there. Seriously, I think it's against his religion to throw things in the trash and clean as he goes.

I hate housework and I'm somewhat lazy. As much as I love a squeaky clean house I'm not the one to keep it that way. I don't have guest often but I don't make a real mess that can't be cleaned up in a rush. As for my bed I sleep on top of it all made up get up fold my blankets and leave them at the foot. Iif guest comes over I put them in a bin in the closet put there just for that reason. I smooth out the comforter and magic. I wave my duster here and there. But clean off prints and stains on the furniture. As for the bath it is a must do. And the kitchen, I will clean my stove because I hate a stove that is not clean. Dishes, its just me and all I do is rinse and let it pile until I feel like washing them . Or I'm expecting guest. I get compliments on how clean my house is Ha Ha. All that everyday poking around making things spick and span makes me think some people are extremely paranoid about what people think about how they live. I'm no super clean fanatic but I'm not dirty either.

Seems like I wash dishes all day long when I am home. We are constantly cooking and my husband is always in to some new project. The piles come and go, but before bed they are always done. I just do my best to keep up!

Termino de cocinar y todo se friega apenas los comensales terminan vuelvo y friego cual sera la sorpresa? nuevamente vasos sucios en el fregador.

I wash the dishes after each meal but I generally only cook 1 meal a day. The odd glass/cup or spoon goes into the dishwasher until evening when I wash the dishes.

I wash them once a day at night, although I do empty my dishwasher first thing in the morning. Breakfast and lunch dishes sit in the sink or get thrown into the dishwasher if I eat those meals at home. Who wants to feel like they wash dishes all day long? Once is enough.

Dishes go in the dishwasher after each meal, but my pots and pans don't. Since I hand wash these and we eat late they get washed the next day. If only one pot, I conserve water and wait until another pot/pan is dirty before washing both.

No DW here either so I just rinse everything as the day goes along and wash it all at the end of the day. They dry overnight and are put away in the morning.

Hand washing question - do you rinse? When I lived in the UK there were a few folks who washed by hand where they'd scrub and then dunk in clean but soapy water and then put that into the dish drainer to dry and be put away, and I always found that very strange because I've always done a final rinse in just water to get the last soap suds off.

That's interesting but I'm with you. I rinse until they are squeaky clean.

Dishwasher gets run every night without the dry cycle. They're dry enough in the morning to put away, and then we start all over again.

I prefer to wake up in the morning to an empty sink......NO DW here...all by hand..Also prefer to come home from work to a clean sink of course if my stepsons are making dinner I can be flexible.....
just need to get them to clean up after they are done.....(they are not young kids)

Also need to show them how quickly dishes can be washed.......

Usually one of them brings down a dirty dish from bedroom, leaves in sink with water so it can soak, then he goes to bathroom...In the 5 minutes he is in their I have washed all dirty things in sink.....of course he says "I was going to do that after I got out of the bathroom"
I give him the look "Yea right". Oh forgot one thing.....since he works in Rest. business.....he is just waking up at 3 or 4 in the afternoon.

I feel better now thanks for reading.....no kitchen rage today!!!!!!!

Like the majority of voters, I simply cannot stand the thought of getting up to a sink with dirty dishes in it. I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the health hazards of leaving dirty dishes piled up, i.e. attracting vermin and rodents-oh my, I'm starting to squirm just thinking of them!

@bundle53 - If the dishes have been scraped and rinsed of food before being placed in the sink, they're not clean in the sense of 'would use again' but I think they're clean enough from the point of view of attracting vermin, at least for a short time like overnight.

(Exception being if you live somewhere that has existing major problems. One of my friends lived some where in the Middle East at one point where having ant Issues was just an accepted thing - didn't matter how nice your house was or if you had a 24/7 cleaning staff, if there was anything left damp THEY WOULD FIND IT. So they would have different concerns in that environment than I do in the Northeast US, I suppose.)

better than cockroaches :)

@mousemaker - if I had a problem with cockroaches like the ant issues he told me about, I would legitimately be considering the practical possibilities of firebombing the house, UGH.

LOL we had to deal with them a long time ago in another city..another lifetime :)
student housing ugh :) and that's why so many of us bought Tupperware :)

its just me but always have people dropping in for coffee.I soakthem in the sink till the am.I enjoy doing the dishes while the smell of freshly brewed am coffee wafts through the kitchen

One of the best memories I have of my late (ex)husband is doing the dishes at night together. He washed, and I dried. Good conversations. A peaceful time in hectic days.

I too often use the excuse that something needs to soak a bit before washing or putting in the d/w. But that's exactly what begins the pile-up. Finding that I need to bite the bullet and just scrub, if necessary.

I got a low-end hotpoint d/w last time and it's next to worthless. If you're looking to buy, spend twice as much as you plan, is my guess, if you want something that actually works. Very frustrating. No matter how I stack the dishes or what detergent or combo of settings I use, I still have to have almost completely washed the dishes before putting them in the d/w. Consumer pressure needs to be brought - against so many corporations in so many ways for so many things!

I don't exactly like to see the sink pile up with dishes....but honestly some days I am just to tired or busy to really care! I load the dishwasher pretty much after each meal but pots & pans may sit in the sink for a day or 2. My hubby is good at washing pots & pans and he seems to like it...so I kind of consider that "his" job.

Rinse in the sink and then put in dishwasher. I always use the dishwasher daily, I deserve it.

dishwasher

dishwasher...that's where they go until we are ready to wash them all!

Basin in sink and I wash as I use during the day and straight after dinner. I also put the drainer away as soon as possible. I like nice clean and clear surfaces in the kitchen.

I don't like anything in the sink, even when then are a few dishes like cups or small plates after snacks by anyone in family. I have a small plastic bowl in one area, if there are any cups etc, they go in there. When I see them, I wash them immediately. I hate cups and glasses to be mixed with dinner plates, I keep those to one side and wash before main dishes. They also have a separate sponge ( if hand washing) dishes.

I won't use anything unless it is put in the dishwasher. I scrape (at best) and load. Once full it gets run. If any left over dishes, they have to wait for the next load. If someone has the audacity to wash them by hand, they get pulled out of the cabinet and put in the dishwasher. Pet dishes, definitely in the dishwasher.

boba1, you should be washing pet dishes before each time you feed them. Mine only go into the dishwasher if the dogs already ate and I was going to do dishes that night anyway. I no longer put pots and pan in the dishwasher. I have learned it wears them out sooner. I recently bought Circulon and just mild liquid dish soap and a soft sponge and it's clean