Monday's money question 6

In honour of Labour Day, let me ask you this: what is your favourite labour-saving device?

Not sure what mine is, but it's definitely not dishwashers. I've never had one, and I've never liked them, and given the fact that my parents use theirs as storage space, I can only conclude that they don't really like theirs either. Half the time I didn't even use the one at work when I looked after twenty residents at three meals and two snack-times, because I found it quicker and easier to do it by hand. Plus quieter. And it's a Zen thing for me I suspect, as I like the idea of only being responsible for getting a plate clean in the moment that I'm washing it. (Have to admit that I only wash and let everything air-dry. I also make a point of doing the dishes at least once a day before I go to bed, so that I wake up with a clean slate, um, counter.) Now I do understand that a busy family with working parents might really want and need their dishwasher, but one or two people?

That was my thought anyway as I saw a counter-top dishwasher in the Canadian Tire flyer this week. Obviously, being able to stand on a counter, it's really tiny, and of course that means you can only do a few dishes at a time. Which then begs the question; why not do them by hand? It would save not only time, but also hydro, and at $250, a fair bit of money. Well, folks, I was going to include a couple of money-saving tips gleaned from my house-cleaning days, but hey, I think I've laboured enough on a weekend when you're not even supposed to labour, so I'll leave it for now.

(pssst, but I'll give you a hint: avoid stainless steel!)

Comments

[Krissa]

I'm very curious about the hint at the end! ... The only time saving device we have is a vacuum cleaner. We have carpeting in two rooms in this apartment and so there is no choice but to have a vacuum. So it's not really to save time, but on the days I vacuum the carpets, I do go ahead and go over the hard floors since I'm already at it. But as for dishes, I haven't used a dishwasher in several years. I had them in a couple places I lived and didn't use them. But we don't have one here and didn't in Brooklyn either. In fact, in the building we lived in in Brooklyn, they were specifically prohibited on the lease.

[have gone vegan]

I've never heard of dishwashers being prohibited -- interesting!

Yeah, I've got two carpeted rooms as well, but KJ is absolutely terrified of the vacuum cleaner, so I'm thinking of getting a carpet sweeper so that I don't have to vacuum as often. And in a way, that could be both a labour and time-saving device! :)

[Krissa]

I think it was because the landlord paid the water and because the elec. was split based on apartment size. So it was to be fair that they didn't allow dishwashers. There was a big water damage problem in that building too so I am sure it was maybe even a little bit to do with that and the plumbing. Our building was huge - over 1oo units. ... Spike is not one bit scared of the vacuum. Paula doesn't like it, but she's not really afraid of it. She goes away from where I am, but she doesn't panic or hide. Maybe you could get one of those Roomba things. I'm not sure if they even make noise.

[have gone vegan]

That makes sense. About the dishwashers that is.

Poor KJ always hides (first under the couch, and then in the bathroom) while I vacuum. She even knows what I mean (and runs) when I say to her, "KJ, I'm going to vacuum now", so she must recognize either the tone or words! A Roomba? Yikes. Even if it didn't scare KJ, it would scare me! Snort.

[Donna Freedman]

I use my dishwasher to store canning jars. :-) This is a tip for other single apartment dwellers who do their dishes by hand and can always use extra storage space. You could fit a lot of canned goods in there, for example. Or why not put your off-season clothes in there, as long as you're sure it's completely dry?

[have gone vegan]

Those are great ideas! Especially the canned goods. I only have three drawers and three small cupboards in my kitchenette, so at the moment I'm using the bottom shelf of a china cabinet that I use as a bookcase to store some of my dried goods.

Thanks for dropping by Donna! :)