Washing up bowl...yay nor nay?

[Deleted User]

I have been MK'ing my home in the hope it will be much easier to keep clean and tidy throughout the whole week. Does my washing up bowl spark joy? I'm not sure that it does. 1) I have a dishwasher so I only really my washing up bowl occasionally. 2) My stainless steel sink is much easier to keep clean that a plastic washing up bowl.

I'm interested in hearing the opinions of the Old Stylers. Washing up bowls...yay or nay?


[purplesignup][/purplesignup]

PasturesNew

I have one and have pondered the question - and I think it depends how you use it. I have no dishwasher. My washing up "lurks" for quite awhile as I live alone, so am using too few items a lot of the time to wash them up as I go along. I stack up "dry/clean" items to the side of the sink - and in the bowl I place "wet/dirty" dishes in soak.

When I want to do the washing up I turn the hot tap on, hold onto the bowl contents and tip the bowl over to empty out the soaking water, then put the bowl back down and by then the tap's running hot water and I do the washing up ....

There is NEVER a time when I remove the bowl and contents from the sink at all.... so, there really is no need for a bowl. It's just something I've always had as "the norm" from childhood. It doesn't make any sense really at all. Indeed, it's probably causing other problems - e.g. the bowl has to be washed, the bottom/sides of the bowl need to be washed.

It would be easier if I just used the sink. I wonder if, mentally, I dislike the idea of my food dishes sitting so close to a drain outlet, but that's just "weird thinking".

I think the only way to decide is to remove the bowl and put it away for a month and see if you're annoyed during that month by not having a bowl. For me, a washing up bowl lasts about 5 years and then it moves on to be a bowl used for utility purposes, so it wouldn't disappear from the house as I'd keep it "in case" I needed a bowl for washing/soaking an item ... or, e.g. if a plumber were to come and enquire "do you have a bowl?"

This is the thing with MK.... whether you're binning those handy things kept "in case"

[Deleted User]

That's a good idea. I'm sure I could find another use for the bowl that would "spark joy" for example using it as a washing bowl for cleaning my bicycles. I think I've always had a washing up bowl because that's what my parents have. Removing it would really mess with my dad when he visits since he still hasn't got to grips with me using a dishbrush instead of a dishcloth.

Biggles

My late wife always had a bowl in the sink; whenever she went to stay with her friend for a week, first thing I did was throw the bowl out till she returned.

And,since she died, I have never used a bowl; doesn't make sense, the sink holds more dishes without it.

But, like PasturesNew, I do keep the bowl for any little emergencies.

I don't believe I have anything in the house that 'sparks joy', whatever that might mean. And, if I did, it probably wouldn't hold many dishes.

DigForVictory

If you have children, keep it. I had to go & buy a washing up bowl for a beaver event - purpose unspecified. Turned out a lovely mum from Virigin cosmetics was guiding the Beavers through a manicure & pedicure for mothers day - we had our feet washed in our washing up bowls.
Ulp. Very pleasant in hindsight, but I've kept a washing up bowl for those "ulp" situations, be they footwashing, de-rusting, re-lanolinising (although the bath worked better) and of course the norovirus...

One of these days I will take up this Kondo philosophy seriously but I ran out of emotional puff after folding socks.

jfdi

I could never get rid of mine (it is cleaned frequently!), as how would I dispose of cooking water, soaking water, tea/coffee dregs etc when I’m half way through the washing up?
Or how would OH wash his hands off when he comes in from the garden and I’ve half washed up?

I’ve tried without, mainly at holiday lets, and find it very inconvenient.

Saver0811

A washing up bowl is portable, a sink is not !

molerat

Nay here. Nice clean shiny stainless sink, no bowl getting in the way and needing cleaning. Minging garden hands get washed in the utility room. 2 "washing up bowls" in the (attached to the utility room door) garage for those times one is needed.

poppystar

jfdi wrote: »

I could never get rid of mine (it is cleaned frequently!), as how would I dispose of cooking water, soaking water, tea/coffee dregs etc when I’m half way through the washing up?

This ^^^ unless you have one of those 1.5 sink numbers so there is somewhere else to empty while the sink is full.

elsien

I'm slightly baffled by the concept of any washing up equipment sparking joy.
But as I don't have a drainer sink, I like the washing up bowl because I can still tip the dregs of tea and rinse things out mid washing up without having to pull the plug out first.

[Deleted User]

DigForVictory wrote: »

Turned out a lovely mum from Virigin cosmetics was guiding the Beavers through a manicure & pedicure for mothers day - we had our feet washed in our washing up bowls.

**Boak**

I can see the benefit of keeping the bowl but using is for other things. A sort of semi-MK.

jfdi wrote: »

I could never get rid of mine (it is cleaned frequently!), as how would I dispose of cooking water, soaking water, tea/coffee dregs etc when I’m half way through the washing up?
Or how would OH wash his hands off when he comes in from the garden and I’ve half washed up?

I’ve tried without, mainly at holiday lets, and find it very inconvenient.

I guess because I have a dishwasher it's not something I would have to worry about. My bathroom is closer to the front door than the kitchen so it makes more sense to wash hands in there. Horse for courses I guess. I could do a trial run without the bowl and see how I get on.