Washing up bowl...yay nor nay?

RedFraggle

Using washing up bowls is one of the things we do that people in other countries think is mad!
I've not had one in years.

Spendless

elsien wrote: »

I'm slightly baffled by the concept of any washing up equipment sparking joy.

Lover_of_Lycra wrote: »

I suppose the sparking joy is really thinking about whether the washing up bowl serves a purpose or enhances the washing of my dishes in anyway.

This is why I struggle with the MK thing, and have not managed to get past the first few lines about it. I think my teenagers would be the first things to be thrown out if I was to do it, they don't spark joy as frequently as they did when younger and I'm not sure they enhance anything either, other than to wind me up. :rotfl:

I'm with the keep of the washing up bowl. I do have a 1.5 sink, but don't have a dishwasher and use the bowl for many things described above. We've also had glasses break/crack in the washing up water and it's easier to fish out from a bowl and there's no concern if anything would scratch the actual sink.

Callie22

Spendless wrote: »

This is why I struggle with the MK thing, and have not managed to get past the first few lines about it. I think my teenagers would be the first things to be thrown out if I was to do it, they don't spark joy as frequently as they did when younger and I'm not sure they enhance anything either, other than to wind me up. :rotfl:

I'm not a massive MK fan (some of it is a bit too 'cutesy' for me) but the 'sparking joy' thing is more about sentimental stuff rather than practical things. In some ways it's quite sensible because sometimes we do hold onto stuff because we feel we ought to, rather than because the object brings us any kind of 'joy'. For people who struggle to get rid of stuff, having permission to thank it and send it on its way is probably quite freeing.

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rach_k

Unless you have a tiny sink, I think a washing up bowl is a good idea because otherwise you waste water, especially if you're only hand-washing the odd thing here and there. It would take ages to fill my sink to a decent washing-up depth so I have a small washing up bowl. It's also useful for me because we have a ceramic sink which pans can mark if left - less cleaning is always good.

[Deleted User]

Callie22 wrote: »

Edited to add: I don't think that MK advocates that we look at *everything* in our houses to decide whether it 'sparks joy'. It's been a while since I read the book but I think she does recognise that there is some essential stuff that you need that isn't particularly joy-inducing, like brooms, mops and buckets. I read it as meaning other stuff that we tend to have too much of, like clothes, books, and general detritus.

I have to confess that I haven't read the book, it would just be something else to declutter but I have watched some of the YouTube videos. I'm more taking the essence of MK rather than being a puritan. I still ball my socks up. :shhh:

PasturesNew

I've just been through to the kitchen and realised... if you do keep things "in soak" in the sink, then to pull the plug to empty it you might have to put your hand into grubby/cold unwelcoming water .... because I just emptied my bowl of water to start the washing up and realised that if I'd not had the bowl that's what I'd have had to do.

MMF007

Brambleberry wrote: »

I don't have one, but two:eek: bear with me though...

We rarely need a washing-up bowl, so I used to keep mine under the sink with all the other cleaning liquids / sponges etc in (but it was a bit of a faff to get the bowl out to use it).
We now have two cheap and cheerful identical bowls nested, and I just drop the bottom one out of the stack when needed - it barely takes up any more room.

brambleberry, that's absolute genius! :T

For what it's worth, I have a 1.5 sink and a josephjoseph sort-of-mat thingy that doesn't catch the gunk I witnessed with other plastic mats. It is more like a flat grid.
I hate w-up bowls!! They always sit full of water, or you have to scooch the tap back n forth to avoid filling them with water when just rinsing or tipping dregs. They need cleaning inside and out, as prev posters say. Far easier to w-up in sink imo. But then again i do only have a small sink so doesn't take much water to fill.

The only use my old bowl gets is for mixing wallpaper paste every few years when i decorate!

[Deleted User]

PasturesNew wrote: »

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.

Same here, and I'd be worried about leaving stuff soaking directly in the sink, in case the tap washer failed, or the tap was accidentally left running slightly.

My sink has those horizontal "hospital" taps, and they can easily get bumped, leaving the tap dribbling water.

Witless

This time last year I'd be a 'Nay' however I'm now firmly a 'Yay'.

During the kitchen refurb there was a worktop on carpenter's tressles - that was it! A washing up dish was an essential (if only for a couple or three days).

When clearing the 'cupboard of doom' (aka sink unit) I put the cleaning materials in three washing up dishes organised by type/frequency of use for temporary storage: once the kitchen was installedI put them in the new unit still in the dishes.

One big bonus was / is the speed of clearing out the unit if there's a leak / you need at the stop valve* (Don't go there! Another story for another day.) Literally took less than half a minute to remove everything.

I now am the proud owner of FIVE** washing up dishes - three under the sink full of cleaning kit, one (empty) under the sink for use with the washing up and one in the utility room sink.

BTW it's true that 'stainless' doesn't (usually) stain - but it does scratch!

* more acceptable to the filter than the real name
** H0me Bargains best! (from memory £0.79 each)

Bogof_Babe

PasturesNew wrote: »

I've just been through to the kitchen and realised... if you do keep things "in soak" in the sink, then to pull the plug to empty it you might have to put your hand into grubby/cold unwelcoming water .... because I just emptied my bowl of water to start the washing up and realised that if I'd not had the bowl that's what I'd have had to do.

Google "Joseph Joseph wash and drain bowl". Best of both worlds, although you do have to pop your hand in to let the water out the bottom. But only quickly!