Dishwashing and Divergent Thinking

[Anonymous]

I was reading Kelly & Ramundo and the study Rick(?) cited (http://totallyadd.com/creativity-and-adhd/) about divergent thinking, and how ADHDers are better at divergent thinking (how many things can you do with a brick) versus convergent thinking (build this brick house exactly as drawn).

I thought about the constant battle between Mrs. Puma and I over the dishes. We both hate doing them, but for different reasons. We used to alternate (her turn, my turn, ugh). She hates dealing with dirty dishes, I hate having to put the clean ones away. We agreed that from now on, I would put away the dirty dishes and she would put away the clean ones. We’ve been doing this for about two weeks and it works great.

I’ve thought about why it works, and here’s my theory. Putting dirty dishes in the dishwasher is divergent. Nobody cares which dish you put where or in what order or how they are orientated. (In fact, my slapdash, weirdo way of stacking the dishwasher drives her nuts). Putting clean dishes in the cabinet is convergent: a place for everything and everything in its place (yuck–love the result, hate the chore).

Not that putting dirty dishes away is a dream job for me, it still sucks, but it’s at least playing to my strength. Anyway, FWIW, it seems to be working.

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[DistractedCindy]

What an interesting concept you brought up. I have always disliked having to put away the clean dishes, but never minded loading the dishwasher. I do have a certain way I like to load the dishes and it drives me crazy the way my husband loads it. ( Filling the dishwasher for me is like solving a puzzle……. How many more dishes/glasses can if fit in here and get them out of sight?) Anyway, what you said makes sense to me and I also hate the chore! (Could this concept apply to laundry? I hate putting clean clothes away too!)

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[Anonymous]

ADD husband has to pack the dishwasher a certain way, frustrating to me as I just want to get the job DONE as quickly as possible.

We have it down to this:

• Dishwasher has to be emptied before any meals are started (I do the dishes & glasses, he does the cutlery)
• Dishwasher has to be filled right after the meal (he prefers filling it himself but I at least get them there so he can fiddle)
• Start the dishwasher after 7 pm to take advantage of reduced energy costs

  We both hate this job but forcing ourselves to do it together and tying it to mealtimes is working for us.

  He still occasionally tries to put the dishes away in the fridge or some weird place!

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[Anonymous]

@DistractedCindy: I’d try the laundry, but my wife has an unnatural love for our washer/dryer. We splurged on the Frigidaire whisper quiet models. They’re her version of my big screen TV/SUV, and I dare not mess with them!

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[Anonymous]

Divergent- if finding all the ways to avoid dirtying dishes to eventually have to wash counts?

I don’t have a dishwasher and I hate hand washing the dishes. dish saving strategies one should not do: use the same glass until it doesn’t look or taste quite right/ rinse out the same bowl and spoon- same concept. Pour canned soup back into the can to eat. pre-packaged food… not eating at all..

so far, I seem to be doing better with washing dishes with the meds. I just need to do them before the med dies or I will not until I am out of spoons or knives and it becomes a 45 minute event.

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[Anonymous]

Interesting topic!

I don’t have a dishwasher… I’d love one though. It would surely make my life a little easier. I live alone as well (unfortunately), so sharing the chores with my cat isn’t an option, I guess. LOL.

I too hate dishwashing. I procrastinate until I can’t stand breathing in the kitchen because of the stench and I’m forced to open a window to vent it out (I’m incredibly embarrassed to admit that…). It can take weeks before I’ve gathered enough energy to tackle that stinky mountin of doom.

I always have to sort the dishes before I start. I can’t just pell-mell… So I begin with the cutlery and glasses, then wash the pots and pans, then the dishes and last but not least – all the dreaded plastic containers (!!!).

As you can imagine, a few weeks without doing the dishes will result in the whole kitchen counter being packed to the fullest with dirty dishes and it often takes at least 2 hours to wash it all. I try to do the cutlery and glasses first, take a break, continue with the pots and pans, take a break, etc etc… But I almost never finish. Either I’m exhausted after a while or I find something interesting to do/read/watch and completely forget about the rest of it.

I must admit that Sugargremlin’s dish washing strategies has been a part of my life for a few years now, LOL. At least when I realize I’m running out of clean things to use.

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[Anonymous]

I am ashamed to publicly admit that back in the ’70s, I brought my dirty dishes home with me from university (a two hour drive). Not even neatly packed, just stacked in a garbage bag, for my mom to wash. 😳

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[Anonymous]

When I was single, I had two motivations to do dishes: (1) I only had four of everything and (2) I HATE bugs. Combine that with living in NYC, the cockroach capital of North America, and you either wash dishes regularly or order a lot of take out. My BMI of 42.5 will resolve that mystery for you.

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[Anonymous]

lol at packing up dirty dishes! I did that with my laundry! Probably more sad is that I got out of doing laundry at home until I was nearly 16 years old by convincing my mom that I didn’t know how to use the washer and dryer!! I started using this type of excuse when I was 4 years old and played it for all chores for as many years as I could. Laundry was the last to go. Although my mom gave up on my actual ability to clean my room and started to clean and organize it herself.

I really put a great deal of effort and creativity in ways to get out of doing chores. would have been less effort and more efficient just to do them!

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