Dishwashing 101 with Miss Keiralea

Before we began our chores, I told Miss Keiralea that I was looking forward to her coming over and just KNEW she was going to be a great help to me.

She insisted on carrying a kitchen chair over to the sink to stand on.  I rolled up her sleeves.  "If you get wet, don't worry; Mama has another top for you to wear", I assured her.  I rolled a towel into a 'sausage' and placed it on the edge of the sink to soak up any spills and prevent water dripping onto the chair, potentially making it slippery.

I placed a plastic, removable bowl into the larger sink and filled the smaller sink with water for rinsing.

"Mind while we run the hot water into the bowl.  If we put dishes into the bowl the water could splash on you and we don't want that, do we?

"No, Mama"

"Is that too hot for you?"

"A little bit..."

"OK, I'll put some more cold in.  Mama likes to uses the hottest of water as possible to clean the dishes because it makes lots of dishwashing bubbles and it is that hot water and bubbles that help clean all the food mess and oil off the dishes"

"Mama, can I wash this knife?"

"No, Baby.  How's about we wash the glasses first because they are the cleanest of all the dishes.  We can soak all the knives and forks because soaking makes all the food that is stuck to them - soft - and it is easier to wash off".

"To wash the glasses, we put them in the hot, soapy water and use the dishwashing brush or bottle brush to wash inside".

"Why do you use a brush, Mama?"

"Because it is safer than putting your hand inside the glass - with or without a cloth"

"What will happen?"

"Sometimes, some girls and ladies had their hands cut from the sharp glass"

"Did they bleed?"

"Yes..."

"Oh noooo.."

"Anyway, after we have washed the glasses and everything else, we rinse them in the other sink with  clean water, then put them upside down on the draining board so that all the water can drain off and then,the tea towels don't get so wet."

After a decent chunk of time, Miss Keiralea decided it was time to stop. "Can we have some tea now,  Mama?"


A girl after my own heart.....