The Lazy Housekeeper - Dishwashing for Dummies Edition

The next in my series for my fellow housekeeping-impaired friends!  If you were a Family and Consumer Sciences major at BYU, just stop reading now, so you don't double over with horror/laughing cramps.

Yes, I could throw everything in the dishwasher.  But sometimes I want something right away and the dishwasher isn't full yet.  And many of my kitchen tools are marked not-dishwasher safe.  Also my dishwasher is pretty wimpy and quivers in fear at things like a smear of peanut butter or melted cheese; it prefers to fuse these items onto the dishes instead of removing them.  So without further adieu, here is the next installment of the Lazy Housekeeper.

How do I wash this thing?!
1.  Box Grater - I shredded about 3 sponges and 2 fingers before I though to reach for a bottle brush!
2.  Straight straws - we are big fans of the Foogo Straw Bottle, and for awhile, I just bought replacement straws when they got too grody.  Finally, my friend AP took pity on me and taught me how to make a super long Q-tip.  Take a bamboo skewer (the kind you use for kebabs) and a pinch from a cotton ball, wrap the cotton around the non-pointy end of the skewer, squirt a drop of dish soap on the tip, then go to town.  This also works to clean crevices in the highchair and car seat.  Toss the used bit of cotton ball instead of a $3.50 straw replacement.  I keep a skewer and a cotton ball on the windowsill above the sink just to increase my laziness quotient.
3.  Twisty straws - pipe cleaners...they're not just for crafts!  Find them in the aisle with the crayons and googly eyes.
4.  Non-stick pans - Ok, I knew I wasn't supposed to use the green side of the sponge, but the soft side takes so much elbow grease, I could never resist flipping it over to the dark side.  No worries, it was already scratched with my cheap-o metal tongs, so no biggie, right?  What's the worst that can happen, something will stick in that little scratch?  Oh what?  You say tiny bits of Teflon and possible carcinogens will flake off into my family's food?  (Cue to me imagining this scene from A Christmas Story, but replace Ralphie with the Nugget and replace "soap" with Teflon.)  Now that I've replaced my battered old pan with this allegedly eco-friendly guy, I also upgraded to silicone wrapped tongs and a nifty non-scratch scrubber made just for non-stick pans.

One of my favorite hostess gifts for fellow mamas is a fancy dish soap.  A new scent makes it more fun to wash a sinkful of dirty dishes, and it's a way to get aromatherapy without the dangerous combination of children and candles.  Right now, I'm enjoying method's Clementine and Caldrea for Target's Saffron Quince (purchased on clearance by the Easter Bunny).