How Rastl spends her lunch break

I'm currently lucky enough to be working close enough to home that I can come home at lunch.  Most days this involves letting the dogs outside, some soup, chatting with friends online, letting the dogs back inside (very important) and then getting back to work.

Today I wasn't all that hungry so I spent the time cleaning up the kitchen.  One thing that really bugs me is a cluttered kitchen.  This wasn't a full-on clean.  It was more of a tidy-up.  Unload the dishwasher (Mr. Rastl's job but I do it if I'm there), load the dishwasher (my job), wash up anything that doesn't go in the dishwasher, put away miscellaneous stuff that was on the counters, and wipe down the stove and the counters.  Ahh,  tidy kitchen again.

But there's going to be a small instructional session at the Rastl household.  You see, Mr. Rastl has forgotten the important lessons of Rinse and Soak.  He's translated those into "Wait until Rastl is out of the house for a while then stuff everything in the dishwasher and run on 'Pots and Pans' cycle with water heat on."  This is not correct.

For those unfamiliar with the lessons of Rinse and Soak I shall explain.

Rinse

Technically the newer dishwashers make rinsing unnecessary.  Pish tosh I say.  If it leaves a residue on the pan or the dish, rinse it.  A knife crusted with peanut butter is NOT going to come clean in the dishwasher no matter what buttons you press.  And the person (Rastl) washing it by hand will not be pleased to have to scrape it off either.  So, rinse when it looks messy.

Soak

When a rinse just won't do.  Burnt on bits, dishes that missed the Rinse section, anything that will require work.  Especially anything with sugar.  Soak them.  Soap is not needed.  Water is the power ingredient here.  Soaking means that the icky bits get softened and will scrub off easily.

So we'll be sitting down and going over these important concepts again tonight.  In my nice tidy kitchen.

Ok - off to make a sandwich to eat at my desk.