Every home needs a dishwasher

By Patricia Mycek Sumpter: Jack and I just returned to Illinois from five days in Wellington. The weather was perfect and the visits were so loving and pleasant. As I settle back into my routine I am busy doing laundry and putting away all the leftover items from the suitcases.

Within two hours Jack is asking, "What's for supper?" Like what is up with that? I haven't cooked anything in almost a week! I still had a couple of vacation days left to whittle away. Thank goodness for the barbecue grill. After supper the dirty dishes stare me in the face. Now I have a BIG problem. It hit me like a lead balloon and I was so bothered by the reality of my situation I could have cried.

I am living an old fashioned life and that is without a dishwasher. Growing up I remember mom's dishwasher that had to be moved over to the kitchen sink and we had to connect the hose to the faucet. That old bear was more trouble than washing dishes by hand. After I married, our first apartment had a nice dishwasher. Wow the life of luxury.

Within a year Jack and I purchased our first home. The kitchen's white metal cabinets needed desperately to be replaced. When that job got underway we never considered installing a dishwasher. Where was my brain? Three years and two children later we moved to a bigger house. I loved the kitchen. Counter space, (the most I've ever had) and a built-in wall oven and cook top and dishwasher. I was one lucky lady. I put that baby to work the day we moved in and 18 years later when we moved out.

Before we moved out of state we owned two more homes. Both of them had very nice kitchens complete with appliances. I was happy and the dishes were clean. I never had a hard time washing dishes. In fact there is satisfaction in cleaning and putting away dishes. I like a clean and shiny kitchen.

Our rental in Milford was a horse barn in its first life. A few years before there was a wonderful renovation and the barn/house now had two bedrooms and mini living room and kitchen. There was a big bathroom and hall closet with a washer and dryer. The master bedroom was the old hayloft. The place was really charming. It did lack a dishwasher so I was back to the old fashioned way of cleaning dishes. There were only two of us, how bad can that be to handle?

After nine months in cramped quarters we began house hunting. We fell in love with a 1927 English cottage because it had a two car garage. Oh I just loved the garage, (not). I loved the front door. The kitchen was newly remodeled so we thought it would suit us for the duration. One problem. No dishwasher. Jack said one could probably be installed.

I am still waiting. If one is installed by the kitchen sink I lose all the drawer space. If a dishwasher is installed across the room we lose a cupboard of pull-out shelves. Neither one of those options would suit the kitchen layout because the kitchen is only a small square with no windows.

The attached room where the table sits used to be a porch so windows are all round, which makes the kitchen, look bigger than it really happens to be. There is only four feet of counter space. With the new oak cupboards, I am still at a disadvantage. We ended up purchasing a butcher block cabinet to set in the middle of the room for more counter area, but there is no good spot for a dishwasher. When we talk of selling this place to move home my first remark is, "Who will buy this house with no dishwasher?" Jack looks at me dumbfounded and says, "We did."

I have done a survey with the employees I work with to see how many of the woman have dishwashers. I am serious about this dishwasher issue. There are 13 women and only four dishwashers. Isn't that unbelievable? That survey did not help my cause.

At this point I have given up the crusade for the dishwasher, but I have helped myself in another way. I buy lots of paper plates. Erin and I have different points of view on the paper plate history. I said she called me the queen of paper plates and she said I came up with that title all by myself. Personally, I don't care because I don't have to wash the paper plates and that makes me happy!

Always,

Patty