I admit it. After 13 years, I still remember one off-hand comment. I don't try to -- it's just still there. We had just moved into our HUGE 1200 sq. ft. duplex (huge compared to our 800 sq. ft. apartment). After a few days I spent an industrious evening after work unpacking all of the kitchen. On his way to bed, I gave Troy a tour of my newly organized kitchen, "This is where the spices are, here are the cups, etc." He stared at me (noticing NONE of my wondrous organization!) with a most bemused expression on his face and finally said, "I find this all very amusing from someone who uses the kitchen 3 times a month."
Ahem. I admit it was VERY close to being accurate, but it still irritated me. So, of course, I still remember it. God love Troy, by the next morning when I was STILL mad (I know, there's that whole "Don't let the sun set on your anger" thing -- I have the hardest time with that) he had NO recollection of any of that exchange so I'm sure that 13 years will have done nothing to improve his memory.
Why can't I let this go? Why is it still on my mind? I think about it at least once a week, like I did last night. I spent over 5 minutes in search of one particular dish to put dinner in (I could have given up and used a different one, but they are all in the fridge w/ Thanksgiving leftovers that I should be throwing out, I'm sure). With every cabinet door opened and cabinet searched I got more and more irritated -- thankfully, no one was home. But, my thought 13 years later in reply is, "I cook EVERY night now -- NOW can you pay attention to where to put my dishes/ utensils?" I've mentioned it takes me a solid hour to get dinner on the table and I'm not blaming that on all of my helpers, but I do spend at least 5 minutes every night searching for SOMETHING -- can opener, garlic press, measuring spoons or cups, whatever. Between the kids each unloading the dishwasher and Troy clearing the decks, things can be in any one of 6-8 places, and no one can ever remember what they did with it, or have never seen it or touched it.
So, I figure I have these options before me:
a) Ban anyone and everyone from "helping" (a.k.a. "hiding things") in my kitchen (this option will call to Troy's mind another family member having a foot-stomping, shrieking hissy, "Get out of MY kitchen!!!")
b) Train my family to actually put things where they go.
c) Give up and consider every night of cooking dinner a grand scavenger hunt.
It's gonna have to be c).
9 comments:
Right now the only other person round here that totally unloads the dish washer beside me is Tony--and if I can't find something, I know right away that Tony put it where HE thinks it goes. I don't ever tell him it's the wrong place, I just know where his wrong place always is.
And I have comments like that that hang on too. . .they don't even really apply anymore. . .but they still sting.
I am the only person in my house that loads and unloads the dishes. They most likely have been rinsed and put in the sink, but there is an unwritten rule that I am the only one who has the secret key to the dishwasher. I am not the one who wrote that unwritten rule by the way. When my kids get taller maybe they will start helping unload the dishes, at this point they can only reach the silverware. I am still waiting for Sarah's kitchen fairies to stop at my house and clean up. Maybe that is what I will ask for a Christmas present, my own kitchen fairy.
With no dishwasher and only little people, it's either me or Nathaniel, and he tries to ask if he is unsure of the home of things.
If you want to borrow my labelmaker, I'd be glad to loan it to you. Then you can clearly label where everything goes! :)
I've given up. I know things like the whisk or the cheese slicer will never end up in the same drawer two times in a row, but there are only three drawers they could go in, so it narrows the search somewhat.
Of course, as Roxanne knows, every year when J wants to start the winters first fire in the gas fire place, and tries to find the gas fireplace key, he won't find it because I've thrown it out into the bushes by the trash cans, you know, for fun. Ahem.
Wow. You use a garlic press?
At my house, I'd be happy if banana peels and candy wrappers and dirty paper plates could find their way to the trash can from the counter. It's like less than 12 inches away. I guess that's a different kind of "putting away".
Get one of those label makers and obnoxiously label all of your cabinets on the OUTSIDE of the cabinets. Leave labels on cabinets for at least 28 days. Everyone will finally get used to putting everything where it belongs and then you can remove the labels. :)
Or there's always the "eat out every night" option. I'm sure your husband would like that one. :)
"Rayzer"...you just became my new friend! ;-)
There you go Sarah. Now you have a new comment to be bitter about rather than the 13 year old one. ;-)
At our house , different people do put stuff up and clean up. Tom is usually happy to do the dishes if I cook a meal. I ask Cade to put up the dishes from the dishwasher. If he can't reach something , he stacks them on the counter in front of where they go. He can sort the silverware and put it up.
Sometimes things are in the wrong place but it is worth it to have a little help.
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