Wouldn’t it be great if we could cook without having to do dishes?! Thank goodness for dishwashers, but sometimes I feel like I need 2 or 3 dishwashers in my kitchen to keep up. In case you’re like me and don’t have enough space or money to add more dishwashers to your kitchen, here are a few ideas for keeping those dishes under control.

Tip #1 – Give each family member their own special cup or water bottle to use throughout the day. My sister-in-law does this by assigning each of her kids a different color cup. Designate a special place on your counter (or in the fridge) for your cups. Whenever someone is thirsty, they get a drink from their cup and then put it back on the counter spot. Hopefully this will make it so you only need to wash cups once at the end of the day.

Tip #2- Make more one dish meals. Crockpots, instant pots, and Dutch ovens are great tools for one pot meals. Expand your recipe collection to include lots of soups, chowders, casseroles, etc. that can be made in one dish.

Tip #3 – Designate one day a week for disposable dishes. This might not be the eco-friendliest idea, but it is sanity-friendly. At our house, Sundays are the day we use paper plates, plastic silverware, and disposable cups. I love having less dishes to do on Sundays.

Tip #4 – Whenever possible, line bakeware with parchment paper or aluminum foil. It is so nice not to have to scrub a pan at the end of meal. Just throw away the paper or foil and you’re done. (Or you can reuse it if it’s not too messy!)

Tip #5 – When using measuring cups or measuring spoons, measure out the dry ingredients first. If you measure out the dry ingredients first, then you can reuse the same measuring cups and spoons for the wet ingredients.

Tip #6 – Get rid of too many dishes. When you have more dishes, there are more to wash! When you have less dishes, you will use them wisely and get them clean before they pile up. Is it time to clean out your cupboards?

Tip #8 – Go to bed with no dishes in the sink. If you wake up with dirty dishes in the sink, you will be catching up all day. I always run my dishwasher at night before bed. If you notice your dishwasher piling up before dinner time, you might want to run a load in the middle of the day too. You can unload before dinner and still have enough room to get all of the dinner dishes done.

Tip #9 – Get the whole family involved! Assign different members of the family to be in charge of dishes on different nights. Teach your children to clear their place at the table and load their dishes into the dishwasher after meals.

What do you do to keep dishes under control? Which of these tips do you find helpful? May your holidays be filled with great food and less dishes.