Save water by not washing pans and plates

[jeanmarie]

After you have used a plate, pan, spoons, and forks, put them in the fridge, you can do that for 3 days if you only keep them out for a short time, then you only wash dishes about 2 times a week.

Hah! You are so spoiled! Go to Desertphile's channel on YouTube and watch "My Life as a Mojave Desert Hermit." He had one pot. He cooked in it, ate out of it, licked it dry and cleaned it out with dirt. Then, the next meal went right in on top of the dirt residue.

[travelaround]

Cooking with dirt? Now, that's innovative!

I will make one pot of veggies in a day and eat that as soup. Easy-clean pots. Keeping it simple.

[highdesertranger]

ok I am finally going to say something.

conserving water is a good thing I am all for it. but saving water by not washing your dishes I don't get. no need to use dirt, alcohol, vinegar, etc

no matter where you are there is water close by that you can use to wash with. get a real map not a google map or a google earth or any of the other 3rd party maps. get a USGS map that is what all others are based on, but the others leave stuff off. I can almost guaranty that everybody reading this is within 2-5 miles of water. even in the desert. if you have an internet signal there is water close by.

I use very little dish soap. in fact 99% of the time I don't use any, maybe once every couple of weeks and then sparingly.

I use very few paper towels. very wasteful. I hate paper plates and plastic utensils, super wasteful. in the long run you are not saving any water by using paper towels, paper plates, and plastic utensils, in fact now your overall usage has skyrocketed.

highdesertranger

[wanderin.pat]

I didn't see one single post on the best way to clean up after cooking...even from those that I know for a fact have one or more of these little cleaning machines.  

Dog(s).  They do a great job cleaning, spray a little  water on plates and such from a spray bottle.  Wipe with cloth. 

Of course, now no one will have lunch or dinner at my rig!  hahahaha...

[crofter]

One of my great loves is paper towels and clean rivers. I boil water for squeaky ckean dishes and use no soap. I reserve the used water until cooled and water a plant with it. To do this, dishes must have been wiped or scraped. I use my paper napkin to wipe the plate before rinsing. You could also scrape with spatula for the same result. -crofter

[maki2]

Reminds me of the joke: A guy is talking to an old timer about how clean is the plate he is serving him on. Response from the old timer, its as clean as Soap and Water can get it. His dogs were named Soap and Water.

People do lots of things that I myself would not do and I do things they would not do. I did go to the store and buy some paper plates and bowls this week. Because it is much easier than trying to wash them with a fractured wrist and much safer than removing the wrist splint to keep it dry and then trying not to stress that wrist. I do keep some paper plates, bowls and cups on hand. Good enough for company to eat off of. I don't want to keep extra washable dishware on hand for rare occasions. Of course I could tell them don't show up empty handed, bring your own oh and bring some food to contribute as well. But when I visit them I certainly hope they are much nicer than that to me.

(This post was last modified: 10-15-2019, 10:02 PM by maki2.)

[crofter]

Soap and Water I have heard that story- teehee! Hope the wrist gets better soon-    crofter

[VanFan]

I still have trouble doing anything but a water-intensive soak sometimes, when food caramelizes on the bottom and sides of a pot.  Which is exactly what I want it to do.  And also when I eat oatmeal, where it's always a race to keep the sides of a dish from getting coated with oatmeal cement even while you're eating.

Two things to try:  Sprinkle some baking soda on the pan and dampen it slightly.  After sitting awhile, the glazed stuff slides right off.  Works best on stainless.  Do you carry milk with you?  Adding just a splash to the oatmeal after you take it off the heat helps keep it from sticking so much.

[ckelly78z]

I'll try coming at this from a different angle...why not carry an extra 5 gallon water container that is out of the way, that can be doled out sparingly to properly clean plates/pots/utensils with a damp wash cloth, and prevent a hospital visit ?

[Cammalu]

I’m with you on that one. I don’t get why all these extra things to wash dishes are used. Vinegar, baking soda, bleach and the list goes on. Each one of these things costs a lot more than water.