Sink zero
I’ve never worked in a professional kitchen, so my subtitle is reaching at best, but I do enjoy cooking at home. I try to stick to “cleaning as I go” as often as I can, though of course, some utensils, bowls, and pans end up in the sink until the meal is entirely wrapped up. Every once in a while, I tell myself that we need to reach “sink zero” today, for the sake of my own sanity. That’s just my silly way of saying that I’m going to do all of the dishwashing and general appliance/utensil cleanup that needs doing until the sink and countertops are totally cleared, at which point I’ll often throw a few spoonfuls of Barkeeper’s Friend into the sink as well to restore its shiny finish.
Reaching sink zero in our house is a bit of an accomplishment because we don’t often get there. I’m not saying we have stacks and stacks of dishes sitting out all the time — quite the opposite, in fact; I rarely let actual dishes stack in the sink at all — but it is not uncommon for us to have a few utensils and cooking apparatuses that don’t fit in the dishwasher languishing in the sink for a few days. Oversized glass bowls from bread-proofing. The strainer from a salad spinner. A wok spatula. You get the picture. It’s never miserable, but eventually it gets just bad enough that I have to do something about it.
A few days back, I started wondering how often we really hit sink zero. At the realization unsettled me a bit. Getting to a clean sink every day should not be that tough, but it rarely happens—rarely enough that I’m able to count how often I get to sink zero each week (and the answer is definitely not “seven”). So, easy, quantifiable resolution for me - let’s hit sink zero at least every other day. Late dinners, hosting get-togethers into the evening, a surprise late-night extra bottle for the little one - sometimes you just can’t knock the whole sink out before bed. But every other day? That’s feasible.
I bring this up because my immediate next thought was, “Well, wait a moment, how often do I hit sink zero? Like, myself? If my stressors and emotional baggage literally piled up like dirty cookware in a sink, would I be able to tolerate cooking in that kitchen? If not, why am I allowing the sink to reach that point before making it a priority to hit sink zero?
I’m not saying I never hit this “self-sink zero.” All told, I’m in a good place in life. But when the dishes do start piling up, am I really handling things as readily as I should? Is my cleanup reactive (“oh, crap, I can’t even use this side of the sink anymore”) or is it proactive (“it’s been a day - time to empty this out”)? Without much hesitation, I can pretty comfortably say I’m living in the former right now.
So let’s apply that same principle of a quantifiable resolution that I can implement as a habit immediately - every two days, I intend to hit mental and emotional sink zero. Of course, it’s a lot easier to plow through a physical pile of dishes than it is to be able to assure that I will find myself in a mental and emotional state of peace every 48 hours. Not to mention the fact that, if these “dishes” are external or not within my immediate locus of control, I may not be able to actually do anything about it for over 48 hours1. That said, I still think that there are steps I can take, though, beyond simply letting things pile up. I can acknowledge the time-gated dishes about which I can’t do anything, and make a plan to handle them, even going so far as to state my intention and establish a plan. “As soon as ____ is available on Monday morning, I will call. Better yet, I’ll block time on the calendar now so everything is set for Monday.” I’d consider that dish cleaned, or at the very least, I’ve got it soaking with a good squeeze of Dawn to help me get it cleaned up a lot more quickly the next day.
I’ve got a few more ideas to help keep this concept moving2, but my hope is that this approach is just another small step towards building more effective processes in and around life that push me in the direction of structure and positive habits.
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1an immediate example that comes to mind - a while back, I got a call from the dealership where I bought my car that there’s a recall on a sensor, but by the time I listened to the voicemail, it was after hours and the service department wasn’t going to be open till the coming Monday. Kind of arbitrary, but as someone who doesn’t like having unfinished conversations over his head, this was a major stressor that weekend though I certainly could have made a plan to get things moving along.
2it’s surprising how revelatory a mini-whiteboard can be in your own personal world of time management.