Well, as you may know, this week I’m doing a series called “my nerdy life.” I’m sharing little tidbits from my world that you may want to jump on yourself… or you may just want to tilt your head and ask, “huh?” Either way, thanks for being here!

Today, I reveal my true nerdiness through my uptight dishwasher loading regimen.

That’s just the sort of exciting life I lead.

Every time I load the dishwasher, I sort the utensils each into a particular cubby for washing. I have five utensil slots, so I sort 1) small spoons and kids’ spoons and forks, then 2) large spoons and small forks, then 3) large forks, then 4) knives & sharp utensils (like pizza cutter), and finally 5) miscellaneous utensils (like spatula, ladle, etc.).

I’m guessing not everyone sorts her silverware as she loads the dishwasher based on the reaction I’ve gotten from friends when they’ve seen me loading it. [Read: relentless teasing… Oh yeah, Becky, I’m talkin’ to you!]

Here’s my logic: when I am unloading the dishwasher, I can just grab the entire handful of utensils out of the cubby and put it into one or two slots in the drawer. And while the “sort before or sort after” debate might seem like a moot point, I’ve got another reason this method saves time and sanity…

My little assistant comes running like I’m handing out candy whenever she sees me start to unload the dishwasher.

So it’s nice for me to be able to grab the knives and put them out of her reach in one fell swoop. And it makes getting all the spoons and forks in their right spots in the drawer that much easier. [Score one for two-year-old chores!]

Anyhoo, does everyone do it this way? [Hey, Maybe you’re the silly one, Becky! 😉  ]  And if not, are you going to give it a whirl? Wheeeee!

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