Dishwashers and Simple Living

On Sunday mornings, while fixing breakfast, I like to watch the CBS News Sunday Morning show (it was on years ago with Charles Kuralt). I like most of the stories they show and the "articles" because they're usually entertaining and not "doom and gloom". They travel to all corners of the country and always end the show with a short look at an outdoor location and I just love it when it's a river. They don't talk during the last segment and instead they turn up the volume on the singing birds and babbling brooks. For a few seconds I'm out in the wilds.

This morning they had a funny segment on the proper loading of dishwashers. They attempted to answer the long-time question of rinsing off the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. And which direction for the silverware? Up or down? I've never felt comfortable loading other people's dishwashers because of these mysteries. And usually the people who have dishwashers have a very specific regimen they follow. And I figured I could have my dishes washed and sitting in the draining tray long before I rinsed the dishes and arranged them "properly" in the dishwasher machine. And the additional time to unload the dishwasher!

After we laughed about the dishwasher segment, I turned to Rick and said "Do you realize I've never had a dishwasher?" He grinned a big grin. I continued, "Besides never having a dishwasher, I've never owned a washer or dryer, nor a garbage disposal. And most of our life we've only had one car." And we've never felt the need to have a huge house. I like to think we live simply.

The major reason is not that we couldn't afford it, but that it wouldn't fit well in our RV. Or that we didn't find it necessary in our lifestyle. Even when we did have 2 cars, we carpooled. And like riding together when we worked, washing dishes together has never been a big deal. Rick jokes that if I cook, he gets to wash. Yet he almost always takes the dishwashing job, even when he grills. Living where we do, with multiple neighborhood centers with many washers and dryers, I've always enjoyed taking the golf cart to the neighborhood center to do laundry. (Lots to do at the Town Center.) And a garbage disposal in a motorhome or trailer? We always wanted the extra storage space in the cabinet. Rick reminded me that we bought a disposal once, but when I saw how big it was under the sink, I changed my mind.

We recently upgraded our DirecTV service and finally did get a DVR that will record TV movies and shows we miss. I had once thought "Why do I need to record TV?" This DVR is turning out to be a handy item. Being retired and living at an active resort community keeps us out and about more than ever. Now I can record the Sunday Morning show and watch it whenever I want to.