DISHWASHING TIPS

* Cutting knives stay sharp longer if you hand wash them.
* Wash your cast iron with salt. It keeps it seasoned, but is sanitary. You only need a teaspoon or two; simply moisten the pan, sprinkle on the salt, scrub, and rinse clean. If the pan is really dirty, you can also use baking soda.
* Add 1/2 to 1 cup of vinegar to your dishwasher to help rinse dishes. (I know a lot of people already know this, but I posted it for those that don't know about this yet. Doing this has helped a lot, especially with our glass dishes.)
* Instead of thoroughly rinsing your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher, simply wash them twice (one wash immediately after the first). You will actually save water and time. Make sure that you have any heat dry setting off (so that your dishwasher doesn't dry the food permanently onto the dishes) and turn on the second cycle right after the final rinse on the first cycle. You only need soap for one of the cycles, but it may be a good idea to add a splash of vinegar to the other cycle. If some of your dishes still aren't clean, they are probably easier to just hand wash anyway. If a lot of your dishes do not get clean enough after two cycles, you need to fire your dishwasher-- it is making way too much work for you and costing you too much money. (After all, isn't a dishwasher useless if it doesn't wash the dishes for you?!) If you have to fire your dishwasher, but can't get a new one right away, use it as drying rack when you don't have time to towel dry.
* Cook burned food off a pan with vinegar. It is the same idea as using a wine reduction in cooking. The acid in the vinegar (or you can use cola) will help separate heavily burned food from a pan, especially when it is heated. Restaurants use vinegar to degrease by pouring vinegar on a hot griddle. However, I recommend a milder approach (due to the fumes, their method can make it hard to breath) by putting the vinegar in before heating.
* Let your little ones "prewash" the dishes! I have learned that when I wash the dishes by myself, it can take a while. This is especially true if the dishes have piled up at all or if anything has "crusties" on it. My kids are young enough that they still like to be helpful, but it used to stress me out to have them wash dishes because I felt it only made a mess and I had to "rewash" the dishes anyway. But, one day I realized that their "washing" was a great way to get the dishes rinsed off enough to make my turn easier. So, now I throw a towel or two on the floor, remove all the knives and easily broken dishes to a different corner of the kitchen, give each kid a sponge or scrubber of their choosing and let them have at it. It gives them great practice and makes it faster for when I get to "finishing" them.

Hope these tips help! Let me know what you think.