I really, really enjoy having a dishwasher. The only stuff I have to wash by hand now are plastic things that don’t belong in a dishwasher.

But if you need to wash dishes by hand, soaking is a necessity. Sara Noel at Frugal Village has a tip from a reader on how to safely soak those utensils. This clip is from Sara’s newspaper column on Sunday:

I have a big, thick-walled jar that I keep filled with water (if I do it, I add dish soap; if my husband does it, he adds just water). That’s where all our dirty forks, knives, spoons, etc., go as they get dirty. The technique of soaking silver is common in cafeterias, or at least that’s where I learned it. It really makes it much easier to clean the utensils, and you don’t put your hand in the dishwater and cut yourself pulling out a knife this way.

Also, I sort the silverware as I put it in the dishwasher rack. I started not just sorting it but putting the larger forks, knives and spoons handle up in the slots and the smaller stuff handles down. This means when I pull the silver out of the drainer, it’s already sorted by size and type.  Saves me a bunch of time. — Judi, New Hampshire