Thank all you dirty cups for your ideas.

It is easy to think that washing up is only just washing up, but that’s all wrong.. When I was in high school I had a teacher in video production that always talked about how creative it was to do the dishes. He had long monologues about how he the night before had been standing at the sink and come up with lots of great ideas, whilst getting the dishes done, despite the fact that he had a dishwasher. I always talked behind his back about how funny he looked. I don’t think so anymore. Now I understand exactly what he meant.

I don’t want a dishwasher at home. I want to wash up myself. It is my favorite moment of the day. Since I am not sitting in front of a computer or am watching something or listening to something, I get a few minutes with my head empty and clear. Hands working on something concrete and your eyes see a clear and measurable result. It is simple logic. I have dirty dishes on the left and soapy water in the middle. I clean the dirty dishes with a brush in the wash water and then wash in my sink to the right and finally place my cup, plate or fork in the cabinet instead. It doesn’t get easier than that.

The fact that it is so simple allows the brain think about other, far more difficult problems. Washing up is a boost for creativity and problem solving. I can’t count the brilliant ideas, solutions and seeds for projects that I’ve received while I was standing with my arms buried in the dirty dishes and warm foam. Thanks, dirty cups. Thanks, disgusting and greasy utensils. Thanks, smoothie-stained blender that never gets clean.