Do You Know How to Load a Dishwasher?

I'm sure you think this is a rhetorical question, but I'm serious. If your dishes come out of the dishwasher and their cleanliness is hit or miss, then you don't know how to properly load your dishwasher.

I have a friend, who is super anal about how he loads his dishwasher. We'll call him Greg. Of course, that's a pseudonym. Names have been changed to protect the guilty. He won't let anyone, including his own mother, load the dishwasher because "no one does it correctly." I kid you not. I've attempted to load his dishwasher when I've made dinner and he stands over me to ensure it's done to his standards. Frankly, this is hysterical because I'm more OCD than he is.

Anyway, back to your ability to load your dishwasher. You probably aren't doing it correctly, so take 5 minutes and watch the "how to" video below. Trust me, you'll get a good laugh.



There's also a handy dandy guide right here that you might peruse.

Now that you've learned how to load your dishwasher, I'm going to tell you that I disagree with a lot of the advice, except for the part about not blocking the soap. That bit about not loading the silverware by type is just stupid. If you rinse off your dishes and utensils prior to loading, you won't need to worry about the gunky spoons not getting clean. Personally, I prefer to organize my dishes and silverware by type to make the unloading process quick and easy.

What do you think? Do you have any tips to make doing the dishes super easy?

This One's For The Girls: The When-to-Wash-It Handbook

Do you wonder how often you should launder your favorite clothing items to keep them not only clean, but new looking? Or maybe you wonder how to keep your delicates delicate rather than getting ruined in the washer. Of course you do. We all do.

My favorite personal stylist, Noelle Cellini, owner of My Best Food Forward, tweeted a link to a fantastic article from Real Simple today, The When-to-Wash-It-Handbook. I love it. In fact, I'm going to print it out and tape it up in my closet. Ya, I'm that anal and I'm proud of it.

Little Merry Sunshine is committed to keeping you looking your best, so our expert staff here (yes, that's Betsey, Ross, and me) felt it was important to pass this information onto you. Trust us, you'll find it handy.

Oh, and you should definitely call Noelle. No matter your age, body shape, weight or personal style, she'll make sure you always look your best and she's well worth the investment of both time and money. At least sign up for her newsletter, fan her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.

And don't forget to print out The When-to-Wash-It Handbook!