Which side of the great dishwasher debate do you sit?

cutlery in dishwasher basket

If you’re not regularly in charge of packing the dishwasher this blog will not be of interest to you. In fact, you may not even know there is a debate. Kids are definitely NOT interested in this debate. However, if you ARE the main “dishwasher stacker” in your home (is that the correct title to give to those that are in charge of the dishwasher!?), this one is right up your alley.

The debate?  Which is the best way to stack the dishwasher?

  1. Cutlery basket (where you dump it all in) or
  2. Cutlery drawer/tray (where you line it all up laying flat)?

I asked this question on Facebook recently and it sparked a lot of interest.

Here’s a few things the Space and Time Facebook community said:

Basket or tray?

Marion – 150% the tray. Rest of the dishwasher free for everything else.

Louise – there are drawers with open compartments and some with slots. We have slots and they are soooo time consuming. Never again! My dishwasher died recently so I really appreciate all this info 😂

Lauren – Basket.

Angela – Love the draw. Putting like items together makes it easy to grab them all together to put away. But the best bit is the extra room in the bottom drawer for bigger items. Plus my slightly ocd brain likes them all lined up in the top 😂 

Dianne – Be happy that you have a dishwasher!

Fleur – Basket.

empty dishwasher

Sarah – I prefer the basket as I find it easier to put away.

Chantal – Easily gotten used to drawer. Funny story: a few years ago we had a babysitter and she always put everything in the dishwasher after dinner. Except cutlery. Took me ages to realise that she didn’t see the drawer.

Claire – I’ve had both and currently have the drawer – give me the basket any day!

Janna – My friend has this and after my stay with her, I was a convert. You know they are absolutely getting a proper wash. And I found it quite relaxing stacking them in!

Jenifer – Love my tray.

Kathy – I have a cutlery basket quick and easy, using the tray would drive me bonkers.

Effie – 100% the basket.

Robyne – Basket basket basket who has the time or energy to be lining cutlery up. 😳 And it doesn’t fit as much in as a basket. But I put my cutlery in the basket upside down so I pull it out handle first. No one needs to touch the blades. It washes completely fine to do it this way.

Holly – I have a Miele so have the drawer and I love it! I line up everything which makes it super quick to put away and no one is putting their grotty hands on the clean cutlery!

Cherry – I don’t care either way but using the tray i can put more in the dishwasher! You can see from the comments why dishwashers have both!

Prudence – Definitely basket, so annoying to have to line cutlery up individually!

Carolyn – We have a drawer and I like it. Everyone is trained to put all forks etc in one quarter of drawer, then removing is a breeze.

What’s the verdict?

From the above comments it’s about 50-50 as to which is the best way to stack cutlery in the dishwasher, but debate is still raging. As you have read the people that replied were extremely passionate one way or the other!

So which side of the debate do you sit on? Basket? Or drawer? Would love to hear your thoughts info@spaceandtime.com.au

Who is Julie Cliff, Professional Organiser?

My services make changes to people’s lives. My clients find more space and time in their day by consciously thinking about what they bring into their homes, how they sort and store them and how they keep them generally organised. I’d love to hear from you if you need to get organised at home – info@spaceandtime.com.au