There are two house rules from my childhood that I still live by. First: make your bed every morning, no matter how early it is or how rushed you are. Second: Never leave dishes in the sink overnight. I remember late evenings, after all the dinner guests had long left, watching my dad at the sink, still working on the pile of dishes. He would take breaks to dry and put them away when our shabby old dish rack was full and in danger of collapsing. It’s a non-negotiable practice that I’ve come to appreciate as I’ve grown older. My philosophy: Sure, you might be exhausted after all that wine, food and partying, but nothing beats waking up to a kitchen that’s sparkling clean and ready for the day ahead.
However, I recently moved. I got a new dish rack, fell into a new flow of life, and ditched my lifelong practice of washing dishes at night. My dish rack was too small, plus now I live alone, across the country from my partner, so there’s really no one to hold me accountable for the work (or anyone to pressure me into doing the work). You might think it was a weight off my chest, that letting go of my strict routine was somehow liberating; but honestly, me hated waking up to a pile of bowls and plates overflowing with the inevitable fountain of pasta sauce, ice cream and rotini corners that eluded me to bite into. So, I finally made the executive decision and got a new court rack. I was hoping it would give me a little pep when it came to the after-dinner dishes — I wasn’t wrong!
It was no surprise that the dish rack that reinvigorated my commitment to my nightly routine was the brainchild of simplehuman, a brand that makes some of the highest quality kitchenware my colleagues and I have ever seen. And, just like every other simple human product on the market (I have their sensor soap dispenser, so I can attest), the steel dish rack is definitely worth the big bucks.
Unlike other dish dryers on the market, this brilliant creation doesn’t rely on a tray to catch the drips that drip from the clean dishes above. Instead, it essentially works as a rack placed in the sink, collecting any drips and allowing them to flow from the attached spout into the sink next to it (this feature also makes cleanup easy, I just pour hot, soapy water into the dish rack and it flows straight out, leaving a clean sink). I find my dishes dry extremely quickly, thanks to the hydrophilic plastic surface of the dish, which disperses water droplets for extra fast evaporation (no marinating here, mysterious water).
I love that it has a wide, flat base that can easily balance overturned bowls, mugs and glasses without the risk of them tipping over and it’s heavy enough to last on nights when I’m tired (but hydrated) and just haphazardly piles into a pile of freshly washed plates, pans and utensils. I mean, this thing even has enough room to dry my beloved (and extremely affordable) dutch oven with extra room on the side for my Our Place living room board and motley crew of glassware.
In addition to a large central basin, the steel-framed vessel features a detachable utensil cabinet, an optional glassware attachment and four silicone-coated wire hooks for additional scratch- and chip-free drying storage. I find the utensil box to be extremely sturdy and roomier than it looks (it can be attached inside or outside the sink) and I also like the four front wire hooks as they hold cutting boards and trays upright or securely hold my mugs, mugs measuring cups. The real winner though, IMO, is the tree extension. Sure, it’s a great way to dry stain-free flutes and wine glasses, but it also works wonders for tongs, reusable bags, or measuring spoons hanging from a ring. Basically, no matter how I pack this puppy, I find I have enough room to dry a sink of dishes… and then some.
I’m not going to lie, this game changer takes up a fair amount of my counter space with the sink, but because I cook a lot (I find myself washing my hands several times a day), I’m willing to give up a significant portion of my precious New York kitchen counter for a spacious dish rack. But if that’s not you, simplehuman makes a compact version of the same dish rack with a bunch of the same bells and whistles! Genius, right?
My advice? Whether you go big or go compact, grab one of these stylish dish racks now. I promise, it will help wash the dishes so easier — and hey, it might even motivate you to adopt my stance on not leaving food behind.