Yet again I have stumbled across a pretty interesting ‘holiday’ of sorts. However, based on my web research… the true meaning of ‘No Dirty Dish Day’ seems to be locked in an interpretive battle similar to debates about the true meaning of the Bible. But, no matter what your philosophy on the day might be… I will support you in your beliefs. That’s how SchutzHappen’s rocks it.
So, what are the philosophies behind ‘No Dirty Dish Day’?
Philosophy 1: ‘Don’t Generate Dirty Dishes’
One segment of the ‘No Dirty Dish Day’ celebrating populous believes May 18th is a day where we should refrain from dirtying a dish. Zero impact on dirtying dishes if you will. It’s not as easy as you might think. Try it; it’s pretty hard to make it through the day without dirtying a dish. And honestly? I think this is a noble exercise in restraint… I think it would be fun to consume, or try to consume, without impacting dishes for one 24 hour period.
So how do they do it? Well… it looks like they rely heavily on disposable dishes: Paper and Styrofoam plates and plastic utensils. I was a little shocked at this… to me, using disposable plates and utensils defeats the purpose of leaving “zero impact”. Well, apparently, I wasn’t the only one. NDDD insiders have been pushing for a more Earth Friendly approach to the holiday. Their solution? Eating all of your meals out. Yep, that’s right… eating out. Apparently it’s okay to dirty a dish on NDDD as long as YOU are not the one who has to clean it. Does anyone else see the contradiction here? These people are a disgrace to No Dirty Dish Day.
Philosophy 2: ‘Embrace the Task’
Other NDDD celebrants have taken a completely different approach to the holiday. It’s a day to celebrate the monotonous, yet necessary, task of washing the dishes… by making it fun and leaving “no dirty dish” behind! Just imagine… an entire day dedicated to dish washer loading races and dish washing relays. Go on, challenge your neighbors! Make it a family affair! I’ll wash if you dry!
Philosophy 3: ‘Abstain’
This philosophy is pretty straight forward… just don’t do the dishes. Take a day off… do them tomorrow! Come to think of it… I think I celebrated ‘No Dirty Dish Day’ most of my college career. Oh how I loved this holiday.
Philosophy 4: The SchutzHappens Philosophy
You know? I don’t mind doing the dishes. I used to hate it because it’s an incredibly boring task… however, except for a brief time in college, I’ve been doing the dishes for about twenty-five years… and when you’ve been doing something that long, just about every day, you find things about the task that you enjoy. I enjoy the uninterrupted time it gives me to think. I like to throw my head phones on, think about my day, my next SH post, and just chill out. The division of labor in the SchutzHappens house clearly states that dishes are my job, and I take a lot of pride in doing them. I wash every night after dinner and most mornings before work I try to empty the dish washer. I like to leave Serena with a clean Kitchen.
Although I see the temptation of Philosophy 3… Abstaining doesn’t really make sense anymore… I’ll still have to do them tomorrow… and there will be more dishes and it will take longer to complete. And I don’t like doing the dishes that much to dedicate more time than necessary.
Philosophy 1 sounds very interesting… but I don’t think the people ‘celebrating’ this version of the holiday has a clue about what they are celebrating… although I really like the Zero Impact idea and would be interested in exploring that.
On the other hand, I am quite taken by Philosophy 2. It sounds quirky and funny and a very SchutzHappens approach to the Holiday. It could be fun.
1 comment:
The going out to dinner option is like having a shabbas goy do all the things you can't on shabbat.... so a dishes goy?
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