Do you have a dish drying rack?

[Beauchamp]

We have one of those wooden folding contraptions, and it seems like it is NEVER empty. I tried to put it away and see how we did with a "wash, dry and put away immediately" rule, but it just didn't happen--we ended up laying dish towels down and setting all the wet things on them. And then no one ever puts away the dry stuff!

What's your solution? Does anyone have a dish rack that sits inside one side of their sink? I wonder if this is less of an eyesore, even if dishes still hang out there on a daily basis. 

[ASusan]

When I was single, I had a wooden one. It was large, but I was good about emptying it regularly.

We have a red wire one from Ikea. I can't find a pic online, so I didn't post. It is not large, and it has 2 parts, but we use only one part. We use a wood container for silverware. There is a dish towel underneath to catch drips, and it is replaced about once a week.

I empty it once a day - right before I clean up the dinner dishes, so the new clean pots have a place to go. I don't care that it has clean dishes and pans in it during other times.

We do have a dishwasher, so it's only cooking pots and random items that end up in the drainer.

It's dirty dishes that pile up in the sink (at times when the dishwasher is clean and needing to be emptied) that really bother me.

[Alyantavid]

We have a smaller plastic one that sits on the counter all the time.  The only thing that gets left in it is the coffee pot, everything else gets washed and then put away.

[PatienceAndLove]

That's what my boyfriend does.  It is much less of an eyesore.  I usually just wash the dishes on one side, and then put the soapy dishes in the rack, and spray them there.  Glasses are the only things that go on a towel on the counter. 

[marinak1977]

Originally Posted by ASusan 

When I was single, I had a wooden one. It was large, but I was good about emptying it regularly.

We have a red wire one from Ikea. I can't find a pic online, so I didn't post. It is not large, and it has 2 parts, but we use only one part. We use a wood container for silverware. There is a dish towel underneath to catch drips, and it is replaced about once a week.

I empty it once a day - right before I clean up the dinner dishes, so the new clean pots have a place to go. I don't care that it has clean dishes and pans in it during other times.

We do have a dishwasher, so it's only cooking pots and random items that end up in the drainer.

It's dirty dishes that pile up in the sink (at times when the dishwasher is clean and needing to be emptied) that really bother me.

We have an identical situation except we have a standard plastic rack. It's ok looking and I empty it of dry dishes whenever they dry. I too can't stand dirty dishes and do my best to wash as soon as they are there. I got DH pretty well trained to do it too.

[I Fly]

I do a lot of dishes and have no dishwasher.  The kitchen is also in plain view of the whole living area.  We often have a pile of clean, drying dishes on a towel next to the sink, and also dishes drying inside the large "rinse" side of the sink.  I like to get everything put away once or twice per day, usually before dinner gets cooking and at the end of the evening.  I usually do dishes twice per day, and don't start the next set until the sink is clear and clean.  I love to have every last thing finished and the sink ready for the next morning.  However, as long as the surfaces (table, island, stove area, and sink counter) are clean and clear, and the ONLY thing I see extra is a pile of clean dishes, I am okay with it.  I object to having a rack, because I wouldn't want it out all the time.  They get gross.  Also, my rinse sink is very large, and has a metal grid deal at the bottom, which is really helps drying dishes stand up and off the wet bottom.

[crunchy_mommy]

I was just going to post about this very issue!! I'm looking for a new drying rack & I can't find anything that will make the kitchen look more... put together. We have a smaller sink so putting clean dishes in there wouldn't work. I feel like we need the world's largest drying rack to accomodate the number of pots & pans & random items we always have in there. DH sometimes puts the clean pots on the stove to dry, which to me is even worse because he also tends to leave dirty pans there too so I have to inspect everything to figure out if it's dirty or clean. There's got to be a better way.

[bezark]

I just posted these in the kitchen counter thread. They're wonderful.

They're cute enough (IMO) that a few glasses or forks hanging out at the end of the night doesn't bother me. And the fact that they're not very large forces me to dry the pots and pans as soon as I wash them so there's no opportunity for them to sit out looking a mess.

[JesKace]

My drying rack is sitting on my counter full of clean dishes as I type this.  I would love to get rid of it, and have tried just putting dish towels on the counter while the dishes are drying, but that ends up taking up more space since I can stand the plates up in the rack rather than lay them down on towels or prop them up against something....  I have a dishwasher but end up washing most things by hand.  I really wish there was another way.  I have limited counter space and would love to have that space back, it just doesn't seem possible.  I guess if I really put an effort into drying everything just after it was washed that would help, but with 3 kids one on the way and a million dishes used everyday that just isn't likely :)

[ollyoxenfree]

We don't have a dishrack. It was lost in the last move and I've just never got around to replacing it.

I often debate whether we should get one, but so far I haven't felt a compelling need for it. 

We put down towels on the counter when we do the dishes (no dishwasher). I think it motivates me to put the dishes away sooner, rather than leave them sitting out in a rack. 

[Beauchamp]

Last night we bought a stainless steel Rubbermaid dish rack that sits inside one half of our sink. So far (less than 24 hours, LOL) it's made our kitchen look MUCH better. And it also prevents us from loading BOTH sides of the sink with dirty dishes. Hopefully it will be a good change. 

[chel]

i use my dishwasher as a drying rack

[PatienceAndLove]

I was going to say- dishwashers make WONDERFUL drying racks, and there are no clean dishes taking up counter space as they dry (esp if you leave the dishwasher open at night, when it being open won't be in anyone's way)

[*bejeweled*]

We got rid of our dishrack. So there's never any clutter.

If I need to dry pots, I dry them on the stove upside down. Or I'll dry glasses on a dish towel.

[cyclamen]

We have a wire rack that is set on top of a large prefold diaper to catch the water.  It doesn't get emptied every night, though I'd like it to.  But, I don't think the clean dishes are that much of an eyesore, so it doesn't bother me like seeing dirty dishes in the sink does.

We got rid of most of our dishes, and that helped.

[OnEarth]

We have a rubber coated metal dish rack in one of our sinks. It is definitely less cluttery than having one on the kitchen counter! We don't have a dishwasher so we need one. What I like about it is that it limits how much the dishes can pile up, we only have one sink available and have to leave room to actually wash things. Another thing that helps with that is only leaving one set of dishes out per person, and storing everything else away for when company comes. Oh, and like PP said, we dry our pots/pans on the stove. Actually, since we use them multiple times a day and have no storage we just leave them there. It looks nice as long as the counters aren't cluttered.

[IsaFrench]

we have a plastic dish rack (no dishwasher) ; I prefer it if the dishes are clean and drying there rather than piling up in the sink un-washed & I don't mind if they stay in there for a while because it means that it will be much quicker to put away when most will be mostly dry = less work & faster with the tea-towel.

One of my rules is that it must be emptied before we sit for the evening meal & if I haven't got round to doing it beforehand then I enlist DH's help to do that !

My other rule is that all family members clearing up their place must put their things in the right side part of the sink only (except glasses if we are running out of space, they can go on the left side & I'll start by cleaning up glasses rather than the rest), preferably with plates standing on the right and cutlery on the left & odd shape stuff in the middle => I find it much easier to hand wash by going through categories of same shaped items & anyway it helps for stacking the stuff to dry in the rack ... it's all about optimising space and making sure that everything has a space in there to dry up for a bit, without falling out + if it's neatly stacked it doesn't look so much of an eyesore ....

I am rather bothered by dishes left to dry when I didn't do the washing up because they don't seem to me to be well stacked ... enough ...

I am not yet using matching colored clothes pins when I put laundry on the line so at the moment I don't feel too weird because of my dish stacking habits !

[pear-shaped]

This is my dish rack, it's in the cabinet over the sink. The racks are removable so they can be cleaned, and there's a removable drip tray underneath. I chose cabinet doors that were perforated to help with air circulation, you can see that on the right. This type of rack is typical here (Italy); I've never seen a kitchen without one. Some people use it to store their cups and plates, so they wash them and just leave them. I prefer putting my dishes and cups in a proper cupboard and using the rack for drying everything, except cutlery and utensils, which dry in a perforated steel container on the drainboard of the sink. The only drawback for me is that having the dishes hidden away gives me a reason to be lazy about putting them away, but I've been working on that. These racks do take quite a bit of cabinet space, which is why people use them for storing too, but I'm lucky enough to have a fairly big kitchen with a good amount of cabinet space. I'm surprised that they're not popular elsewhere because they are really convenient. I think the typical north American kitchen is probably much bigger than the typical Italian one (actually I'm sure that it is!), so I imagine that a lot of people would have space for them.

[Ellien C]

Originally Posted by OnEarth 

Oh, and like PP said, we dry our pots/pans on the stove. Actually, since we use them multiple times a day and have no storage we just leave them there. It looks nice as long as the counters aren't cluttered.

 Honestly, I never heard of doing this. But DH does this whenever he washes the rare pot and it drives me crazy. He also leaves dirty pots on the stove, which I inevitably don't find until I've finished the dishes. I thought it was so weird to put wet pots on the stove, but I guess I'll cut him some slack.

[JesKace]

Originally Posted by chel 

i use my dishwasher as a drying rack

I'm going to try this.  I usually only wash one load of dishes in the dishwasher (dinner) so storing clean dishes in there the rest of the time to dry isn't such a bad idea!