Out of Chaos an organizing newsletter
What is Work?
I was in BJ’s yesterday, buying paper plates for the PTA. I have to admit, places like that upset me a little. The huge quantities of everything, and even worse, the disposability of it all, make my skin crawl. When I say I detest paper plates, people tell me that I’m an elitist. “For working parents,” they say, “disposables save so much time, eliminating all that dish washing.”
I don’t know about that. Yes, washing dishes is work. I know because I have three kids, and only got a dishwasher when the youngest were in third grade. I only use paper plates for parties of more than 20 people—but only to save my marriage: I like to show my husband I can compromise. (Though, in the grand scheme of things, saving the earth may actually be more important.)
Here’s the thing about paper plates: You have to keep buying them, and that’s work too. Driving to the big-box store is a hassle, it uses gas and time (and you run the big risk of buying other stuff you don’t need). Moreover, once you buy a huge package of paper plates, you need to store them in a cabinet (you could just totally surrender and leave them on the countertop like in college, but c’mon, you’re a grown-up now). The really diabolical thing about storing paper goods is that as you use them, they take less space in the cabinet and other stuff fills that real estate. It’s a fact: Nature abhors a vacuum. So when you go to buy another huge pack of paper plates, you need to spend another 10 minutes rearranging your cabinet to make room for them. And that’s work too.
Washing the dishes is boring. It’s everyday. It’s a drag. But, like every other habit, if you embrace it, it gets easier. In fact, it can be downright meditative when you stop resisting it.
Think of it like gardening—work so many people find relaxing. Imagine your plates are perennials. You just need to water them regularly, and they’ll last for years and years.