The washing up saga

Now, I don't mind washing up. I know that sounds a bit odd but on the whole, it's quite a calming exercise when you're standing there with hot soapy water over your hands. It's a time for contemplation. I wouldn't have been complaining at all had I occasionally managed to convince my husband to do it once in a while. Surely once a week is not too much to ask? Sadly, it was. Given that we also cook separate meals I would have two lots of pots and pans to wash up (or not quite two lots when he uses the barbeque). Every. Single. Day. So, after the evening meal it was always he'd go and flop on the sofa whilst I spent ages putting away the dry dishes from the night before, doing the washing up, then cleaning up. To make things worse he always asked why was I doing that and why couldn't I go and sit down and do it all in the morning. I hate leaving the washing up for the morning. Coming downstairs to make your breakfast and seeing a disaster zone that you know has to be cleaned before you can even sit down is something I loathe. Especially when I have my mornings timed to perfection so I don't have to get up a second before I absolutely have to. (I don't do mornings) On top of this I do most of the laundry (he may put a load on once a fortnight) I do the housecleaning (he may mop the floors once a fortnight or less) I clean the fish tanks and filters when they need doing (he may do them occasionally - I've learnt not to believe when he says he'll do it soon, because he won't. He'll do it then, or not at all) I take most of the rubbish and recycling out (he thinks that putting the recycling in a bag and putting it in the garage for me to take out later is 'doing the recycling') and I do all the washing up (sometimes he would rinse all the dishes and pile them up, but it still meant me washing up). So I complained. I nagged. I mentioned it at every damn opportunity. I wanted a dishwasher. He didn't really want to spend the money and then worried that the kitchen wasn't set up correctly and didn't want to have to pay for a plumber to install it. So after a couple of heated discussions, I figured it was a lost cause so imagine my surprise when I got home on Monday night (the night after the talk about plumbers installing it costing too much) to find a nice, shiny new dishwasher in the kitchen. I'm in domestic heaven. It's so easy! You quickly rinse the plates/glasses etc. as you finish with them and just put them in! Set it at night and in the morning you have clean dishes! It takes me a quarter of the time in the evening it used to take me to clean up which means more time giving my husband attention so he's happier. He doesn't have to listen to me complaining so he's happier still. It's also so quiet, you cannot hear it unless you're right next to it, it's great! Now I just have to work out what I want next...:)