Good advice above. Another idea is to replace as many as possible of your hand-wash things with dishwasher-okay things. In particular, replacing bulky meltable plastic things with readily available glass or metal things can get a lot of those hand-wash things off the counter and out of the house. Using a second dishwasher for all-new dishwasher-okay pots and pans could work out well for you.

IMO DWs are for washing almost all dishes and pots and pans. I run a catering biz from my home with one DW it has a quick wash cycle does a load in 23 min. We sometimes do 6-8 loads a day It is economical to even run your DW 1/2 full to save water . Sorry but dishes in the sink are not hidden unless all your guests are under 3' tall. IMO a 48" sink is not neccessary at all so do a 24" sink and 2 DWs if this is huge issue for you. I hate dishes piled in a sink it then blocks the sink for the use it was done for. BTW I do all my crystal and good china in the DW but my china does not have gold or silver trim and I planned that on purpose so the dishes can go in the DW I wash my copper pots right after use but all my stainless ones go to the DW I agree you need to find what works for you but new habits are not a bad thing either .

Ditto the above -- put stuff IN the dishwasher right away and clean up the rest of the mess promptly. Problem solved. My dad once told me long ago to always clean up the dishes and pots and pans before going to bed, no matter how tired you are -- waking up to a mess is not a good way to start a new day. Words to live by.

For the stuff I wash by hand, I have an all-stainless dish drainer; it's about as attractive as dish drainers get. I like using just a drying mat and putting it away, but DH prefers the drainer, so he wins on that one.

Rohan Dish Drainer | Stainless Steel Sink Dish Drainer | Zojila

I have seen this type of dish-drying cabinet in Europe

^^^ yes this cabinet type was popular when I was a child. I am not sure if it is still common but on this picture it not shown correctly. It was placed over the sink with ALL wired shelves including the bottom one ( no wooden shelves like on that picture above). You put wet dishes after hand washing and water was dripping to the sink.

Wash as you go. Invite guests over who get that you live in your home and want to be with you regardless of dirty dishes. Enjoy the space

Never in my life, (in a country where 72 % of homeowner owned dwellings have a dishwasher ) have I seen so much agony and hand wringing over a simple task, barring infirmity.

The same applies to laundry.

Go back through all the pictures you've collected of inspiring kitchens, adorable laundry rooms, lovely pantries neat as a pin. Add mud rooms. Or any other rooms! Do you see crappy clutter? Dishes piled? Mounds of untended laundry......and lord knows whatever else doesn't belong in a particular room.........?

Brutal truth: If you want the money you spent to look like the money you spent? You are tasked with tasks, and every single one is a choice. Made by YOU. It will bother you or it won't, you are capable or not ( lets not start the mental issue thing please - I realize some suffer ) )

I am talking about the lazy, later, I hate doing it, I don't have time, it's not my job, I told so and so and BLAH BLAH. You will get the house that looks like that, regardless style or MONEY.

OP here.

I like all the "tough love" replies. Reality is...it just doesn't work that way. I'll clarify. Our island is 12', we have no intention of allowing a drying rack on it. We hand wash a lot, and drying them at the same time isn't practical. Eespecially without a rack...am I going to wash a pot, put the sponge down, rinse the soap off my hands, then grab the drying towel, dry the pot, and then put it away, and repeat 20 times? No. This is where I was thinking second D/W for a drying rack. BTW, excellent point, Susie, a D/W isn't a very good place since it's sealed.

I would love one of the Euro drying cabinets, really liked them in the houses I've stayed in, but we won't have a cabinet over the island sink!

As I think this through, I'm less concerned about the dirty dishes. I think we can train ourselves to get them straight to the washer drawer. It's really the hand-washed stuff that has me befuddled.

BTW, to all suggesting a 24" sink, we have a 30" sink now and it's way too small. Kudos to those of you can deal with one!

Agree 100% with both of @JAN MOYER’s posts.

Sheesh foks. Clean as you go. No pre rinsing needed…just scrape the big stuff off of dishes, and put them immediately into the DW. Same with any stainless pots and pans. silverware, into the DW, not the sink. With today’s dishwashers, soaking is not necessary.

We have a (washable) drying mat aside the sink. Anything too huge, or delicate for the DW, will partially airdry on it, and be finished with a towel, and put away. It’s not hard. Really.

OP you place a drying mat on the counter for the 20 mins you wash. Then the wet stuff sits there briefly while you wash. Then you dry it all and put it away. Another amazing option is using the people you live with to help. They can dry. Easy

You could put the Euro drying rack in a lower cabinet, just put a metal pan on the bottom to catch drips. (J Sk, that image I showed does had an open bottom, the wood is just the cabinet frame on the front edge)

Or, coated wire mesh drawers below, like for storing potatoes and onions. You wouldn’t even need doors because the mesh will obscure the contents. But, if you want doors, you could use tambour (that roll either up or back along the sides), or a door that slides back along the sides, Leave it open when things are drying, then close it when they get put away or when company arrives.

How about this: a dishwasher where you can run ONLY the drying cycle. Or the rinse and dry, so all you have to do is wash, let the machine rinse and dry. Ooh, I like this idea.

You have 20 pots at a time?

We hand wash a lot, and drying them at the same time isn't practical. Eespecially without a rack...am I going to wash a pot, put the sponge down, rinse the soap off my hands, then grab the drying towel, dry the pot, and then put it away, and repeat 20 times? No.

Here's the problem. You don't have 20 pots at a time. Some got washed as you cooked and prepped. Be HONEST about that number

Second...... A RACK HAS TO BE STORED. A couple dish towels laid down. a mat or two....all easier.

You need not wash a pot! Unless it is gigantic. Put it in the darn DW. And read Patricia up above yet again. I'm sure there are days when ALL she does is cook.

YOu are looking still for the hide it method, do it later method.

PS ? Rinse all the soapy pots at one time in hot as you can stand with gloves water ,lift each out, dry and put where it belongs. And don't tell me you used 20. A NYC restaurant isn't using 20.....SHEEESH indeed

I loathe the sight of a drying rack and also can't stand how much room it takes up. I have a drying mat instead. (From BB&B - R.I.P.!) It is thick, mesh on one side, absorbs water quickly, rolls up easily. I take it out and lay wet pots, dishes, glasses on them to try. After I put the dry items away, I roll up the mat and stash it in a drawer. You have so much counter space you could purchase multiple and use as many as you need at any given time.

Interesting how what we write gets interpreted. To me, tparillo18's comment came across as talking about handwashing 20 things leading off with a pot. Somebody else reads the same comment as saying they wash 20 pots.

"OP you place a drying mat on the counter for the 20 mins you wash. Then the wet stuff sits there briefly while you wash. Then you dry it all and put it away."

^^ This.

With a full four feet of sink, you have plenty of room. How about using one of these over the sink or in sink drainers from Amazon?

Jan, SHEESH. I said repeating the task 20 times, obviously whether a pot or pan or a skillet or sheet pan or any other object we choose to wash by hand. And pots need not be gigantic to not fit in a D/W. You must have a big D/W! And even those that do fit, then occupy so much space they crowd out too many smaller items. We *never* wash pots in the D/W, it's terribly inefficient. Any larger than 8" diameter should always be washed by hand.

To other posters, a drying mat is a good idea. I once saw a laundry cabinet that had a wire rack and an actual fan and heater in there! That would be awesome for a nice dishwasher-sized roll-out cabinet.

I have a dishrack like Susan L just showed. 50¢ at the church rummage sale lol. I love it. It suspends below the edge of the sink but doesn’t sit on the bottom, and it is only 6” or 7” wide, so it leaves plenty of sink for rinsing. (It’s a double sink and takes up less than half of one side)

I have a couple of drying mats, but where do you put them to dry?

As a admittedly lazy person who prefers air-drying pots (and the plastic stuff that didn't dry in the DW), my solution is using cooling racks as drying racks. I set one or two on the countertop, set the drying dishes on top, and when things are done the cooling racks go back in their usual cabinet. Or stay out sometimes, because they are convenient and visually not obstructive.

My sink is on a perimeter wall, and I pivot to the island to set out drying dishes. If you've got a 12' island, then surely there's some perimeter countertop you could set things on to dry? Dish clutter is less visible there, your showpiece island is clear. You can also use your oven, with the door ajar (or the oven set on low!), if you aren't baking that day.

Side note--a slight tweak to your work flow would make Jan's advice much easier to use. Of course you don't want to wash/dry, wash/dry, wash/dry. Wash and rinse everything, setting wet items on a towel or bare countertop. Once everything is washed and rinsed, you dry it all at once.

Bpath, good question! And where to put hand towels?!

@bpath, yyou throw it for a wash and into dryer, not a big deal

Bpath's question is exactly why I use wire cooling racks. I got tired of fiddling with the drying mat. The dish-drying towel can go directly into a laundry hamper. But you do need a place for a hand towel in a kitchen. Make sure that's part of your design plan!

Mccarroll16, yes, we have perimeter counters, flanking an induction. We'd still need a rack, though, and need to store it. I like the *cooling* rack idea, too. Easy to store in a narrow lower cabinet.

I have to agree with the tough love. It took me awhile, but I “ trained” myself.

If you really look at how you do things, I BELIEVE it is unlikely that you have so many handwash things at once. I get the soapy/rinse hands thing but also feel like you may be stuck in a pattern. For example, I NEED to wash ( or at least rinse) and dry my hands several times during meal prep. Either from meat handling, something sticky, bits of herbs stuck to my fingers. So if I am finished with a hand-wash pan I’ll do wash hands & pan at same time. I don’t use a drying mat per se but I will use a clean dish towel or cloth as temporary spot to set clean wet pot on. I’ve collected a stack of dish towels I like and fill up a handy drawer and am profligate In grabbing clean one and have a collection basket in nearby laundry. I actually do like keeping some dirty dishes in sink for a few hours, and aspire to a single bowl sink so I can arrange them how I like and still have room. But have gotten better about loading or partially loading DW especially before dinner prep.

Also, some of my pots/pans/ Corningwear benefit from a brief soak before washing.

We do use a few handwash glassware items and i actually bought a small turntable ( tgat stows away with cutting boards) to set them on to air-dry, to make them more noticeable so I don’t knock over. Though I could hand dry, it’s more awkward because of the shapes. Another thing that really helped was organizing my skillets and pots stirage so that it’s as hassle- free as possible- not overcrowded, easy access. Easy storage for lids, which do go in DW , so they lag behind pots in putting away . I now have a drawer which holds my 4 most- used nonstick pots WITH their lids on top, so it’s easy. I also use colanders including one that fits in its own bowl, and one or more is out during meal prep, and actually they make a great temporary place to set a clean wet pot. Then they are hand- dried and put away as soon as not needed or right after meal. I used to think I wanted dishwasher -drawers because I thought it nuts that I put away the same plates, knives, peeler , glasses every day & got them out again. So assumed I’d just use same things straight from one of the dish drawers. But somehow I got over that and prefer only having on full capacity DW to deal with.

Because I’m at home for breakfast & lunch most days, sometimes I do not unload DW first thing in am but use any clean items for those meals , then in evening set out any things that are for supper, and put rest away. But other days I empty early in morning, especially if plan a cooking project, friend over or whatever. So I have built in some flexibility based on what’s going on. I don’t think that works as well with kids or multiple WFH because getting that DW empty & ready to house new dirty dishes is key.

So maybe only a few of these various tips will work for you, but even experimenting is good. What I do know is that even with having some good habits, my inner procrastinator will still whisper, “oh just do that later”, and so there is an ongoing battle of will, that I have accepted as being human, but I feel great when I go “ lalalalala”! and wash my dishes!

Our cooling racks store vertically in a lower cabinet, alongside baking sheets, griddle, and the giant saute pan. A $20 divider gadget from Container Store sections the cabinet for each group of items.

As for what to do with drying mats afterward, well, we use one drying mat at a time. It’s thick, and double sided (got them from Amazon), and black…so they blend in with the soapstone counter. We put the dried pots (or whatever) away, and leave the mat to air dry. Every few days, it goes into the laundry, and another mat is taken from the drawer to use.

You can see part of the mat, to the left of the sink.

I despise the look of any kind of drying rack. I speak as someone who used one for a gazillion years, previously.

Add a walk-in pantry with a large soaking sink and second dishwasher. Its my favorite part of my kitchen.

For crying aloud in the 48 inch sink!!!

What's with the concept of hiding wet anything anywhere?

Its this

"OP you place a drying mat on the counter for the 20 mins you wash. Then the wet stuff sits there briefly while you wash. Then you dry it all and put it away."

^^ This.

Edit!!!

For the TEN!!!!! minutes you wash and your kids dry. ....or vice versa. Unless you have children under age 11?

They are your HELPERS . It is not child abuse and they aren't that special ! Don't raise ineptitude.

I see that in virtually every 40 to 50 year old. For the same exact REASON. Mommy inflicted, they had homework . Did they eat? Case rested.

I feel a glass of WHINE coming on

@tparillo18, this is a ringing endorsement for two dishwashers. As we were preparing to remodel several years back I read many of the threads about the advantages of two dishwashers and someone mentioned using one as a drying rack. I thought it made sense as I always HATED the rack sitting on my counter. Initially I thought that is how I would use the second DW. I was 1000% wrong. Our second DW is constantly used for washing. I flanked my clean-up sink with both so I can juggle between the two. There are nights when we have a lot of pots and pans. No problem. Everything goes into the DWs except anything that is non-stick. Get one with a Delicate or Handwash Cycle. Helps immensely after a party for wine glasses and such. No more staying up til 2am handwashing glasses. Best thing I ever did. Forget the drawers and get two single door DWs. A microfiber mat is used for anything else. I usually try to unload before bed and leave them open overnight. Anything plastic that is still damp gets put away in the morning. If you have to reduce the size of the sink, do it. You won't be sorry.

For the drying mat, I don’t have the counterspace for it to sit for long, so after I finish hand drying I prop it in a corner to air, then store it in the ventilated drawer stack I have.

For the hand towel, I added a long handle to my kitchen sink cabinet door. It holds a towel just fine, and as to worries about the wood, well, it’s no wetter than a bathroom towel against the drywall.

We decided to do 2 dishwashers in our not-yet-finished renovation. I just got so annoyed at dirty dishes sitting in the sink while the dishwasher ran. I want them put in a dishwasher. I don't understand how these other commenters are able to prepare meals that leave exactly one dishwasher load's worth of dishes. I also think that the European-style tines contribute to the problem -- bulky items just don't fit as well. I wanted to do one Miele and one Kitchen Aid, but they would have looked too different (for me) from one another when integrated and flanking the sink. Anyway, once my kids are out of the house, I think I will use one to get the hand-washables off the counter. Note that things like wooden bowls, spoons and cutting boards can't just be wiped down. Also, I can't get into our narrow-necked water bottles well enough to wipe down the insides. I will leave the door ajar. But, I think we will have to alternate -- I read that if a dishwasher goes unused for too long the seals (or gaskets?) can dry out and fail.

I have a 30" sink + 18" integrated drainboard. We place one of the roll up mats over the drainboard to allow things to air dry, but usually stuff only sits there while I hand wash and then it gets dried and put away. I don't like clutter and leaving stuff out for no good reason!

@blueskysunnyday I like your handle ☺️

You asked how people do what they do... I don't put put pots and pans in my dishwasher. I hand wash cooking utensils as I cook. I don't wait until the end. I lay a plain terry dish towel on the counter with cooking/cooling racks as others have mentioned. I set them on there to drain/dry until I get a minute then dry with lighter weight toweling. When done I put the racks back in the drawer and throw the towel in the wash or hang to dry. I wipe the counter with paper towels and a cleaner spray. For serving dishes, I put them in this washer after rinsing. I never put stainless steel and silver in at the same time though. I'm not saying it's the best system but it does work. Feel free to use anything useful and discard the rest.

"I just got so annoyed at dirty dishes sitting in the sink while the dishwasher ran."

Shoot me:

Soap, hot water.......dry..BY HAND in five minutes

ANNOYANCE? GONE. This is called choice.

You have more lazy perhaps, than annoyance. Read:

The Messies

I am under the impression that using the dishwasher is more environmentally-friendly than hand washing.

This^^^^has been proven to be fact.

Lol. Yes, it is and your DW Should be USED. However.......if you are sticky, sweaty, and smelly ? You shower. You don't worry about saving mother earth for a five minute thing.

Hello-

I grew up with out a dishwasher. Well, a human was the dishwasher.

Now I can't imagine living without one.

Too many body parts are just not up to snuff for me to stand there that long, after doing all the cooking to stand there that long washing too.

There are some things that can't be put in the dishwasher, for example, the good cooking knives (i.e., the Henckels with wood handles) , the cast iron fry pans and grill pans, sterling silver, bone china, and vases.

I do try to clean up as I go while cooking, but that doesn't always work.

I do put as much as possible in the dishwasher.

It has been reported that using the dishwasher uses less water than handwashing, so I don't feel guilty about it.

I spent $$$$ on All-Clad non-stick fry pans, hand washed and babied them and they didn't last long anyway.

Now I bought Tramontina non-stick fry pans which are very highly rated and are far less costly and stick them in the dishwasher and I don't worry about it in the least.

I have used many different type of drainboards over the years.

First, the old-fashioned hard molded plastic type.

Then the folding rubber coated wire type.

Now I use the type that Maureen and chispa showed which is a roll-up metal railing with silicone ends and mine is expandable so it can fit whatever your sink size is.

I hand wash the few things that need to be hand washed and put them on the railings and either let them dry there or take them off and dry them.

Another option for you are the collapsible silicone bowls/buckets sold on Amazon.

Some come with little drains in the bottom.

I have several of different types and sizes that I use for washing vegetables and herbs and hand laundry.

You can put the type you like in your sink and dishes in there and let them soak if that is what they need.

I try to pay attention to my food as it cooks so it doesn't need that much effort to wash.

We all like to multi-task but I have learned that I need to be careful with glazed carrots for example, because I put honey or maple syrup in my carrots and if that burns, it is hell to clean!

(I have figured out a hack to avoid serious scrubbing, but I can't put that straight in the dishwasher.)

My large 10" fry pan which is 12" in upper outer diameter fit in the dishwasher as does the 6 quart stockpot.

An 8 quart stockpot would not fit in my dishwasher, but many of the newer dishwashers have adjustable racks to allow for large pots and pans.

I would suggest bringing your largest cooking pots and pans, as well as your large dinner plates and serving platters to the stores where you look for your dishwasher so you can purchase one that will work for your cookware and dishware.

A deeper sink will allow for you to put the dishes in there and they won't be seen by people at the table, if you have an open concept. (One of many reasons I despise the open concept.)

Just don't get a sink so deep it will hurt your back to bend over in there to get at the dishes.

And here's my last piece of advice.

If you are having a large group over (and you define what is large for you,) don't be embarrassed to hire someone to hep you clean up.

What makes a great get-together or party is a great hostess and half of that is being calm and relaxed, and you can't be that if you are spending your time cleaning up.

It is well worth your sanity to hire someone to come in and quietly and efficiently clear and clean so you can pay attention to your guests, and when the dinner is over and you are tired after all that cooking, you and hubby can go to sleep, as you should, instead of looking at the horror of the kitchen and have to clean. That's what I do. It's worth every penny.

Lots of good ideas here for the OP and LOTS of pontificating on people's lifestyles and choices. As per usual.

Someone commented about leaving the dishwasher door overnight to dry out…be every careful. I did that one night and fell over the door fully loaded with dishes and utensils. I’m lucky I was not impaled! Oh, this was 4 weeks after a knee replacement. I was afraid to look to see if my titanium knee was sticking out!

@Tootsie, ooph! I just had my knee replaced 6 weeks ago. It hurts…lots… just to think about that happening!

Ouch, Tootsie! Glad you are ok. My MIL has done that twice in the last few years. Buy a Bosch or Miele DW with auto-open, where the door opens automatically, but just by a few inches. Dry dishes, no tripping hazard. And the ability to start a load just before bedtime, w/o staying up to open the door at the end.

"double drawer D/W next to it..."

"Our island is 12'"

Since you have a ginormous 12-foot island and dishwashers are only 2 feet wide, consider dumping that dish drawer and installing two full-size dishwashers, for example, on on each side of the sink. Perhaps wash less stuff by hand -- saving water, energy, and time -- and let the dishwasher(s) do the work.

I just saw a clever thing on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW62YFJW

It is a scissoring metal dish dryer rack that you expand to the size you need that sits on your counter.

When you don't need it, it folds up to a small size and you tuck it in the cabinet.

What a clever idea!

(Obviously, I spend too much money buying clever gadgets on Amazon, I don't really need :)

You would put a mat or towel or rack underneath this unless you have a counter with drainboard grooves.

You may not want those in your island., since you are concerned with the aesthetics.

Of course it doesn't solve the problem of where to put the dirty dishes or who does them and when.

I just thought I'd share this wonderful find.

I was so jazzed to find the flat adjustable over-the-sink rail drainboard that Maureen and chispa mentioned above.

Another thing, Susan L has a good point.

If you have a lot of sport bottles and coffee mugs that can't go in the dishwasher, please have a look at the products specifically sold for washing baby bottles. They have various prongs for holding the bottles that you can put in your sink to hold the bottles to make some order in your sink until you wash them, and then after they are clean, you can wash the holder and use it as a rack for them to dry on.

Also, in the baby department they sell a dazzling array of bottle and jar brushes to clean the inside of every bottle you could ever own.

I built a home 17 yrs ago and my KD was trying to sell me on 2 DWs. I thought it was unnecessary and only put in one. We moved 3 yrs later and the home we bought had an island sink with a full-size DW on each side. I used the 2nd DW as a drying rack. I just kept the door ajar at night to get air in there. But then cooking became my passion and I used it more as an actual DW. Moved again 7 yrs later and gut renovated a kitchen. I put in 2 DWs. Use them both. Will have 2 again the next time we move. Everyone is different. Do whatever feels right for you!

Good point, wisconmom. We are not all using our kitchens the same way or creating dirty dishes at the same rate. The right answer for one won’t be the right answer for everyone.

Wow, there are some strong opinions about how and when people should clean up their kitchens! For the OP...I get it. I tend to be a handwasher for odds and ends and my good cookware and didn't want to look at a drainrack on the counter, or be getting it out and putting it away all the time. And yes, sometimes I leave things to dry (even overnight...how lazy) :-) I don't know if it would work for you in your space, but I inset another undermount sink a few inches to the left, one that exactly fit a drainer, so the drying dishes are either below or almost below the countertop (of course pots and cookie sheets stick up but it really does help make things look tidier.) This was years ago; it was a KitchenAId stainless sink with a custom fit drainer to match. We're designing a new house and I'm not sure what I'll do this time...probably have a huge sink with a drainer in it down at one end.

Admitted neatnik here. I do not like anything on my counters and I clean up constantly. As soon as a meal is over, dishes go in the dishwasher, and pots / pans / knives / etc get washed by hand and placed on a drying mat, dried, and put away. If you are insisting on two dishwashers, I would look into dish drawers and a regular dishwasher. Dish drawers have plenty of room for odd-sized things and can function as a drying rack.