In our home, it seems like every time we clear the sink, more dirty dishes appear. When you turn back to put the cereal away, more dishes appear with a bang. What is their origin? Even now, we were unaware that we still had those bowls.

You can optimize your dishwashing process in a few different ways to make cleanup quicker and more efficient. Here are some good suggestions for cleaning dishes quickly and easily.

Frequently use a dishwasher: Although it seems paradoxical, don’t worry if you frequently run the dishwasher. You would think that washing the dishes by hand after meals and snacks are the simpler, faster, and water-saving option, but you’d be wrong. The average dishwasher uses roughly 6 gallons each load, according to the EPA and a 2016 report by the Water Research Foundation, though older models can use more than 10 gallons. According to the Natural Resources Defence Council, an Energy Star-certified dishwasher can consume as little as 3 gallons each load.

Allow really soiled dishes to soak: Vile but efficient You can soak your hand-washed items after loading the dishwasher rather than repeatedly cleaning them under the running water for several minutes. They can be soaked one at a time or marinated in a small amount of water in the sink. A half-full sink will effectively soak dishes.

Prepare your sink: There ought to be a technique to your madness if you’re going to soak dishes. Even though it may seem strange, one strategy to conserve water is to stack and nest dishes inside one another. Without adding water to each bowl, you can soak everything. Even while you won’t want a pile of dishes to accumulate in your sink for days and days, nesting them can help the job go more quickly and conserve water.