Seriously? You don’t have a microwave or dishwasher in your kitchen? It’s true. I have neither appliance in my kitchen.

When we bought our house, it had neither a microwave nor dishwasher. I didn’t mind; we did not plan on buying a microwave anyway, and the lack of dishwasher did not bother me one bit.

Now, a lot of people ask “How do you reheat leftovers?” If there are a lot, they go into the oven, still in the pan they were made. If it’s just a small amount, I’ll either spread it onto a glass pie dish or just put the container it’s in right into the toaster oven. We store all our leftovers in glass; the few plastic containers I have Squatch takes with him to work.

As for the lack of dishwasher, it has not bothered me one bit. I love nothing more than standing in front of a soapy sink basin full of dishes. One basin of soapy water, one basin of hot water, and I can have a sink-ful washed and up on the drying rack in 7 minutes. (Yes, I’ve timed myself, and I’m proud of it!)

At first, I had the standard drying rack next to the sink, but it just took up so. much. space. So I found an over-the-sink drying rack on Amazon, which has been a game changer. Everything drips into the sink, so I’m not worried about a drying tray or mat. The drying mat I DO have is under our Berkey, which is right next to the sink. It helps for any overpours or overfills of the water filter.

“What about the extra time it takes to reheat your food?” Honestly, I don’t mind the extra time. We’re good about eating at roughly the same time each day (4:30pm), and I know how long it takes to heat everything up. Even better, re-heated pizza isn’t rubbery from going in the microwave. That will either be tossed into the toaster oven or on the cast iron on the stove. Both ways ensure a crispy crust!

“Isn’t it easier to just toss your dishes into the dishwasher and run it when it’s full?” If I had a dishwasher and waited for it to be full, I’d be waiting a while. We don’t have a ton of dishes, silverware, or glassware. The only time the dishwasher would actually be full is if we had a dinner party or I was baking/cooking something that took up A TON of mixing bowls, pots, pans, etc. I do a quick washing up after each meal, and when dinner/desserts are cooking/baking, so I never have a full sink. And I never go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink. Waking up to a clean kitchen, with clean and dried dishes on the dish rack is SUCH a great feeling.

“Would you change anything if you were to redo your kitchen or move to a different house?” Absolutely not! I love the fact that the lack of “convenience appliances” means that we have to slow down. I will admit, at first I was so grossed out by the leftover food that was on dishes and plates that would get stuck in the drain. But then I realized, if I make sure that everything is scraped into the garbage BEFORE it goes into the sink, that I don’t have that problem. And I use some really cool scrubbies to wash everything (I get these SKOY scrubbers every 3 months on my Amazon subscription; using one a week, then tossing into the washing machine with all towels and Swedish dishcloths I use over that week), a chain-mail looking thing to get the gritty stuff out of my cast iron, and then a bamboo scrub brush set for anything that is stuck on.

Having the right tools is key, but the mindset is what really makes this work. What does your kitchen look like? Do you think you could make it without your microwave or dishwasher? I’d love to hear!