Something my kids appreciate about me is how good I am at those little touches that bring a real high-end aesthetic to our home.

They don’t tell me how much they appreciate it but I can feel it. They don’t have to say it out loud.

@Annie We just added a “clean/dirty” magnetic sign to our dishwasher. I’m battling with my wife as to when it should be switched to “clean.” I say when the wash cycle starts. She says when it ends. It’s becoming contentious.

@jimmitchell i mean technically I think you're wife's right b/c the dishes aren't clean until they've been washed... But, my personal household practice is to pop the clean sign on as soon as the wash cycle begins because it signals to my children that they can no longer shove their dirty dishes in there.

@Annie *your 🙄

@Annie My take is the same as yours… To keep me or the kid still living at home from stuffing dirty stuff into the running cycle. I can’t count the number of times I’ve pulled a dirty butter knife from the drawer that still has peanut butter all over it. 🤣

@jimmitchell we have such a sign and it turns to green when the machine has been emptied.

@Annie that’s not a issue at our house. The kids wouldn’t even dream of putting their dirty dishes away on their own. Sadly. It’s an ongoing learning process.

@AlexKucera well it’s not 100% here! My personal favorite mode of “encouragement” is to ask them sweetly when the maid they must have hired will be arriving to do the dishes they’ve left…. Then i laugh and laugh. They just roll their eyes.

@AlexKucera automatically turns green? That would be awesome. Is it built in to the unit or did you purchase this magic somewhere?

@jimmitchell oh no. Sorry. I meant we turn it to green. Automatic would be awesome.

@AlexKucera Gotcha… We have the same, except black (dirty) and white (clean) to appeal to my minimalist tendencies.