Amanda Lamb: The cost of doing business

I’m fed up. I have a hard time understanding how no one can find the dishwasher when its right next to the sink. Every night I come into the kitchen to find an assortment of dirty dishes in the sink, some left over from breakfast.

I figure the three very capable people I live with, my husband and two daughters, must share the same genetic component when it comes to locating the laundry chute. For some reason, their clothes end up on the floor instead of in the laundry pile at the bottom of the chute, yet the chute is just steps from each bedroom.

Then I recalled growing up with my mother who tended to do the chores before I had a chance to get them — like making my bed, picking up laundry and putting dirty dishes in the dishwasher. I remember thinking that if I just wait a few more minutes, she’ll do it and I won’t have to.

Is it possible my family subscribes to the same mindset? They know I am type-A and will go ahead and do it, so they don’t have to.

So, this week, I am trying a little experiment. I posted a sign above the sink that said anyone who leaves an item in the sink owes me 25 cents. So far I have only made 75 cents. I call that progress!