I don’t know anyone who enjoys unloading the dishwasher. I certainly don’t! But I don’t dread it like I used to either since I’ve come up with the following system:

1. Start by zoning your kitchen. Keeping like items together (glasses all in one cabinet, plates all in another cabinet, etc.) is the first step to make food prep and clean up less cumbersome.
2. Zone your dishwasher. Think of this step like pre-sorting laundry. Instead of just throwing dishes into the dishwasher willy-nilly, designate “zones” in your dishwasher for like items and put items in their zone when loading. For example, my top rack is used for glasses only. It has 5 rows, and I put items in their appropriate row when I load. So left to right, my rows contain:
   • row #1: wine glasses
   • row #2: plastic or kids cups
   • row #3: is wider so that’s where I put coffee mugs
   • row #4: tall drinking glasses
   • row #5: small juice glasses

   I do the same for my bottom rack:

   • Back row: Since it’s wider, this is where I put pots & bakeware
   • Left side: tupperware & bowls
   • Middle: small plates
   • Right side: large plates

   The reason for creating zones is that while you’re unloading, it’s easier to grab all small glasses at the same time and put them all in the same cabinet at one time. Then move on to the next row and put them where they belong all at one time. It saves time, and if you’re accident-prone like me, it saves you from bumping your head on too many open cabinet doors.

3. Create your dishwasher zones closest to where the items live in your kitchen. In my example above, my wine glasses are in row #1 because it’s closest to the cabinet to the left of my sink where they live in my kitchen. Small juice glasses are on the far right because they live in a cabinet to the right of my sink.
4. Turn dishes so they face the sprayer. Sounds simple enough, I know, but my dishes used to come out dirty even when I pre-rinsed because I had them turned so the bottoms faced the sprayer so the food surfaces stayed dirty. Now I turn them backwards so they face the main jets and what a difference it’s made! Not only are they cleaner, I don’t have to waste time inspecting them before I put them away anymore!
5. My real secret weapon: Zone silverware! Just like you’re going to designate areas for glasses and plates, you’ll save so much time if you zone your silverware caddy. Mine has 6 compartments and if you’re looking at them from an aerial view, I set them up like this:
   

   butter knives	sharp knives
   forks	utensils
   small spoons	large spoons

   
   I can’t stress enough how much of a time saver this is! Once you get used to your zones, it takes no additional time to load the dishwasher, and when you’re unloading the silverware, you can grab all forks and put them in your silverware drawer all at one time. No more standing in front of your silverware drawer for 10 minutes while you grab a handful of utensils out of the caddy and sort them one at a time into your silverware drawer.

6. Communicate the zones to the rest of the family! This whole system will break down if you’re the only one in your family using zones to load the dishwasher. If they’re reluctant, ask for their help in an experiment: ask to time them when they do a regular unload and time them again when they do a “zoned” unload. Compare the results, and ask them if they thought it was easier to unload. When they say yes, let them know that’s why it’s important that you have their help to continue loading into zones. And if they don’t, then personally, I’d pass on the chore of unloading the dishes to one of them forever.