Besides cluttering up the kitchen, dirty pots and dishes are unhygienic and will attract flies and cockroaches into your home.

• Put dirty dishes into the dishwasher as soon as possible, but only start the program when the dishwasher is full, to save time and energy.

• If it takes you more than two or three meals worth of cutlery and crockery to fill the dishwasher, do a quick pre-wash or rinse cycle between washes so that the dirty dishes don’t dry out in the machine.

• When stacking the dishwasher, do it systematically, with like items together, so that when you’re unloading and putting things away you can pick up all the bowls in one go, or all the forks and spoons.

• Clean the filters and spray arms regularly, to keep the machine running at maximum efficiency. While the dishwasher is running, wash up the items that must be washed by hand, such as sharp knives.

• If you don’t have a dishwasher, rinse and stack the dishes and wash them as soon as you can, to discourage pests.