GRADUATED USE OF FORCE

Last night I was scrubbing a pan which I had used earlier that morning to make the kids some oatmeal. Right-Now-Josh screwed Future-Josh again and failed to rinse out the oatmeal remnants before it had the chance to harden and stick to the side of the pan with the bonding power of some industrial strength mortar. It would have only taken a few seconds and considerably less elbow grease for Right-Now-Josh to rinse it out, but Nooooo, he got distracted or something. Right-Now-Josh is always doing jerky things like that, and Future-Josh is always angry at him for his lack of consideration. He only thinks in the moment. It's very frustrating.

Anyway, I started scraping the pan with the abrasive side (green) of the sponge (#1 above), but that wasn't strong enough to do the job. So I took up the scrubbing brush (#2 above) which likewise failed to remove the hardened bits of old oatmeal. (Curse you, Right-Now-Josh!!!) So I reached for the nuclear option (#3 above) whose relentless application combined with the continuous flow of warm water from the tap won the day.

I found myself wondering why I don't always start with #3. Why bother with #1 and #2? Why this graduated approach? #1 and #2 have their place perhaps with dishes whose delicate construction or non-stick surface might be damaged by #3's abrasive nature. But for other dishes it doesn't make any sense at all to start with a lesser scrubbing utensil. From now on I'm showing up to every scrubbing challenge loaded for bear. No more half measures. I'm going straight to #3 every time.