As decided in the last week, I focused on how to improve the usage of the sink in kitchen area. To tell the conclusion first, it was successful that people started using the sink cleaner. In addition, there were some unexpected interactions/activities at the kitchen area, which implies people started being conscious of kitchen area. Considering the amount of not-much work I put in this activity and the improvement of the kitchen sanity, I felt that IDM people have high standard of self-discipline. All I did was basically to clean whole kitchen area once, put a sign, put washed dishes on the rack away every morning, communicate with people face to face or on slack. Then IDM people started being aware of the usage of kitchen by themselves. Though there are still many things to be improved, I would say it was a good first step.
Here are my day-by-day actions.
10/21 (Mon)
This is the day I started taking photos of sink area. As you can see, there are some cups/utensils left in the sink. There are some washed ones in the dish rack. Interestingly, there are more things left as time passes. I just observed and did not wash them.
11:00
12:30
14:30
10/22 (Tue)
I was surprised that so many unwashed cups/utensils are left when I came to school. There are also some paper plates/cups and coffees left.
11:00
11:00
After the meeting with Professor Piantella, I started working on the assignment part 3. First thing I did was to clean the kitchen area to set the start line. I also threw away some trashes and put away some papers like microwave manual, first aid kit, etc. Then I posted a message on the IDM slack channel to make people aware of my activity. My aim is to keep kitchen as clean as this start line.
10/23 (Wed)
At 11:00, there was no leftovers in the sink. I put away dried cups/utensils in the drawer. I also put a “Wash your dish” sign. At 13:00, the sink was still clean and there was no cups in the rack. At 15:30, the sink was still clean and there were some dishes in the rack. This implies somebody actually washed the dishes by themselves.
11:00
13:00
15:30
10/24 (Thu)
At 9:00, people keep using the sink still clean. I put away dried dishes in the drawer. I saw other people participation in the kitchen area. There was a memo that the coffee was made at 5:45 pm (probably 10/23) and some stuffs like sugar/pepper etc on the table were organized in the plate. On the slack channel, one student shared her message about the kitchen.
10/25 (Fri)
At 10:30, I unfortunately found 2 cups left in the sink. But compared to the last week's mess, it was a great improvement. I washed them while waiting for my coffee. There ware some new things happened. People put markers and post-it. I am not sure if this is a some kind of class activity or students self action. I also found a flyer of VR events. I think it is a good sign that people are being actively involved in the kitchen area.
10/26 (Sat)
The kitchen was clean as usual. The VR event flyer held yesterday was still on the wall so I threw it away.
10/27 (Sun)
My classmate Junnan held a pancake event. Though his event was not something from this project, I was very happy to see people getting gathered in kitchen area and start doing something with care. At the event, I had a chance to talk with three undergrad students. It was great to know that not only they were responsible for using kitchen area but also they were aware of recent kitchen improvement. Without to mention, pancake was super yum!
10/28 (Mon)
Unfortunately, there was one unwashed cup left in the morning but it was not a big deal. I washed it. It was also a Diwali day and Professor Ansari brought some snacks - another interaction, happy! In the evening before I leave school, there were many washed dishes on the rack, implying many interactions and people washed their dishes.
10/29 (Tue)
In the morning, there were still many washed dishes on the rack. I put them away hoping people keep using space with respect.
