Location: kitchen. Time: 6:47pm. Difficulty: medium. Key steps:

• vessels & spoons:
  • rinse milk bottle and place to left of taps
  • assemble Froot Shoot bottles along rear wall
  • clear area near taps for mugs
  • place small spoons in single small mug
  • place larger spoons in single larger mug
  • assemble other mugs in rows of three
  • form tower of Ikea plastic cups to rear of spoon-holding mugs
  • line up low-rise glasses in rows of three in front of mugs
  • line up high-rise glasses along wall by teapots
• crockery & cutlery:
  • identify neutral receptacle, eg bowl, to hold cutlery
  • gather forks into receptacle
  • align knives along rim of receptacle
  • assemble sharp knives by sink in front of low-rise glasses
  • form stack of Ikea plastic oval plates near mugs
  • form stack of coloured circular plates near glasses
  • form stack of rinsed smaller white plates to left of sink
  • form stack of rinsed larger blue-rimmed plates on top of white plates
• misc:
  • rinse teapots and remove used teabags
  • deposit used teabags in bin
  • deposit foil in bin
  • collect loose cutlery near cooker and group accordingly
  • half-fill pans on cooker with water
  • place any cooking utensils, eg masher, ladle, in suitably sized pan

Congratulation: you're ready to load the dishwasher with optimum efficiency.