This was my first design research project. I was inspired by coming home from college and seeing my parents' dishwasher, filled only half way, and smelling like it had been sitting there for a couple of days. They had left the dishwasher that way because "there aren't enough dishes to justify running it" but were not motivated enough to wash them by hand. Upon further investigation, I found that this was a similar problem among "empty nesters" and older couples.