You'll be happy to know that I've taken your advice,  I've got this old Maxwell Coffee container (which ironically used to hold my organic waste bag for the green bin - and yes I cleaned it) and turned into a water bucket for dishes.

It's awesome.  I'm saving a lot of water and it really doesn't take that long.  All I need now is a soapy sponge and a little bit of water.

30-45 minutes!?!  You must have a lot of dishes! :)

Cheers,