My parents were British and they used to have two washing bowls. Pile the dirty dishes into one and fill with warm water and dish soap. Clean water in the second bowl for rinsing. After a while the second bowl builds up residual soap so it needs to be emptied and refilled. I figure I use the same amount of water rinsing under a running faucet. But the soak thing is a great tip - leaving dishes in water to soak makes cleaning them so much easier.