WHO'S IN CHARGE

 I've just discovered that, in my quest to become some semblance of a cook, I'm letting the utensils determine what I'm going to make.  Do you know what I mean?

I fixed a marinara sauce last night and put it over a half box of rigatoni I had left over from a week or two ago.  It was decent and, of course, I had twice as much sauce as needed.

Now, it didn't seem worth it to wash the sauce pan in which I fixed the rigatoni or the colander I used to strain it, so tonight, I'm having spaghetti with the left over sauce from last night.  Not much variety here. 

So, am I letting the utensils be in charge of what I make?  I could have put them in the dishwasher but it seemed wasteful.  Does anyone else do that?