I just place the dishes on a towel that's spread on the counter.

I use a drying mat on the counter. I fold it up when not in use. https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/the-original-xl-dual-dish-drying-mat/204386

I got tired of replacing my dish racks every few months or so (they all tended to get rusty after a while, ugh!). So I spent some more $$ and ended up with this:

Have had it for two years and it looks like new. No rust whatsoever. Looks good from every angle. It's on my island, which has a sink and faces the great room. (I wash a lot of dishes by hand, baby/kids bottles go on there and so on).

My take on this that it's part of life. My home is not being photographed by "Architectural Digest" right this minute. Real people live here :). I try to keep it neat and organized, but life also happens here, hence the disk rack :).

I use a portable rack and a drying mat for those few dishes and knives that don't go into the dishwasher. Rack and mat disappear below the sink when I want the counter looking pristine.

Have a sink that comes with a drying rack that fits in the sink!

i do the towel on the counter for hand washables. i dont own a dish rack.

No dish rack. Dry the dishes and put them away.

Two dishwashers. And USE them both! One can act as a drying rack to the very few bits of non DW safe materials allowed to inconvenience me with their difficulty.

I have a double sink with dish rack on one side. I usually rinse dishes and put on rack - ready to go in dishwasher. Then I have a Dollar store mat for putting items that I wash by hand. The mat is folded and put under my recycling basket when not in use. Personally, that's what I dislike about having a sink in the island. It's probably never "free and clear" of all dishes. Having the sink on an outside wall, keeps the island nice and clear/tidy/