Getting dirty...

Many a day I get home from work, drop my lunch bag in the sink and head to the back yard for a little fresh air and sunshine. Enjoying the sunshine often leads to seeing some weeds that need pulled, pulling the hose out to water a thirsty plant, trimming off some dead flowers and generally getting dirty. Previously the fact that I am often wearing jewelry and clothes that don't look good with dirt and grass stains would lead to the garden going un-weeded or me standing later at the wash tub, scrubbing dirt from under my nails and off of the cuff of my dress pants. I have since solved this conundrum. It started with my habit of leaving a pair of clogs or flip flops near the door so that I could go out to the compost pile without having to take off my socks or get my feet dirty. My husband like the idea so much that a pair of slip on shoes in his size soon joined mine on the mud rug.
After the laundry room/mud room was renovated I had a row of hooks perfect for leaving a pair of slip on pants and a t-shirt that I didn't care got dirty. Now any time the mood strikes I know there are grubby clothes handy and the garden gets weeded! When I got engaged and had no desire to scrub my ring with a toothbrush every time I came in from the garden, I would leave my ring on the window sill. Not the safest place in the world for a diamond ring in a household with 4 kitties -2 of whom are kleptomaniacs.The solution: this is one of 4 decorative boxes and bowls throughout the house, strategically placed so that when I offhandedly decide to garden, wood work or wash dishes, I have a safe place to deposit my jewelry. I have still occasionally panicked and not remembered where I left my ring, but a search through the depositories always results in its recovery.
After adopting these few little habits, my clothes have never been cleaner and I have never had less panic over losing valuable jewelry. So to borrow LaVar Burton's phrase "But you don't have to take my word for it!" (no idea why that popped into my head! and now I will go to bed singing the Reading Rainbow song...)