A Jar of Plenty

As much as I adore Mystical Roo, he doesn't half make a mess sometimes.  I suppose that's a combination of him being a male and me being a neat freak who (as previously noted) is quite unnerved by hair on the bathroom floor.  Anyway, Mystical Roo tries to keep things tidy without compromising his belief that a house should be lived in.  And I try not to nag without compromising my belief that work boots should not be worn in the house.  We probably both encountered a bit of a learning curve when we first moved in together but after seven years of cohabitation I think we've got the hang of it.  Mystical Roo makes a conscious effort not to leave wet towels on the floor and I secretly (or not so secretly) hoover on a daily basis.  One of things I struggle with is clutter.  I like things to have a home and to be put in that home.  I can't be doing with rogue items just lying around the house, making the place look untidy.  So when Mystical Roo used to empty his pockets of change and just leave it on the kitchen counter, on the coffee table, on the bedside table, in the bathroom, it used to send me into a bit of spin.  Not only is that major random clutter, but I'm also somewhat unnerved by coins.  Especially when they're not the gold type.  I think I'm traumatised by my time working in retail where money would be handed to me in all sorts of conditions, from covered in chocolate to freshly retrieved from a child's mouth.  It makes me shudder just thinking about it.  Anyway, coins to me, are dirty and I don't like them just lingering on various surfaces of the house.  I imagine this is an issue many of us encounter, though I doubt too many people are quite as freaked out by this as I am.  I think the problem arises because men, generally, don't have a purse.  They have a wallet, where they can keep their notes and cards but then the change has to go into the pocket because there is no purse.  So when they come home, the change has nowhere to go.  That's not Mystical Roo's fault.  He doesn't have a handbag.  But I do.  I figured I should put this habit to good use and snaffle me some change for magazines and sweets.  At first I just swept up the change and added it to my purse but that soon became a chore, especially when there was only silver in sight.  I then decided that I would get a change jar on the go.  A pot for Mystical Roo to deposit his coins and from which I could snaffle at will.  No manky change lying around the house and a collection point from which to fund my sweet habit.  Excellent.  The change jar worked well and filled up quickly.  Every day, Mystical Roo would come home, add to the change jar and everyone was happy.  We would dip into the jar when going out for coffee and felt like we hadn't really spent anything because we didn't break into a note.  The trouble with change though, is that the gold coins are great but the silver coins, especially the small ones, require a lot to amount to much value.  It's all well and good having a collection of 5c pieces, but how many do I need to jam in my purse to buy two cappuccinos?  A lot!  Yesterday the change jar was on the verge of spilling over and I was considering adding a 2nd jar to the equation.  Then I had the idea that maybe I could just pay it into the bank.  A cunning plan.  So I grabbed my jar of change and walked down to the bank.  I got to the counter and sheepishly asked if I could pay some money into the bank.  I wasn't sure how the bank lady (I'm sure they have an official name) would react and was worried she might laugh at my jar or tell me to go home and count it out into baggies but she just whipped it away and chucked it into a magic coin counting machine.  Yes, a magic coin counting machine.  I can only imagine that there are small leprechauns in there that count the money whilst you're waiting.  She returned my now empty jar, which I quickly stowed in my bag with my library books (yes, another trip to the library).  The leprechauns made short work of my jar of change and the bank lady announced we had $37 worth of change.  $37 worth of change?!  And that was after I'd snaffled all of the gold and big 50c pieces to fill up my purse.  I'm terrible at estimations and had imagined we had something along the lines of $10 saved so $37 was a lovely surprise.  It just goes to show that all of that coin adds up.  I turned an annoying habit into a money making scheme.  I'm possibly an evil genius.  So if your significant other is leaving change around the house then start a jar.  If you're really sneaky, they won't even know you're doing it and you can cash in that jar for a whole box of sweets!  Or shoes. Or whatever floats your boat.  Now the jar is back in the bedroom awaiting it's next contribution from Mystical Roo.  I won't let it overflow again.  As soon as it reaches it's limit then I'll be back down the bank.  Who knows, maybe the jar will be able to fund a supply of sweets directly from England.  The possibilities are endless.