For those who are a little sensitive or reluctant to plunge into a messy project or dirty job, there are a few ways to make getting your hands dirty more enjoyable. Overcome your reluctance (or inhibition) of having dirt under your nails and plunge into a fun project like gardening.
Steps
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2
Prepare before you get your hands dirty. This article is geared toward working in soil, for instance, setting out plants in a flower garden, but its applications may also include doing mechanical repairs where you will get grease and oils on your hands. If you may experience a need to relieve yourself, go to the bathroom prior to beginning your work, have a snack and a drink before starting, and plan on missing phone calls or text messages, since you would probably prefer not to handle these devices with filthy hands.
3
Have a cloth rag or paper towels handy to easily wipe excess dirt from your hands if the need arises. Having access to a sink, or outdoor hose bib for quick clean-up will make rinsing soil off to attend emergencies easier.
4
Keep some soap and water nearby for more thorough cleaning if needed. For really dirty hands, you may want to plan on having a wash bucket that can be disposed of when you are finished, since cleaning really filthy hands in a bathroom sink will only add another job (cleaning the sink) to your project.
5
Pick an activity you enjoy for your dirty hands experience. Again, the focus here is on gardening, since this may be one of the most common activities where your hands will be soiled, pun intended. If you are a flower fancier, find a location in your yard, apartment balcony, or even a window to begin a natural enhancement project, ie, planting some flowers. For those who would rather eat what they produce, plan on planting some herbs, vegetables, or fruit-bearing plants. Peppers have ornamental as well as food benefits, but tomatoes, cucumbers, or other plants can be grown in usable quantities in a surprisingly small space using imaginative techniques.
6
Prepare for the experience of getting down and dirty. Choose some old cloths, buy a suitable gardener's apron, and even wear gloves if you need to so the experience can be as sanitary as possible.
7
Start out slowly if you need to. Handle some of the soil you have available, whether you have dug some out of your lawn, or purchased a commercially prepared planting mix. For people unfamiliar with the texture and feel of soil, this may be uncomfortable at first, so just get acquainted with how it feels. You can immediately put it away and wash your hands after your initial exposure, but resolve to try again until you overcome any reluctance or apprehension you have to handling it.
8
Use tools, as much as possible, to minimize contact with the soil. Small scoops, forks, and other tilling instruments are available to decrease the actual amount of soil contact needed to successfully accomplish a gardening project.
9
Be persistent. You must ultimately decide for yourself that you want to overcome your inhibition to dirty hands, and dedicate time and effort to achieving that goal.
listen to cheeky mermaid
Steps
1
Understand that there is almost nothing that you will get on your hands that won't come off, but realise there are some substances that you may want to avoid, such as the following.- Inks and wood stains. These are very difficult to remove, particularly permanent markers, oil stains used for wood finishing, and some fruit stains like blueberry or blackberry juice, so avoid these if clean hands are important in your near future. Even these, however, will fade and disappear in time.
- Solvents and chemicals. These may not dirty your hands, but contact with them can have health risks.
- Unsanitary substances. This may include stuff we think of being flushed down a commode, or otherwise has a potential to cause illness or disease. In first aid publications, for instance, it is almost universally recommended a caregiver never come in contact with a victim's blood, due to risks associated with disease transmission.
Ad
2
Prepare before you get your hands dirty. This article is geared toward working in soil, for instance, setting out plants in a flower garden, but its applications may also include doing mechanical repairs where you will get grease and oils on your hands. If you may experience a need to relieve yourself, go to the bathroom prior to beginning your work, have a snack and a drink before starting, and plan on missing phone calls or text messages, since you would probably prefer not to handle these devices with filthy hands.
3
Have a cloth rag or paper towels handy to easily wipe excess dirt from your hands if the need arises. Having access to a sink, or outdoor hose bib for quick clean-up will make rinsing soil off to attend emergencies easier.
4
Keep some soap and water nearby for more thorough cleaning if needed. For really dirty hands, you may want to plan on having a wash bucket that can be disposed of when you are finished, since cleaning really filthy hands in a bathroom sink will only add another job (cleaning the sink) to your project.
5
Pick an activity you enjoy for your dirty hands experience. Again, the focus here is on gardening, since this may be one of the most common activities where your hands will be soiled, pun intended. If you are a flower fancier, find a location in your yard, apartment balcony, or even a window to begin a natural enhancement project, ie, planting some flowers. For those who would rather eat what they produce, plan on planting some herbs, vegetables, or fruit-bearing plants. Peppers have ornamental as well as food benefits, but tomatoes, cucumbers, or other plants can be grown in usable quantities in a surprisingly small space using imaginative techniques.
6
Prepare for the experience of getting down and dirty. Choose some old cloths, buy a suitable gardener's apron, and even wear gloves if you need to so the experience can be as sanitary as possible.
7
Start out slowly if you need to. Handle some of the soil you have available, whether you have dug some out of your lawn, or purchased a commercially prepared planting mix. For people unfamiliar with the texture and feel of soil, this may be uncomfortable at first, so just get acquainted with how it feels. You can immediately put it away and wash your hands after your initial exposure, but resolve to try again until you overcome any reluctance or apprehension you have to handling it.
8
Use tools, as much as possible, to minimize contact with the soil. Small scoops, forks, and other tilling instruments are available to decrease the actual amount of soil contact needed to successfully accomplish a gardening project.
9
Be persistent. You must ultimately decide for yourself that you want to overcome your inhibition to dirty hands, and dedicate time and effort to achieving that goal.
listen to cheeky mermaid