#16 Make a swear box

I have a confession to make....I can be something of a potty mouth. I'm not proud of this but I have been known to express myself using words of a less than savoury nature. I know it's the last resort of the eloquently challenged, but sometimes only effing and jeffing will really cut it.

Normally this isn't an issue as my family and husband are pretty tolerant and indulge in the practice themselves occasionally. No, my verbal habits only become a problem when I'm at work. I work for a small, new charity and as such there is often only myself and my colleague Neil in the office. And he's from the West Country too so doesn't even notice my language. However, when there are others present I become acutely aware of my apparent inability to speak as a lady should. So, making a swear box seemed like a good chance for me to bring my tongue in line. And since I said the proceeds would go towards the charity Neil suddenly has started noticing when I cuss and happily prompts me to pay penance.

So here is my swear box:



Since I made the box I have been making regular contributions and I can honestly say that knowing I have to put my hand in my pocket each time I'm tempted to be coarse has made me more aware of what I'm saying. Hopefully the end result of this will be that I cause less offence and find more interesting ways to express myself. Admitedly there are still times when events overtake me and I have to let rip with an expletive, but I've been having fun re-discovering words like "Crikey", "Fiddlesticks" and "Sausages". Yes, "Sausages" - try it!

I'll keep the box going until the end of the 101 things to do challenge whereupon I'll reveal how much money my bad language has made for a good cause.