Shine, shine on

I adore my wedding ring. It's a gorgeous antique styled Simon G, that my husband paid a significant amount for. Imagine my horror, when six months into our marriage I was called out for allowing it to get so dirty it barely had any shine to it.

Mortified, I immediately ran to the jewelers to have it cleaned and inspected. They concurred, the ring was filthy. Grimy from lotions, soap scum and lord knows what else. After cleaning it up for me, they sent me on my way with a little jar of cleaner.
Determined not to allow such an embarrassing thing to happen again, I developed a new routine. Any time I take on a messy endeavor, the ring comes off and goes into the solution. Straight into the solution so that I don't lose it. (Did I mention that I'm forgetful?) Once my task is finished, I give the ring a quick scrub and rise, then back on it goes.
This routine has proven invaluable, not only for keeping my ring pretty, but intact as well. I've actually bent a prong before without knowing. Not until I went to scrub out the nooks and crannies did I see the peril my diamond was it. Thank goodness nothing happened!
Over the last year I've grown very attached to this cleaning method and had a mini-meltdown when I realized how dirty the cleaning solution had gotten. I didn't want to go BUY new container...but I also couldn't live with the ickyness. Major dilemma. (Aha!)
Grabbing a filter bag I use for my loose leaf tea, I poured the solution into a new container filtering out all the gunk. Clean solution, clean ring and I didn't have to spend a dime.
Still frugal, still fabulous!