Sometimes the most sensible thing to do is…do nothing.

Take the city of Iowa City. For the last few years, I have been raking my leaves to the curb in the hope that this time, they will send their leaf truck to our house and slurp them up. Although the truck never came, it seems I have misjudged their inaction as indifference when, all this time, they were really protecting the environment.

This autumn, Iowa City is officially recommending that residents leave our leaves alone. Iowa City climate ambassador Robert Traer explained to The Daily Iowan, “In fact, it becomes an opportunity of an incubating environment for this whole world of insect and microorganism life.” (Because, if there is anything our gardens need, it’s more bugs and mold.)

Plus, this environmentally friendly approach to street maintenance may also explain the city’s rationale for not plowing their alleys after a blizzard. Maybe the snow helps nourish the organic gravel?

In any case, I am delighted to have an excuse to not rake my leaves this fall. There have been numerous studies extolling the benefits of allowing leaves to decay naturally. Composted leaves replenish nutrients in the soil, they help prevent weeds from sprouting in the spring and can insulate root vegetables like carrots, kale and leeks. Also, according to a study by Public Interest Network, in 2020, emissions from Iowa gas-powered leaf blowers and garden tractors produced 247,179 metric tons of carbon dioxide.

And there are lots of things you can do with your dead leaves. You could pile them up and jump on them. Wouldn’t that be fun? You could pick out the most colorful ones and glue them to your bedroom walls like wallpaper.

You could use the leaves to stuff a scarecrow for Halloween. It might not scare crows, but just imagine the calls you will get from neighbors. “I don’t want to alarm you but there is some creepy guy just smiling on your porch swing. He hasn’t moved in hours!” Or, “I couldn’t help noticing how nice and clean your lawn looks. If the landscaper resting on the porch swing is done at your house, could you send him over here?”

Getting out of work in the name of ecology is a principle I could live by. So, I really ought to protect the spiderwebs in my house because where there are spiderwebs, there are spiders and spiders eat insects. I don’t want a lot of insects in my house. Unless they’re spiders. Friendly spiders. (But not too friendly.)

Sure, I could vacuum up the dust and little pet hair tumbleweeds that accumulate in the dark corners. Except that they provide a natural habitat for dust mites. And what’s a dust mite without its dust? It’s just a mite. Wouldn’t that be kind of sad?

I’ve notice that when I ignore most household chores, after a while, they seem to take care of themselves. Take leaves, for example. This year, there was a thick blanket of sycamore leaves on our lawn. Then a 50-mile-an-hour wind swept them all to Cedar County. Now it’s their problem.