Money and repurposing items

We need it, don't we? Money. We rarely barter these days. I'm fortunate that I have skills with which to barter, and I have. I have friends who are artists who barter for trade. Now people are hoarding "essentials," like toilet paper. There's not a reason to do that. However, now that more people are ordering items online and having them delivered or doing curbside pick-up, we are shopping differently. Are you looking at what is essential in your household and life? How are you budgeting your money? Are you making different choices now than you did a week or 2 ago? Are you living the same as before because you already were pared down to essentials? Are you careful with your money? Or are you splurging? Are you buying things you wouldn't ordinarily? Have you become resourceful? Having gone through an ugly child custody case and having to pay my ex a lot of money, I learned to get by on very little. Of course, I already knew how to do that since my parents weren't wealthy, and my grandparents grew up in the Depression. Everything was repurposed. Recycling wasn't a new thing in our family. Being creative with simple recipes wasn't new either. My kids think I hoard. I don't really. I have difficulty letting go of things that I know are still useful. Unfortunately I don't usually have a lot of spare time to dig through the garage to go through those things. Circumstances have caused me to clear our areas at times. However, I know there are bags of clothes that might be useful to someone in some way. What are you repurposing? Are you discovering new or rediscovering old/simple recipes? Are you making your own bread? Are you clearing out the garage or closets? Are you sharing items with others in need? I have used washcloths in place of toilet paper. So long as I have soap and running water, I can survive almost anything. I can get by without electricity. Water is essential. I even suggested to friends who have babies to consider cloth diapers since I used them and washcloths with my kids instead of diapers and wipes. The babies had less incidences of rashes when using cloth diapers. Those mothers aren't ready yet to try cloth diapers. I can understand that. If you are stuck at home, cloth diapers are easier and cheaper and cleaner than disposable. I'm willing to help with that process when/if they make that decision. What skills are you offering to others? Are you teaching others how to homeschool or do video conferencing? Are you teaching others how to work from home or crochet or cook? Are you cleaning and organizing long forgotten areas in your life and reliving memories? How are you offering skills to the service of others? How are you repurposing items? How are you being mindful with items, money, time, and skills?

Games

I grew up playing various forms of solitaire and card games since we traveled and camped a lot. We didn't do a lot of board games since they were difficult to take in the car for camping. My daughters and I played a lot of card games and did puzzles while they were growing up. Others in the family played board games and dominoes. We also played video games. Which games did you play as a kid? Which ones do you love and miss? Which ones don't you want to play ever again? Why? Dust off old games. Pull out a puzzle. I played a math-based solitaire game with the littles the past 2 days. They love that they are playing a game to learn factors of 10. They also know that once they get it down fast, they will work on factors for 11, 12, and 13 (adding face cards to the game). They were playing games that have math in them. They love learning new games, so giving them games with math is easy. They are reading the instructions with me. We've done some simple science experiments, too. Kids are usually curious, so use that to your benefit. Lots of science videos and Sesame Street for screen time. Lots of educational video games, too. I want to find Between the Lions for reading. I also played Cooties with the littles. It's a basic game to learn patience, take turns, and learn dice. They loved it. They got to play with the creation of their cootie while learning patience because the dice son't give you or others the number you want to get the piece you need. It's anyone's game. I'll be introducing them to storytelling and basic D&D type gaming because they love stories. One little realized that the milk cartoons have jokes on them. I read one to him, and he guessed the answer after having read the other 2. He giggled because he figured out the word play. "what starts with T, ends with T and has T inside?" ... "A teapot" He read it and giggled because he understood it. "Why did the monster get a tummy ache?" ... This one was harder for him. "It was goblin its food." That one was a vocabulary lesson. Daddy has lots of monster posters. He hadn't heard the term "goblin." "Why don't strings ever win a race?" .... He thought about this one. I waited. I asked him about different kinds of strings and led him to shoelaces. Asked him what they do and why they wouldn't win a race. His face lit up when he told me, "They tie!" Then he giggled when I told him he was right. He looked shocked until I showed him that the carton showed, "They always tie." If you are dealing with little ones, remember the games you loved as a kid. Dust them off. If you play games with them already, find new lessons to incorporate into the game play. If you don't have kids at home, pull out games, books, puzzles. One of my daughters and I always play card games when there's a storm going on and we lose power. There are lots of reasons to teach kids about the value of games and books. Use this time to rediscover the ones you loved as a kid.

Favorite quote

Do you have a book or story you love? Why? Do you have a favorite quote or passage? Write it down. Review it. Why do you love it? Hate it? Why are you impacted by it? Later in life I was introduced to Dune by Frank Herbert by someone very important to my life. A popular quote from the book: "Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me." I have that quote posted in my bedroom because there were days I couldn't move out of that room or couldn't go to sleep at night because of the worry and fear that was paralyzing me. I would read this quote over and over until I felt calm. Then I would list out all the things I feared. Then I would decide what was rational and what wasn't. What could I control? What was out of my control? The Serenity prayer would help, too: "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference." Sometimes, I had to have the courage to cut people out of my life who served pain and not help to me and my family. Sometimes I had habits that were not helpful. They may not have been harmful, but they weren't positively serving me either. What are you afraid of? What fears are overtaking you at this time? Are they real? Why do you think that? Do you have other resources available to you? Do you fear running out of something? What? Do you have access? What are other ways to getting items? Are you afraid of being alone--with yourself or with your thoughts? Can you call someone for support? Are you afraid to be alone with someone who is abusive or needy? Who are in your support system? Are you afraid to be alone with children? Look for activities to do that help you all grow as individuals. Are you afraid to be with someone who is medically in need? Who do you have for support? Do you have an online doctor/nurse you can call if there's an emergency? Do you have an emergency plan in place? Is this situation causing you to re-evaluate your fears and systems in place to handle those fears? What other books and quotes are helping you in times of uncertainty?

Simple meditation

In times of uncertainty, I am grateful for this simple prayer: Ho'oponopono https://www.laughteronlineuniversity.com/hooponopono-4-simple-steps/ I love you. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. You can easily turn this into a journal project: I love you: Who do you love? Why? What have they done for you? What do you do for them? I'm sorry: What do you regret doing or saying or not doing or not saying? What do you wish you could redo? How would you treat people or situations differently? Please forgive me: In several traditions and systems, you can seek making amends. Directly or indirectly. How can you make amends for what you listed above? Can you donate time, energy, skills to help others? Were you physically abusive to another? Can you make a direct apology? Can you volunteer services at a shelter to help others negatively impacted by domestic violence? Can you share compassion on other ways? Buy someone's groceries? Record stories? Drive people who can't drive themselves to appointments. Crochet/knit/sew blankets for newborns in NICU. Find people in need, like elderly or disabled or single mothers, who need help around the house and repairs. How can you be of service to others? Thank you: For what are you grateful? For whom in your life are you grateful? DO they know this? Why are you grateful for them? What do you take for granted? Share the love.

Reading

Don't have enough time to read? Now you do. Free books: http://read.gov/books/ Free books for kids: http://www.magickeys.com/books/ Storyline Online: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnBdzaRy-Ky9Vh54XJlFz1Q Choose something you have always wanted to read. Read something new. Listen to a book. Find a new podcast.

Learn new skills

So many posts this week show education resources. View museums virtually. Watch livestreamed concerts and lectures. Choose one, and do it. Here are 450 Ivy League courses you can take online right now for free: https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/here-are-380-ivy-league-courses-you-can-take-online-right-now-for-free-9b3ffcbd7b8c/?fbclid=IwAR0RicSwlSrn-g4tmn2hdaidRGeqq_DQGJimVIe--8qcexOqmGKhnDfaa0s Virtual Museum Tours: https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours Virtual tours and visits: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/03/9576127/free-virtual-tours-online 300 virtual museums: http://www.virtualfreesites.com/museums.museums.html Learn a new language: https://www.duolingo.com/ Drawing classes: https://www.udemy.com/topic/drawing/free/ More drawing classes: https://www.thoughtco.com/free-online-drawing-classes-1098200 Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/ Aquarium webcams: http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/exhibits/webcams What have you found? What did you try?

Beliefs

What do you believe? Truly, deeply believe? Is it your belief or is it based on something someone else told you? Parents? Clergy? Media? What are your limitations as a result of those beliefs? The first writing topic I give my students: If you could do anything (without limitations or restrictions of time, space, skills), what would you do? Travel to another place and time? Meet someone? Who? When? Where? Create a list of at least 10 things you would want to do without restrictions. Then choose one. What is currently holding you back? Write down all the ways to do it--whatever "it" is. Want to travel? What's keeping you from doing it? Money? There are ways to travel and stay on people's couches. Time? Do a day trip to someplace new? History buff? What's a historical place nearby you can visit? Love animals? Where can you go to visit new animals? Zoo? Nature preserve? Animal sanctuary? What resources are available to you? Is there a person you can visit or talk with who can help you with this skill? Why do you think you can't do this? Who told you you can't do it? A friend of mine was singing while cleaning her house for a party. I walked into the same room, and she stopped. I asked her why. She said she was told she couldn't sing. I asked for details. Turns out when she was in middle school and in choir, she was feeling under the weather. So, in choir, she mouthed words instead of singing since she knew her voice was off. The teacher saw she was mouthing and made her stand and sing in front of the class. When her voice cracked, the teacher mocked her in front of the class and told her to not sing another word. As a result, she didn't sing in public again. She let some bitch tell her she couldn't sing when she knew her voice wasn't in good condition. She let that teacher influence her joy in singing. I held that mirror up to her. She realized she let one person negatively impact her life. She let go of that negative belief and really listened to her voice as she sang. She wasn't making "a joyful noise." She has a beautiful voice. Since then, she has sung at many public events and to her daughter. You choose your limitations. What are you choosing? Why? What purpose does that limit serve you? Are you protecting yourself or others? What would you realize about yourself if you tried to do more, be more?