Anxious or Proactive?

I lived in a Mitchell lama coop that my mom purchased a good number of years ago. When it went private I sold it, invested much of it and had the idea to move to a more serene area, and I did. I also had the not so brilliant idea of taking on a mortgage at the age of 50. After the fact I find that it was not such a brilliant idea. Naturally the anxiety sets in and one starts to think of worst case scenarios. However, I did have some foresight and made sure I put money into savings regularly. Is that enough? Well, no, so what do I do? My one major “anxiety” is if I can’t afford to take care of my furry baby, my Maltese, Lizzie who is my Emotional Support Animal, but more than that is my baby. What is one to do?

There are few things I can do. One thing I have to do this week is sit down and ask myself in terms of subscriptions and all that if each of those is truly a necessity, For tv subscriptions rather than having a number of subscriptions to Hallmark etc..I can cancel all of those and simply have Youtube Premium and Prime or Youtube Premiyum and PBS Passport. In terms of things like Starbucks and such, don’t need it. I can make coffee at home, add creamer, add half and half and whip cream, cinnamon. I can create my own fancy coffee. If I want ice coffee, well make it the night before put it in a tumbler and in the fridge it goes. Same with tea. Cleaning supplies can get expensive, but apple cider vinegar or bleach with water can clean quite well. Anti bacterial hand wipes are another thing I can make at home. I can buy reusable face towels, but those in half, buy antibacterial hand sanitizer, mix some with water in a 4 oz pump bottle. When I go out or at home I can spray the half of the biodegradable reusable face towel and I have a wipe. I can also mix water with some alcohol and do the same. Hand cream can get expensive, but I can buy coconut oil and it works beautifully. What about food etc…? Buying in bulk if you can find storage space in your home is often actually cheaper in the long run. Industrial size toilet paper in bulk, sardines in bulk, things that won’t spoil right away if I can store them is a better option, more economical. I also have some tops that I hardly ever wore that don’t fit me now, so I can take those, cut them up and make cleaning rags that can be washed. Laundry can be expensive, so what I do is steam my clothes with a home steamer and steamer bag as soon as I get home, refresh them and then what I can wash by hand every few days I do.

I can also talk to agencies and organizations to see what help I can get for my mortgage so I don’t fall behind, or if I am eligible for affordable housing or how to tap the equity in my home if that is the best option. I have already put in applications for more affordable housing options and if the best option is to sell my current home and move, then that is what I will do. There are options, and I just have to be open to them.

What about Lizzie, my baby, my furry baby? Omega three is recommended as she has joint issues, as small dogs often might have. Supplements are not cheap, so what can one do? Three times a week I can feed her cooked fish in water, making sure to take out any bones. What about the wipes? Again I can use the towels as I mentioned previously with the babyorganics antibacterial sanitizer. As for shampoo, paraben and sulfate free baby shampoo can be used in small amount once a week and coconut oil applied four hours prior to ensure the skin doesn’t dry out. I can also make shampoo with oatmeal ground into a fine powder, coconut oil human grade only, very small amount of essential oils that dogs can tolerate, baking soda, apple cider vinegar, natural aloe vera, a drop of organic dog shampoo or body wash for newborns paraben and sulfate free, combining them all until they are a consistency similar to shampoos on the market. I can make enough to put in a 16 oz plastic bottle, amazon has them. One thing that I was told for dogs and humans, is every few washes, use a different shampoo or body wash for dogs or that you make for them, so you get rid of any build up from the other shampoo.

Simply getting myself into a frenzy does me no good, but being proactive does. It empowers me and helps to see solutions, and implement solutions. Amen.