If you walked into my apartment right now, you would think I was a hoarder. For the last week and a half, I have had three big suitcases sitting on the floor of my apartment and even bigger piles of stuff laying inside them and around them. The piles keep growing as I find things I will “need”while I am in Quito.

Now, if I were an incredibly wealthy woman who could pay the exorbitant airline extra baggage fees, this would not be an issue. But it is and something has to be done because I am having people over on Saturday and right now, there is no space for them to sit and socialize. This morning, I sat down in the middle of the stuff with plans to remove things from the piles. This didn’t happen. In fact, as I sat among the stuff, I thought of even MORE things that I have not yet added.

So now I wonder if this issue is bigger than my stuff. Am I holding onto all of it in the hopes that I will hold onto my life here in the US?

I have decided that this is way too deep a thought to consider while I’m sitting in a pile of socks, bathing suits, markers, math books, duvet covers, and more. So I am not leaving my apartment until this is under control. I can psychoanalyze myself later.

I just have to let some of it go….much easier said than done!