Somebody talk me down...

There has been much talk in my circles about decluttering and simplifying lately. Anyone who has been reading me for awhile knows I am slowly but surely trying to live simply, and have been decluttering, sometimes radically, for years.

Well, about half a year ago, in preparation for what we thought was going to be an imminent move, I packed up a bunch of boxes and totes and moved them into a friend's basement. It wasn't a ton of stuff and it all fit (although precariously) in the van with the five kids. I even brought 2 bins and a box back into our home in October, containing material and costumes/dress-ups.

Meanwhile, I continued to declutter and hit a point where I didn't feel *done* but it was liveable, and there was peace in most of our days at least as far as STUFF was conerned.

Fast forward to last night. I meet up with the friend to take our boxes back, since it isn't fair to her to store them when we are not going anywhere right now. They all fit in my husbands sedan sized car. Not much, I think, I can deal with this.

OH MY WORD.

I feel *completely overwhelemed* and am having a nasty anxiety attack, all because I am opening these boxes and trying to see how these things can fit back into our life. They are all good things! Stuffed animals that my kids have missed and have been playing with all morning. A box of books from Sonlight's Core 4. Handbells. Paint. Board games. Admittedly one box of toddler toys I could do with out - who needs 5 plastic trucks and two play phones? (What kills me in that case is that they were all gifts from my parents, who don't have the money to be throwing away on gifts. So if I get rid of them, I *really* feel like I've thrown their money in the garbage. I get rid of enough stuff they give me, I have to draw the line somewhere.)

I look at these things and I don't want to get rid of them. Me! I'm ashamed of myself. Then I start to get grumbly and mad at my situation. If we only had a room downstairs there would be wall space for shelves! If only we had moved when we had a chance! If only...if only...if only...

One car's worth of stuff has thrown my life into a tailspin.

Pray for me as I take a deeeep breath, and dive in, and get all this under control.