Some tips:
1. Find four or friends who also need help doing something around the house. Designate one Saturday to each friend (a month or in a month) and go over to each other’s houses to clean/clear and declutter. It is a lot easier that way. You have friends who say, “What? What do you need this for?” or “Jude, have you ever really worn this?” and it works.
2. Make lists (as someone suggested.) I go through each room with a clipboard and write down everything that needs to be done. I then go to the computer type up the lists with “check boxes” room by room. Then, I make it a game. I get a timer and I give myself
five minutes or ten minutes for each task in each room and I check them off.
3. Get a camera and take photos of the mess. That will always motivate you and you will also be able to “see clearly” what you cannot see with your eyes at times and get motivated.
4. To just get started do not sort repeat do not sort. In other words, if you have a pile of bills that have been sitting on your desk, do not sort or you will get too discouraged and get tied up in looking through each envelope and losing steam. Put all the bills into a box or bag and mark it to sort through on a different day. Just start to put things up. One thing someone told me once was, “Everything has a place in the house, if it does not, then it should be tossed.” So, put every thing where it belongs, one item at a time. If you have a two story house (as I do) I just put all the items at the bottom of the stairs in a laundry basket or a box or basket. After I am done with one floor, I carry the basket upstairs, clean upstairs and then and only then I put the items away that belong upstairs.
5. When you are done with the house, put small signs around to remind you, “Put it away…and save a day.”
6. Use a reward system. Pick something you like to do, something you want and decide, “When I finish x task, I am going to reward myself with x .”
Hope some of these are of use.