I just read "Decluttering at the Speed of Life" and I really thought her matter of fact voice/tone in the book was nice! I definitely took a few good things from the book.
BTW it's free to borrow/read right now on kindle if you have prime. https://www.amazon.com/Decluttering-Speed-Life-Winning-Never-Ending-ebook/dp/B072TMNCBH/ref=sr\_1\_1?keywords=decluttering+at+the+speed+of+life&qid=1660268552&sprefix=DECLUT%2Caps%2C116&sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.com/Decluttering-Speed-Life-Winning-Never-Ending-ebook/dp/B072TMNCBH
I've started her blog from the beginning, forward. She really sounds like she might have ADHD, to me. She has got a handle on her house and has made a lot of progress.
Start with trash, donate things that are still good but are easy to part with.
If it's broken, torn, worn, doesn't work, throw it away. How long have you had it waiting for you to mend?
How long have you had perfectly good things that you have never used? Donate them.
Do you have things that have a home but aren't where they belong? Put them away, if there is not room, look for trash and easy to let go of things to make room.
For things that have no home, where is the first place you would look for it? If you needed it, would it even occur to you that you had one? If not, donate it.
The next time you go through your things some of the things you kept before will be easier to let go of.
This is Dana White's method https://www.amazon.com/Decluttering-Speed-Life-Winning-Never-Ending-ebook/dp/B072TMNCBH/
Declutter first.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072TMNCBH/
If you can afford it, have someone come in to do your dishes, and laundry, and take your trash out, that you have bagged up, so you can concentrate on thinning out your things.
If you can just sit there and pick trash out of the places around you, get a box for donating things that are still good, but that you don't need, and a big black trash bag.
Don't pull everything out into big piles or empty entire closets. You will get tired and have to stop. Then the big mess will make you feel worse.
At least if you are only picking trash and donations out of places, when you have to stop, it won't be any worse.
When it is cleared out enough, have a room deep cleaned.
Once you have thinned out your things and had rooms deep cleaned, then think about organizing. A professional organizer will probably get you to get rid of a lot more stuff, btw.
Pretty much have to do it yourself unless you want them to take it all out, google for hoarding clean up if that's what you want.
If you don't want that, https://www.amazon.com/Decluttering-Speed-Life-Winning-Never-Ending-ebook/dp/B072TMNCBH/
She tells you to start with the easy stuff. She has videos and a blog.
YES, you can make progress. I personally like Dana K White's Decluttering at the Speed of Life along with How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind. She also has a podcast and blog called A Slob Comes Clean.
Dana's method is slightly different from everyone else I've read because it allows you to stop whenever you need to without leaving a bigger mess. You don't pull everything out to declutter/organize. There is only progress if you trust her steps - even if they seem counterintuitive.
Easy stuff first all the way! If you like that approach, you might like this book because it's what the author recommends: https://www.amazon.com/Decluttering-Speed-Life-Winning-Never-Ending-ebook/dp/B072TMNCBH/ref=sr_1_1