Cleaning out is a process. First, ID the item to be donated, then put it in a closet or another room–out of sight, out of mind. Wait a couple of weeks, then revisit. Maybe deciding, ‘nah, I’ll keep it’ or ‘okay’, and move to to a box. Wait awhile and if nothing, move it, boxed, to the garage.
I recently did this with my books. Giving away books is traumatic! But admittedly my books were, in some places, three deep on the shelves. It was time.
So first I went through all the shelves, out came reference books, writing books, children’s books, history books, spy books, non-fiction, graphic novels, fantasy books, science fiction books. All piled in the corner of my study.