Defeating "overwhelmed"

Often times I find people are overwhelmed by the amount of items they need to go through in a space.  The room is frequently viewed as a whole entity, the individual boxes, piles and trinkets melding into one giant mountain that must to be scaled.  I began working in a room today that was almost impossible to turn around in because of the clutter in it.  My client felt a bit discouraged by the sheer volume and the time it would likely take to get the room back in order. 

I reminded her that when tackling a space like this you need to see the individual pieces, not all the clutter at once.  Instead of thinking, “I need to get this entire room sorted,” think, “I need to get that box sorted.”  Pick a single area, pile or container to start in and  focus there.  Your goal should be to accomplish that one task.  When you break down a space into little goals it will be easier to mentally conquer.