I used to be deathly afraid of spiders. Now I kill them with ease. So what changed? Not my fear of spiders, as it turns out. No, what happened instead was that my desire to be rid of them finally overcame my fear.

Over time, the leading voice in my head changed. Before the voice that spoke loudest said, “I am so afraid of this spider that I will just work around it or pretend it isn’t there.” Now there is a much more assured and confident voice that says, “I want this spider the hell out of my shower.” And so, with the bravery of one going into battle, and two-dozen wads of Kleenex, I obliterate the thing.

I encourage you to view my feelings towards spiders as a metaphor for your feelings towards your mess. Ok, so the fear of it, the being overwhelmed by it, that may never go away. But hopefully you’ll eventually reach a point when your desire to be rid of your clutter overcomes your fear.