I was helping my client go through the piles of stuff in her garage. We came across five boxes of photos. She groaned. She wanted to just leave them be. She said she didn't ever look at them, but she didn't want to throw them away.
I said that if we didn't go through the photos, there would always be an uncomfortable part of her that knows they're sitting there unresolved. I told her that I knew she was feeling overwhelmed, and that's what was influencing her. But I said if we went through the photos one at a time, in a casual way, it would be easier for her. I unfolded two travel chairs and invited her to take a seat.
She sat down. I handed her a stack of pictures. She was okay once she started. Her discriminating skills kicked right in. She picked out the photos she liked, and tossed the ones she didn't care for. There were a lot of duplicate pictures. There were blurry shots. She found a bunch of pictures of other people's babies. She said "These babies - I don't even know who they are." All of these went in the trash.
When she finished the first box of photos, we went back to clutter busting other things in the garage. I wanted her to have a break so she didn't get overwhelmed again. After a half-hour or so we came back to the next photo box. She said it was hard to go through the photos, but she was glad she was finally taking care of them. She said she wanted to take her absolute favorites and put them in a photo book where it would be easier to enjoy them.