I have dealt with this issue at 2 levels - me, and then more intense situations externally.
1. Myself - not too bad, but I showed a tendency to keep stuff around 'until I could just get to it' - mostly things that needed repair. My wife (the exec in charge of the big decisions) finally just started tossing things. I will tell you this - if you can clear ONE SPACE you may find (I hope) a bump in energy and a feeling of lightness...
Recommended read : 'Lighten Up' by Michelle Passoff. A good easy read, with inspiration.
2. Others - we've been to hell with a neighbor who was so bad we ended up selling our new, custom built home at a loss in order to get away from him. My wife went back to that town recently to visit our old friends on the street, and came back saying "He's worse than ever". It's literally a continuous trash pile. No matter what the locals throw out, he will haul it to his place.
Another way I got hit was from a family member who is VERY intelligent, highly accomplished in her career, but a crazy bad hoarder - we're talking 3 full shipping containers, a house, a garage... and God knows what else now, 6 or 7 years later. It all came out with the passing of a parent. Somehow it unleashed dark forces that I can only guess at. Her husband left, and she became very aggressive and cunning.... dishing out a lot of damage, carefully planned and executed. I've blocked her and hope to keep out of her view permanently. (it helps that I'm on the other side of the world).
Your case is kind of a standout because you are willing to entertain the possibility of change. Hoarders are notoriously difficult to approach about their issue, and the professionals I have talked to have said that success in intervening with them is rare. (Our neighbor from the past would be visited by local police, inspectors and dump trucks, and be VERY upset as they cleared at least his front yard.... with police warning him to keep to one side... once the trucks left he would immediately begin 're-stocking').
Good luck in your journey with this. I can tell you that in my journey towards mininalism, life is so much better. It took me about a year to realize I would NEVER get around to selling video gear that probably cost me $100,000 - $150,000. I eventually hauled it to our local college's film & video education department, and the look on their faces, when I told them to unload my truck and take it all was probably worth it just by itself. I'm now renovating the utility room it was installed in - shelves are down and given away... and I don't miss the gear at all. Eyes forward to an uncluttered future.
I hope you keep finding the courage to move to the next step. The journey is hard but entirely worth it. And in the spirt of generosity, I do try to offer sympathy to people that are really bad with hoarding.... even though in different ways the few whose paths I have crossed, have put me through some hellish experiences.
