This has been a journey of self discovery for me. Two thing have really come home to me.
The first is that in my mind, I am very critical of OH refusal to dispose of things. For example, a man who has done no DiY for 20 years, owns 3 tool boxes, full of rubbishy tools. But I now realise I am the same. I only use foundation and blusher, but I have 5 make-up bags. 3 of them empty and never used.
So I agree with starting with the large numbers, because 7 bits of old make up, 3 bags, 4 unworn belts, 3 pairs of knickers that have seen better days, old pens, stuff from the kitchen drawer, bits of China that never get used, the numbers mount up quite easy.
It is easy to chuck away little things first, even though you don't think they will make much of an impact. This brings me to my second bit of self discovery.
once you start, it gets easier. If 12 things are laying around in a room, another 3 useless bits of tat don't make any difference. However, once those 12 things are cleared away, the other 3 stick out like a sore thumb.
I now find that when I go into a room, open a cupboard or look in a drawer, I consciously look for things that are displeasing. Sometimes they just need putting away, sometimes need going into my 'not sure' box'. I feel much calmer now that I can see some progress for my efforts