uncluttering one day and one thing at a time

I think it can sometimes help if you look at as kalloway has in her earlier post - not as an overwhelming whole but as just a few papers at a time. A few papers scanned or relegated to a no longer needed status is less traumatic than contemplating the whole lot. It also becomes manageable in terms of time and energy. You won't see a change overnight, but give yourself a few weeks of doing a little at a time and things will begin to be noticeable. Speaking personally, I've also tended to look at it as 'if I actually needed this would I even be able to find it or remember I had it?' which has helped me get rid of a bunch of stuff.