clutter

I am surrounded by clutter. Clutter is driving me nuts.
I think I have talked about this before--my inability to decide. it's obvious in my quest for a career. it's obvious at my apartment, too, if you walk in without warning--obvious in the piles of paperwork I can't seem to keep sorted out and filed away. obvious in the millions of charitable requests I get every year, which I have kept one of each filed away neatly in my file cabinet, just in case I ever have money to send some to each and every one of them. I am making myself nuts, and it needs to stop.
it's getting to the point where I get agitated when I'm at home. I look around at the piles of stuff (It's not a filthy pigsty, just very disorganized and cluttered.), and I just want to scream. however, I never seem to have time to take care of it at the time it makes me nuts.
I need to find a way to make eliminating things easier for me, a way to say, no, I don't need this, and I need to get rid of it. I have projects planned for this--but the projects are exhausting to me. Just going through a folder of charitable organization requests will drain all energy from me for that sort of endeavor. I HAVE to do this. I have to clean out folders and boxes and files. if it's an article I want to read, and mean to read, but haven't read a month or two later...I need to recycle it. if it's a magazine that I won't consult again, I need to recycle it. if it's a recipe I clipped but would never actually make--I need to recycle it. why is this so hard for me? my email inbox is full of newslettters I want to read, but probably never will. does anyone else have this problem? I don't have kids. I don't work more than 40 hrs most weeks. why can't I find the time to clear this out?
I am thinking about taking a course on reducing clutter through a local adult learning program--it's not for credit, so it's fairly inexpensive, and usually fun. I am also thinking about taking some feng shui and interior decorating courses through the same organization (Main Line School Night) to further research the possibility of a serious career in the area...
so I'm trying to progress. But feng shui and also common sense tell me it'll get easier to keep things clean and organized if I can clear out the clutter and keep it clean. like those houses in the magazines. haha.
let me know if you have any helpful hints. other than suck it up and throw out what you don't need. I KNOW that--I just can't seem to do that very easily. I don't want to end up like my Great Uncle Elwood, who had entire rooms of his house full to the ceiling with things like empty oil cans, because he wouldn't throw them out for fear he might be able to use them someday. do you think crazy runs in the family?? (and yes, I really do have a Great Uncle Elwood. my parents live in a renovated trailer, too. any other questions?)