Lexie,
If it is seeming overwhelming right now, it sounds like you have some room down the basement. Try getting some containers, try labeling it, like paperwork stuff, clothes, other sh!t, I meant stuff, get rid of them by putting it down the bsmt for when your son comes to visit. Then after visit, your house will still look nice and clean, and you might be motivated to actually go thru the bins of stuff.
I was always good at the "last moment" things. But no one every really knew of all the clutter that I had so neatly stacked in my "bins".
I know that it might sound like I just bought a house, didn't take my furniture or whatever, but I did go back to my house before it was sold and took like 25 years of clothing and just junk.
I keep putting off things, because I don't want the memories, but thank you so much for this thread. I did put it on my list for this week to start going through all of this stuff.