I do it in sections, and sometimes a section can take me days because I'm a huge procrastinator, but the key is to do it so you can keep going and not give up. Sometimes just emotionally dealing with the change takes me a few days.

Also, it sounds like you're struggling with decluttering rather than cleaning per se. I think cleaning and decluttering are 2 different businesses. I need to declutter before I clean but decluttering means letting go of stuff, so there's a pang of loss mixed in with the satisfaction of actually seeing some surfaces and reclaiming my space when I do it. Lol. Cleaning just feels good and it has a sense of urgency from seeing the nasty stuff left behind that decluttering almost never has (but then again, I have hoarder tendencies, so).

It sounds like you're starting out already wanting space. If I may make a suggestion, instead of making a pile of things to discard, pick a few items and actually discard them. Take them to an outside garbage so it's out of your space. If there's piles for give/sell/donate/find-space-for-these-in-kitchen, put them in bags by category so their space is confined. For me, re-drawing boundaries in my space and redefining how my things belong in these boundaries helps a lot with reorganizing them.