When the funeral is past, the estate settled, and the mourners gone home to their families, there's one daunting task that remains: dealing with your loved one's things. Once a source of clutter and frustration, knick-knacks, unwashed laundry, and other left-behind things take on a magical quality in the wake of death. Packing them up seems like an unbearable expression of finality, but at the same time, you can't keep living amidst reminders of what you've lost.

While there's no easy way to get through it, there are strategies that can make the overwhelming prospect of decluttering after a loved one's death feel a little more doable. If you're facing this task yourself, here's where to start.

Don't dive straight into bedroom closets and boxes of mementos. Starting with non-sentimental items lets you work up to the bigger stuff and build confidence for the task ahead.

The best place to start is with clutter and things you no longer need, such as:

The hardest part of getting rid of things is the fear that we might regret it later or that, without stuff to remind us, we'll forget our loved one entirely. To stop this fear from taking over, go through each room and pick out the items that stand out to you most. These are the items that immediately evoke your loved one's presence and that you can't imagine living without. With your most cherished items set aside, you're ready to get to work.

This article was written by John Moreland of Elderimpact.org