Spring is a popular time for decluttering. A big reason many older people resist is that after years or decades of acquiring stuff — some of which has emotional value — the task just seems daunting. According to Matt Paxton, one of the top downsizing experts in the country, his best advice is to take it one room at a time, one decision at a time. Make it manageable. In 30 days, he notes, your house won’t be perfect, but it will feel better: less heavy, less frustrating. You’ll spend less time managing stuff and more time actually living in the space. He says once you get moving, it gets easier since progress is contagious, while creating the confidence and momentum you need.

He recommends decluttering in this order.

Week 1: Bathrooms, entryways, and cars. Time commitment: 20 minutes a day. Stick to the time. If you do too much at the beginning, it may cause you to quit later. We start with these spots for a reason. The things here don’t usually tug at your emotions, so they’re perfect for getting quick wins. Start in the bathroom. Toss expired medications, old makeup, shampoos, body washes, and special skin creams you tried once and didn’t use again.

Then move to the entryway. Donate those shoes and jackets you haven’t worn in more than a year, even if they were expensive or don’t fit anymore. They pile up. Go through seasonal items like gloves and umbrellas and pare down to what you really need. Entryway closets often contain bags of stuff you’ve been meaning to donate. Now’s the time.

Then it’s time to tackle your car. This may not seem like decluttering, per se, but it’s an easy way to get a feeling of accomplishment. Sometimes you’ll find a lost coffee cup or some spare change.

Week 2: Kitchen and pantry. Time commitment: 30 minutes a day. Honor the time limit so you don’t get frustrated and quit. Kitchen clutter is sneaky — it builds over time. Too many mugs, too many spatulas, and that drawer of containers with no matching lids. It’s the silent frustration that rarely gets addressed, and cleaning this can make daily life easier. This week, look for duplicates. Got five spatulas? Keep one.

Let those “someday” gadgets go. You don’t need a grapefruit spoon if you eat one grapefruit a year. Tackle drawers and cabinets on weekdays. Save the pantry or big cabinets for a weekend. If your adult children host the holidays now — this is a tough one — it’s time to give away or donate some of the large, holiday-focused dish sets and glasses.

Week 3: Bedrooms, closets and personal spaces. Time commitment: don’t focus on time limits here. Do what feels good. If you are making progress and want to keep going, go for it. It can help to create rewards. Schedule a smoothie, dinner, or ice cream with friends after the process. It’s important to celebrate and share the stories you have from the work you accomplished.

Closets are especially tough. They’re full of versions of ourselves: jobs we once had, bodies we once lived in, familiar smells we miss, seasons that mattered. This is where the feelings show up. If you are sorting through the clothes of a deceased loved one, It’s OK to keep one sweater as a positive memory, but you can donate the rest. Your loss can be a big help to others in need. As for your clothes, be realistic about fit both in terms of physical size and your lifestyle. If it doesn’t fit, it’s truly OK to let it go.

Week 4: Living areas, papers and memory items. Time commitment: no more than one hour at a time for up to four times. It shouldn’t take more than four hours. Be diligent. This is the toughest task to save for last. But by now, you’ve built confi dence and that matters, because this is the emotional core of the house, which makes it more diffi cult. Start with the living room surfaces. Reduce décor (take pictures of what you get rid of if it has emotional value) so what is kept can be enjoyed. Then tackle paper: old manuals, outdated files, stacks of mail. Keep only what is absolutely necessary. You can scan or photograph most documents rather than store physical copies. Shred anything that has important identifi cation on it. When you get to photographs and keepsakes, slow down. This isn’t about clearing everything out. It’s about choosing intentionally. Paxton asks this question to every family he works with: What do you want your loved ones to inherit — boxes or stories? Most people don’t want to pass down piles of stuff. They want their family to know why something mattered. He recommends choosing a small number of truly meaningful items, your top five legacy-list items, then let the rest go.

If you have more time, deal with the attic, basement and garages. Time commitment: no more than two hours at a time. Take hour-long breaks in between sessions. This is a weekend task and may take longer than one day, but any progress is progress. Attics and basements are where we often need an additional person for heavy lifting. Refer to that legacy list from where you decluttered your living areas. You still have those five most important items that tell you family story. You’ll likely find that many of the items in your storage areas are no longer so emotional and are easier to let go of. And you can take lots of pictures of the items you discard and use those to share your stories with loved ones.

Here are five mistakes Paxton sees all the time:

• Holding on to things because you feel guilty, thinking that a deceased person would be mad if you got rid of them.

• Saving stuff “for someone else” who may never want it, i.e. your kids.

• Paying to store things you’re never going to use (storage units are often a big loss of money).

• Organizing clutter instead of just letting it go. Shuffling is not organizing. You’re just wasting time.

• Waiting around for motivation. You have to be the reason it starts.

— Quarles is a registered dietitian with the South Central Human Resource Agency Head Start.