These 10 items can remind you how to make moving into new retirement digs easier.

1. A clock. The ideal move requires at least three months' preparation. It's emotionally taxing to go through your treasured possessions, so make the sorting sessions short - a couple of hours or so - if at all possible.
2. A match. Ask, “What would I replace if my house burned down?” Then keep those things and get rid of what you wouldn't replace.
3. Last year's calendar. If you haven't used clothes or gadgets in a year, you probably can do without them forever.
4. Three large bins: keep, trash, and sell or donate. Consider an estate sale. Identify local charities that pick up stuff, or put usable things out in your yard and list them on Craigslist's free section. Empty the trash bin often - disposing of recyclables appropriately and renting a dumpster or dumpster bag for large loads.
5. A computer thumb drive. Hire a service (or a teenager) to scan and digitize documents and photos; store essential originals offsite. You're retiring, right? You'll have plenty of time later to sort and label photos.
6. A photo album. Have collections of figurines, teddy bears, or souvenirs? Mary Hunt, author of Live Your Life for Half the Price (DPL Press, 2005), says to take pictures of them. “Kids love to look through photo albums in ways they might not appreciate staring into a closet or attic,” Hunt says - and you're free to sell or donate the objects themselves (which you won't ever have to dust or insure again.)
7. Your garage door remote. You probably won't have a garage, so mentally write off almost everything in it before you courageously tackle disposing of its contents.
8. Graph paper. Avoid disaster by measuring the furniture you want to move and making paper shapes to scale, to move around and place on a diagram of your new space.
9. A glass of water. It sparkles, it's essential to life. Which of your possessions bring pure joy? Keep these essentials. Jenison Klinger, a move manager with About Seniors, made one of her clients feel at home by keeping a basket of junk mail to return to his desk. “He was happy,” Klinger says.
10. A white flag. Sometimes it's time to surrender and hire someone to take over. Managers like Klinger and others available through the National Association of Senior Move Managers expertly help retirees sort their possessions, dispose of some, and then move and unpack the rest in their new retirement home. Don't use the match! If you're overwhelmed, get some experienced help.