Do you have any advice on how to go about packing for a big move?

I’m contemplating a major move, but I’m having a lot of trouble thinking about the process.

I have a lot of stuff to get rid of, well mixed with stuff I intend to keep. This is not a day or two of feverish packing of a one-bedroom apartment; it’s going to take months. I can’t just pack up the things I mean to keep because most of those are the things I’ll need or want day by day for however long it takes.

Steeling myself to unload the expendables isn’t even the hard part. It’s what do I do with them in the meantime? I have no empty square in the 16-square puzzle to move them into.

Also I’m not yet hardened enough or desperate enough to get rid of the tough calls, like some of my late husband’s belongings that I have no use for, and things I don’t use often but I really want when I want them. Gathering and packing up things for donation is slow and tedious. I do not want to be paralyzed by the notion that I have to do the right thing with everything. But I find myself mostly stuck anyway.

And I’m pretty much on my own for this.

What’s been your experience? Do you have any guidance to recommend?

Thank you.