The move-out begins

It's been a while, but that's how the big home events go. So far, everything that's been happening has been the sort of thing that pictures don't help much with, but here's where we are right now:

1. We have a hard deadline for the move-out: July 13, they pack, July 14, they load, and then they drive away. So, everything else has to happen before the 13th. 
2. The items currently in the house have six different destinations, including (1) coming back to LA with me; (2) staying in the house; (3) getting moved to Sasha's place in Urbana; (4) getting donated to Habitat/Goodwill; (5) one item -- it is a piano, however -- is going to Larissa's house in Savoy; (6) going to LA in the moving truck
3. I have been focusing on small, achievable victories -- getting all of category #3 done. It took three days: Sasha's dresser and desk had to be disassembled before they could be shoved into the Jetta -- only good for Starbucks lattes and your Obama lawn signs, as my brother once noted -- and then a third trip today for the desk chair. Basically one day per item of furniture.
4. Huge progress on #4 today: Habitat will do free pickups of large items, but there are some exceptions: they won't take mattresses, and they won't take items like couches with huge tears in them (I'm looking at you, loveseat!) So you can donate the bed and they'll get it for free, but you can't donate the mattress. As is turns out, it was a moot point, because Habitat can't do pickup until after the move out. But... they did recommend someone who could, for a reasonable fee, pick it up sooner, and who -- when I called to check -- can also get anything they won't take and dispose of it. This means that Monday a lot of the house will change in character: no giant desk that's been with us since grad school, no big bed in the primary bedroom, no Ikea wardrobe, no love seat. The back room will start to become perilously close to empty, and Sasha's room is already getting there.
5. The first four hefty bags of material going to Goodwill (after the last I dunno 50 hefty bags -- we did a lot before leaving for UCLA last fall!) went out today. I also started bubble wrapping the art, and getting things ready for the next Goodwill trip. Regarding bubble wrapping, I'm a little unsure: on the last move, of our offices, the only items that got broken were the ones we packed ourselves. So shouldn't I leave the packing to the pros (ha ha, who am I kidding, to the 19 year old dudes who just graduated from Paxton-Loda-Buckley High, a local, and quite rural, high school)? The problem is that I can't not do it. It has to be organized!
6. We should have clear news by this weekend about the piano (that was #5 for those who are keeping count), but in theory, someone will come and get it soon.

I will start posting pictures of strangely empty rooms shortly. Stay tuned, ancient blogosphere.