you might call a consignment store, or an estate auction, and let them do the heavy lifting ,,, getting rid of things you don't want or need. are you selling the house, or moving into it ? leave it 'furnished'.

as for work references, is there a co-worker you can use instead of the boss ? you can explain in the interview that there was friction between you and the boss, and you prefer they hear how you were perceived by co-workers.

i find that multi-tasking is greatly over rated. it's better to do one thing at a time, and focus , than to do too many things and loose focus.

it's hard enough to loose a mother, even one you didn't like, or who didn't like you.... but to clean up after them is even harder.
Gus