The furniture you are not taking is the part of a move that gets left until last, and it is the part that costs people their deposit.
Here is the order that actually works.
Four weeks out: decide, do not sort
Walk the apartment and mark three categories. Taking, selling or donating, and getting rid of.
Do not start sorting yet. Deciding is fast. Sorting is slow, and doing them together is how people lose a weekend.
Three weeks out: list what has value
Furniture in good condition moves quickly on a local Buy Nothing group, Nextdoor or Facebook Marketplace, often within a day. Charities that accept furniture will sometimes collect good items at no charge.
In a complex with a lot of student and professional turnover, timing your listing around the start and end of the school year works in your favor.
Two weeks out: book whatever you are booking
If you are paying someone to clear the rest, book it now for a date before your final walkthrough, not after.
This is the single most common mistake. People book the clearance for moving day, the movers run late, and the furniture is still in the unit when the manager inspects.
What your complex will and will not take
Many Irvine apartment communities handle bulky items through the property manager rather than the city, and the rules vary by complex. Check with your office rather than assuming, because putting a mattress next to the dumpster is a charge on your account in most communities.
The items that need their own plan
Mattresses. Bulky, awkward and covered by California’s recycling program. Not something to leave beside a dumpster.
Televisions and computers. California classifies many electronic devices as universal waste, handled under separate state rules rather than with ordinary trash.
Anything that was there when you arrived. Check your inventory. Removing a fixture the landlord owns is a deduction, not a favor.
Moving day: nothing left to decide
By this point everything is either going with you, already collected, or booked for collection. The apartment should be empty of decisions.
If you are on a deadline
Send photos, tell us the floor and whether there is an elevator, and we will tell you quickly when we can fit it in.
Junk removal in Irvine, prices and what is included. See also moving cleanouts and furniture removal.