How downsize while living in a house? (San José)

We are in the final stages of moving to CR. We are shipping minimal furniture and other goods to CR and are selling most other furniture. The question we have is: how do we sell furniture, appliances, etc, while still living in our home up until the moving date?

We are currently getting quotes to ship what we want there, and we just had a "moving sale" to rid ourselves of years of "clutter". We want to make the final move after the beginning of the year - no firm schedule as we are retiring and already own a place in CR. The problem we are facing is that as we ship or sell furniture, televisions, appliances, printers, etc, it will be difficult to remain in our home with no where to sit, no table to eat on, no TV or stereo, etc. We will need to sell many of our essential items as the final date approaches.

One possibility is to move into an apartment or extended stay hotel for some period before the final moving date.

How have others handled this dilemna?