mild paranoia

Dealing with the bedbug situation has been--trying. I've taken every single thing made of fabric other than the mattress and the couch out of the apartment and moved it to a secure quarantine location. I bought a few things and have been storing them in the regirigerator to keep them completely safe from infestation (although I've slept fo the couch for two weeks with no problem, so I think they are confined to the upstairs area). I've had two visits from the exterminator, which has required two boarding visits to the vet for the cats. I've come to accept the fact that for the next several months I will be extra sensitive to itches and half-believe that there are bugs crawling on me because there were at one point (Wikipedia describes a major side effect of bedbugs as mild paranoia, and they aren't kidding!). And I've begin the lengthy process of laundering everything I own. This just... sucks. I know I've got a lot of clothing, but I wear it slowly and thus wash it slowly. Having to do it all at once has really brought home the cost of the process--it would be hundreds of dollars on laundry alone, without even thinking of the dry cleaning. I'm hoping to negotiate a big bulk discount at the dry-cleaners, because I've got literally more than a hundred pieces that need to go, and I can't afford to pay $7 or $9 a pop. I can't even imagine how people who live in houses they've been in for years manage this, because my apartment is relatively spare in terms of stuff, and this is going to take forever and cost a fortune. It does give me an idea for a company though--I honestly can't estimate how much it would be worth for me to turn the entire process over the professionals who would remove and clean everything, spray and fumigate while I went and lived in a hotel or on someone's couch. Probably thousands.