How thrilled am I that I could get you excited for your own harvest. This will be your first, won't it? Nothing like the first, so treat it with the joyful respect it deserves and make sure you have lots of time to enjoy.
I don't trim off anything other than necrotic leaves. I wash everything else, since I save the trim for future hash making or butter making or..... You get the picture. Anyway, I want everything washed, so it all stays on. I trim after the wash. I always plan to simply take the bigger fans off and let it hang before I get the rest, but I love trimming so much that I always end up standing there and getting them all down to where I want them.
PeeJay has me trimming in a completely different mode than I used to. I was much more casual about it the first few times through. I wonder sometimes if he fully appreciates how much he affects us with his tendency towards perfection. Between him and Graytail I can't believe I'm not so intimidated that I crawl under a rock somewhere. LOL!
I try to leave anything with decent sugar on. Doc Bud has mentioned more than once that he believes the trichomes on the sugar leaves may be stronger than those on the buds. The little sugar leaves look so beautiful when they dry curled protectively around the buds. I just love that look. These two plants didn't have many of those leaves and I got a bit carried away this morning. I could blame that on PeeJay, couldn't I? *giggle*
Doc has been insistent lately that there's no reason for anything other than room-temperature water for the wash. I set these up before going to bed last night and I'm so thankful for this modification you wouldn't believe it. Hahaha! The first one is the one with baking powder and lemon - I guess at my amounts, but I know from experience with 5 gallon buckets what the consistency of the wash water should be.
You have the rest of it down. Doc recommends they not go directly into darkness. His contention is that photosynthesis continues for a time following harvest, so let that process continue by keeping some type of light available for at least the day of harvest. It certainly doesn't hurt to follow that directive, and if he's right you help the dry and cure along by doing so.
I started weighing mine every morning. When they stop changing I jar them up. In my hall that usually takes 3-4 days.
When are you thinking on your harvest? I'll set an alert on my calander so I don't miss it. I keep missing everyone's harvests and that simply can't continue.
Of all the stuff I grow, wash, jar, etc. Of all that what do I PERSONALLY smoke? Sugar leaf trim about 90% of the time.
I can smoke any bud I like...like these:
But I don't other than a snap in the Mobius for my own terpene tests. No, I trim the washed sugar leaves off those buds and roll joints. It's the best part of the harvest, IMO. The Filet Mignon.
People who are first introduced to my produce do so via hits of a sugar leaf joint. It's my calling card, my advertising...a statement of passion and evidence of a pursuit of excellence.
People are free to have the flowers, but I save the sugar leaf for my loved ones and me.
Not too long, I don't think.
party for harvest!!! 
Now the trick becomes getting that small volume of liquid evenly distributed throughout the pot. I'm shooting for even and no runoff. I find that easiest to control by using the little plastic med dosing cups Dale bought years ago for some hobby use. They've come in real handy here. You've seen me use them to soak seeds? Yeah, those. They make sweet little ladles for water slowly applied to the surface. 
...May the humor of the day fill the cockles of your heart!
well I enjoyed that!
