Chris, there is a great video of Rip telling people that they don't have to drop the weights when doing power cleans. You just catch it back on your thighs and then lower the bar as you do when dead lifting. I wish he would have said that in the book as I too fretted about dropping the weights. Elsewhere on the forum there is a suggestion for cutting out a plywood spacer the size of the 45 pounders that you can put on the bar for warm ups and below 135 which works great for dead lifts as well as power cleans. I used a hole saw, jig saw and a piece of 1/2 inch plywood and made a pair in about a half hour. Today is only my 3rd SS work out but I am really glad I was able to do the Power Cleans. I am not doing much weight as I am a weakling but it is an awesome exercise. I too work out at home and hope to use video for checking form.
Keep at it, I wish I would have been on SS when I was 22.