After you have everything packed and before you move out of your home, you will need to make sure that everything is thoroughly cleaned of course. In fact, in some States there is a legal requirement as to how you clean the house prior to moving out.
Cleaning the house includes the walls, the carpets, the cabinets, the bathrooms, the basement etc. Often people call a professional cleaning service to do the work…and if that is your choice then make sure everything is planned in advance and timed appropriately. Often the weekend that you move has to be orchestrated very carefully and you will want the cleaners in exactly when you need them to do the job.
If you decide to also do all of the cleaning yourself, keep in mind that this will obviously add time to your move. Make sure that you didn’t pack all of the cleaning materials you will need including soaps, rags, wood furniture polish, glass cleaner, a vacuum with all of the attachments, a mop or other tool for cleaning the floors, a broom and dust pan, large trash bags, spray cleaners and a carpet shampooer if you plan to do that yourself as well.
Making Cleaning Easier
To make the job easier get yourself prepared mentally and physically prior to starting. Then:
- Remove all of your personal property of course and then vacuum or sweep all of the floors.
- Clean all of the kitchen appliances, inside the oven, clean out the refrigerator and icebox and wipe down all of the countertops. Get rid of the garbage that’ll get in your way of cleaning the messier and dirtier areas.
- Next you might consider moving to the bathrooms. These are often the toughest jobs and it is probably best to get them over with first. After the bathrooms are completed you might sweep, vacuum and dust all of the rooms in the house. The process of moving kicks up and leaves behind a lot of dust and this might take some time!
- In the bathroom, pay special attention to how well you clean the toilets. Clean it well with the required solutions and wipe the outer surfaces. Clean the tub and the fixtures like faucets and shower heads. Wipe down the mirror and the lighting fixtures. Sweep and mop the bathroom floor. Get the broken blinds fixed
- Don’t forget that you will need to clean all of the windows…..and this is no easy task! When using spray, make sure you kept and didn’t pack one window cleaner and one all-purpose cleaner. With the window cleaner you can clean windows and glass to ensure that they’ll shine. With the all-purpose cleaner you can scrub everything else.
Also, throw away all of the scraps, dust, used paper towels, grime, food, and everything else you need to get rid of.
Don’t forget the garage. Make sure that you have removed all personal belongings, that all of the trash has been picked up, that the floors are swept and/or mopped and that all of the flammable or toxic items have been properly discarded. If there are extra items pertaining to the house stored in the garage, things like pain, roofing material, tile, flooring etc., then stack those items neatly in a corner.
Finally, at the end of the big clean, examine everything and ask yourself if it is in the condition you would want a house in when moving in. You should try to make sure the new owners/renters will be very happy with the condition of the home. It is always a very good idea to also take pictures of every room of the house after your done so you have visual proof of the state the house was left in.