When you move into a new place you definitely want to get a fresh start, and finishing a move-in cleaning checklist can help you do that. Creating a checklist for move-in cleaning keeps you on track so you don’t forget any of the important tasks that make your new house a home.
You never really know what the old tenants did with the house or how good of a job they did of cleaning everything out. Having a move-in checklist for a new home ensures that any messes the previous tenants left will be cleaned and the space’s energy will be cleared.
To help you have the best move in experience possible, we have asked our experts to help us create this professional move-in cleaning checklist. This is not just a standard move-in cleaning checklist, this is the move-in checklist our professional cleaners use each time they do a move in cleaning.
Clean The Closets
Closets are for things that you will not be using all the time, so you want to have a clean start to put your things into storage. That way, you won’t have to worry about emptying your closet and cleaning it down the road because you will know you cleaned it during your move-in.
Get all of the dust and cobwebs out of the closet right away, because you won’t have such easy access to the closets in the future. This also protects the things you want to store in the closet so that you don’t pull your winter coat on the first day of winter to find it covered in dust and unwearable.
Things you keep in your closet need to be ready to go when you pull them out. If your winter coat is too dirty because you didn’t clean your closet, you could get really cold if there is a surprise winter storm and you would be sad that you didn’t clean your closet when you moved in.
Clean Kitchen Cabinets
The kitchen storage cabinets are an often neglected part of the home that you need to be sure to clean out as soon as you get the chance, and before you move your dishes in. It is pretty likely that the previous residents didn’t want to clean the kitchen cabinets well, so be prepared for a lot of dust and grime.
Cleaning the cabinets is such a hassle because you have to take out all of the stuff you keep in there to clean them right. Having them empty when you are moving-in is a golden opportunity that you should not waste because you are feeling tired from all the other parts of moving.
You also should give the outside of the cabinets at least a wipe down with some disinfectant, but it’s likely the previous resident had to clean the outside. You can also take a peek up at the top of the kitchen cabinets to see if there is some dust up there, and there could be a whole lot because people never clean up there.
Clean The Ceiling
You should consider cleaning the ceiling before you start unpacking your things from your boxes. If you don’t do a ceiling cleaning, you could easily disturb some dust and it can fall onto all of your things and make your new home feel dirty.
You may be super excited to unpack all of your things the minute you move-in, but if you are patient and take the time to clean the ceiling first, you will have a much better experience. Nothing can ruin a fun time unpacking like having a cloud of dust fall all over your favorite antiques.
Remember that you also need to clean any light fixtures and fans that are in the ceiling, because that is where a bunch of dust can hang out. If you are diligent about cleaning your ceiling before unpacking, you are sure to love your new home so much more.
Clean The Bathrooms
Thinking about the old residents using your new bathroom is down right disgusting, so you should clean your bathrooms as soon as you enter your new house. Use a generous portion of bleach when cleaning the toilet, shower and sink to make sure that any germs are killed and you can start fresh.
Even if you think the bathroom looks pretty clean, you should consider that any number of people could have used it during the moving process and you just don’t know what was left behind. Some people just don’t know how to take care of a bathroom, so it is best to get it clean before you start using it.
Pay special attention to the space behind the toilet, as many people fail to properly clean that area when they are moving out. That area traps dust, dirt, hair and goodness knows what else that makes a perfect breeding ground for germs.
Furniture Gets Cleaned After It Moves In
Your furniture could get exposed to all manner of dirt and debris en route to your new house, so you should give it a good cleaning when it arrives. You can use a vacuum cleaner to clean any upholstered furniture like sofas or loveseats.
You should also wipe down all of your furniture with a disinfecting wipe that is safe to use on furniture. You may need to check the labels on your furniture to see which types of cleaners are safe to use, and while you are moving your furniture is a perfect opportunity to check the labels.
Clean Every Spot Where You Will Place Heavy Items
Make sure that you clean any floor or wall that will have heavy furniture placed on it or in front of it. You likely won’t be moving those big, heavy items very often, so placing them in a well cleaned spot makes sure that you don’t trap dust and debris that will never get cleaned until you move again.
Kitchen items like the stove and refrigerator are some heavy items that you should clean well around because you won’t ever want to move them. Get their areas as clean as possible so that someday a strange gust of wind doesn’t blow a wad of dust onto your fresh baked pot roast!
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