What to Clean When Moving In and Out
When you’re preparing to move out of your home into a new place, there are a lot of things you have to do. You have to pack all your belongings, find the right Boston moving services, make sure everyone knows your new address, and so much more. It’s easy for things to fall through the cracks. Something that people often forget about is cleaning. If you rent, you will have to clean the house or apartment to get your deposit back. But even if you sold your home, you should clean the house as a courtesy to the new owners. Before you move into your new home, you’ll want to clean the place before you move in.
Here’s a basic list of everything you should clean after you move out and before you move in.
The Old House
Before you leave your old home for the last time, you’ll want to do a thorough check of the house or apartment to make sure you haven’t left anything behind. Once you’ve done that, you’re ready to move to get cleaning.
- Walls: Remove any nails or screws from the walls and spackle over the holes. In most circumstances, it’s not necessary to repaint. The landlord or new owners will take care of that.
- Floors: Sweep, mop, and vacuum all your floors. This isn’t just a courtesy to the new owners, it’s also a good opportunity to double-check that you haven’t left anything behind.
- Surfaces: Dust and wipe down all surfaces, including window sills, doorknobs, and baseboards. You should also clean all the outlets and light switches. You’d be surprised at how grimy those can be, especially outlets that were behind furniture and weren’t regularly cleaned.
- Windows: You may have already cleaned the windows when you were preparing to show your home to potential buyers. However, it’s a good idea to give them another once-over.
- Bathrooms and kitchen: These will be the center of your cleaning focus. You should allow enough time to thoroughly clean your bathrooms and kitchen. Pay special attention to your kitchen appliances, particularly the stove and refrigerator.
The New House
Hopefully, the previous owners of your new home were as considerate as you when they moved out. But no matter how well they cleaned, you’ll want to give certain areas a quick clean before your family is ready to move in.
- Kitchen and bathrooms: Moving in can shake up a lot of dirt. So you’ll want to make sure your kitchen and bathrooms are clean before you’re ready to use them.
- Garage: If the house has a garage or shed, you’ll want to sweep it out before you fill it with your stuff. You’ll never get a better opportunity!
- Floors: Finally, sweep, mop, and vacuum your floors before you set up your furniture. There are corners that you may never get to reach again.