Your Customizable House Cleaning Checklist

Cleaning your home - no matter how small or large - can feel like an overwhelming chore. Oftentimes we continue to push it off until our houses feel like they’re bursting at the seams! However, like anything in life, it’s always easier once you just get started. 

You’ve reached that first step and you’re ready to jump into cleaning. Use our checklist below to make getting started that much easier. 

Getting Organized

Every home and lifestyle is different, but following the same rules our professionals use when cleaning homes will make sure your home is sparkling when you’re done. However, don’t feel that you have to be locked into a rigid house cleaning list. Give yourself some wiggle room to customize your house cleaning checklist to your needs. 

Supplies

Before you start scrubbing, make sure you have these essential tools in your cleaning toolbox: 

• Microfiber cloths
  • Try using different colored cloths for different rooms to avoid cross-contamination 
• Buckets
• Mop and broom
• Hand-held scrub brush or old toothbrush
• Degreaser, glass cleaner, dish soap, and disinfectant spray
• Rubber gloves

All Living Spaces

As you go through your home cleaning list, room by room, there will be consistent areas that you’ll need to clean. Those include: 

• Wiping down your walls, cabinets, and baseboards
• Dusting ceiling fans and light fixtures
• Disinfecting light switches and door handles
• Cleaning window sills and windows

A trick you may want to consider trying (that our professional teams use) is to start cleaning at the back of the house and work your way forward so you’re not tracking footprints across your home. 

Now let’s jump into your room-by-room home cleaning checklist. 

Kitchen

Cleaning the kitchen is always the most time-consuming. With so many nooks and crannies there are plenty of places for crumbs and dust to get caught. Start tackling the grime from the top of the kitchen, down, including: 

• The interior and exterior of all appliances
  • Refrigerator and freezer
    • Wipe down shelves and drawers
    • Remove expired food
  • Stove
  • Oven
  • Microwave
  • Countertop appliances
    • Toaster ovens
    • Air fryers
  • Exhaust fans
  • Dishwasher
• The interior and exterior of all cabinets
  • Remove expired food, broken kitchen utensils, and items you’re no longer using
• Clean countertops
• Deodorize your garbage disposal and kitchen drain

Bathrooms

The theme of bathroom cleaning is to organize, disinfect, and remove soap scum. As the most frequently used room in your home, your bathrooms can quickly become overrun. Start by disinfecting your: 

• Bathtub
• Shower
  • Shower glass or shower curtain
  • Showerhead
  • Grout, drain, and tile
• Toilet
• Towel rods
• Countertop vanities
• Cabinets
  • Remove expired hygiene products, toiletries, and medication
• Mirrors

We always recommend starting by cleaning the shower and bathtub first as that is the most time-consuming portion of the cleaning process. 

Living Areas

No matter if you relax in a standard living room or have your living spaces separated between living rooms, playrooms, and media rooms, the basics are the same:

• Dust furniture, blinds, curtain rods, decor, electronics, and ceiling fans
• Disinfect remotes
• Wash blankets and slipcovers
• Vacuum furniture
  • Get the dust bunnies under the furniture and the crumbs under the cushions
• Spot-clean any stains on the furniture or carpeting
• Put away clean kid and dog toys
  • Wash any stuffed toys
  • Disinfect plastic toys 
• Mop or vacuum floors
• Shampoo rugs or carpeting

Home Offices

Whether it is a converted bedroom or a dedicated space, make sure you’re cleaning your home office thoroughly:

• Dust computer monitors
• Sanitize keyboards and mice
• Dust or polish your desk
• Dust bookshelves, decor, and books

Bedrooms

Start cleaning the bedrooms in your home by washing all your bedding, then move on to: 

• Flipping the mattress
• Vacuuming or dusting the bed frame
• Dusting furniture, blinds, curtain rods, decor, electronics, and ceiling fans
• Wiping off nightstands and dressers
• Cleaning window sills and windows
• Vacuuming or mopping floors
• Shampooing carpets or rugs

Exhausted yet? While we wanted our above house cleaning checklist to be thorough, we understand that cleaning your entire house - whether a regular, maintenance cleaning or a deep cleaning - can be too time-consuming for busy households. If you would rather spend your weekends living instead of cleaning, contact Cleandae for professional results, every time. Between our regular service and our deep cleaning add-ons, we will cover just about everything above!