The Complete New Home Cleaning Checklist

Moving into a new home is exciting, but can also be a stressful experience. One of the best things you can do to reduce moving stress and get started on the right foot is cleaning your house before moving in, giving you a truly clean slate to work with. Here's our new house cleaning checklist!

Collect Your Cleaning Supplies For a New House

Before you start to clean your new home, make sure you have all the cleaning supplies you'll need. Pack a box of cleaning supplies for moving in, and deliver that to your new home first, so it's readily available when you begin deep cleaning. Here's a checklist of the supplies you should get:

• Disinfecting surface cleaner

• Disinfecting wipes

• Microfiber cleaning cloths

• Garbage disposal cleaner

• Drain snake

• Drain cleaner

• Oven cleaner

• Vacuum

• Baking soda

• Vinegar

• Kettle (to boil water)

• Dish soap

• Broom

• Mop

• Floor cleaner

• Toilet bowl cleaner

• Grout cleaner

• Glass cleaner

• Hydrogen peroxide

• Grout brush

• Carpet cleaner

• Carpet deodorizer

• Cleaning gloves

Start With a New Home Walkthrough

Before tackling your new home cleaning checklist, assess each room's condition. Ideally, the former residents will have left the place in great condition when they went through the move-out process, but it's never guaranteed. Make sure everything from the sale or lease agreement is accounted for, and note which areas need attention. Identify areas to pre-clean first—such as floors to sweep or surfaces to wipe down—before tackling deeper cleaning tasks. It's also important to check for urgent issues like mold, pests, or water damage so you can document and address them immediately—which may also help you get your security deposit back later if you're renting.

How to Clean the Kitchen

The biggest focus of your kitchen cleaning checklist will be on appliances and surfaces. After you move your refrigerator into your new home, disinfect and clean it thoroughly, then clean your other appliances inside and out. Make sure you understand how to clean different types of stovetops—some may just need a simple disinfecting surface cleaner, but gas stove grates may need a special gas range cleaner. To clean the dishwasher, simply run a cycle with vinegar followed by a cycle with baking soda.

Here's a checklist for deep cleaning the kitchen:

• Disinfect & wipe down refrigerator shelves, walls, & exterior

• Vacuum refrigerator coils

• Disinfect & wipe down the microwave plate, walls, & exterior

• Disinfect & wipe down all cabinets & drawers

• Disinfect & wipe down all countertops

• Disinfect & wipe down the sink basin

• Clean & disinfect the garbage disposal & drains

• Clean the oven with oven cleaner, wipe down the door, & clean the stovetop

• Clean the dishwasher

• Remove & wash the dishwasher filter

• Wipe down the walls

• Sweep & mop floors

How to Clean the Bathroom

For your bathroom cleaning checklist, start by deep cleaning every part of the toilet—or opt to replace all toilet seats with new ones. Then, disinfect the bathtub and shower, taking special care when cleaning grout and shower tile, as you may need a specialty grout cleaner and grout brush. Finally, clean the bathroom floor, as there are likely to be plenty of germs that have settled in over time.

Here's a checklist for deep cleaning the bathrooms:

• Disinfect & wipe down the toilet bowl, lid, & tank

• Replace toilet seats

• Disinfect & wipe down the bathtub, shower walls, & shower floor

• Unclog the shower drain

• Unclog sink drains

• Disinfect & wipe down countertops, sinks, & faucets

• Clean all mirrors

• Disinfect & wipe down all drawers & cabinets

• Disinfect & wipe down shelves & walls in bathroom closets

• Sweep & mop floors

How to Clean the Laundry Room

Laundry room organization can vary greatly between homes—especially if you have an apartment with a small laundry room or no laundry room at all. Depending on the space you have, your laundry room cleaning checklist may look a bit different. Start by deep cleaning your washing machine—run a cycle on the highest water setting and hottest temperature setting with white vinegar or special washing machine cleaner. Then you can disinfect your dryer drum with a cloth and rubbing alcohol.

Here's a checklist for how to clean the laundry room:

• Clean the washing machine

• Clean the lint trap

• Vacuum or brush out the inside of the dryer vent

• Disinfect & wipe down the dryer drum interior

• Wipe down the washer & dryer exteriors

• Unclog sink drains

• Disinfect & wipe down the sink bowl

How to Clean Your Bedroom

As you move on to your bedroom cleaning checklist, your steps may change depending on fixtures and flooring types. All windows should be cleaned with a glass cleaner or other window cleaner, and if you have carpet, you should consider renting a carpet cleaner machine or using carpet deodorizer to get a true deep clean.

Here's a checklist for how to deep clean bedrooms:

• Clean all windows

• Dust & wipe down blinds

• Dust & wipe down light fixtures

• Replace dead light bulbs

• Clean ceiling fan blades

• Dust & disinfect all closet shelves

• Wipe down walls

• Clean baseboards & trim

• Vacuum floors

• Mop hardwood floors, or clean & deodorize carpets

How to Clean the Living Spaces

For all other spaces in your home, your room cleaning checklist will be similar to the bedroom cleaning checklist. However, once you've finished the remaining living spaces, there are a few general new house cleaning tasks to complete before you're 100% done. Change your air filters and mark the new ones with the current date, then grab your calendar to help you keep track of and maintain a tidying schedule and regular cleaning checklist. Disinfect the doorknobs in your new home to wipe away the many different hands that may have come into contact with them during the moving process. Finally, top off your new house cleaning by running an air purifier to remove any remaining dust from the air!

Here's a checklist of how to clean the living room and other remaining spaces:

• Clean all windows

• Dust & wipe down blinds

• Dust & wipe down light fixtures

• Replace dead light bulbs

• Clean ceiling fan blades

• Wipe down walls

• Clean baseboards & trim

• Vacuum & mop floors

• Clean & deodorize carpets

• Change your air filters

• Disinfect & clean all doorknobs

• Replace dead batteries in smoke detectors

• Run an air purifier

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