Moving soon? Here is a list of things you should clean, even if they appear clean. Moving can already be extremely stressful, thinking about cleaning is just another item on your endless to-do list. Here are some of the most important tasks you should be hitting before you move your stuff in. If at all possible, give yourself a whole day to clean before you start moving boxes and furniture into your space. It will be so much easier than having to clean around your stuff.
Before you begin: Make yourself a large batch of hot water, bleach and Tide® and have gloves on hand. We are going to be using this almost everywhere. Wear old clothes you don’t care about. You are going to be getting down and dirty.
1. Kitchen cabinets and drawers.
Start by opening each and every drawer and cabinet and vacuuming them out, then give them a wipe with water, bleach and Tide® (WBT). Your utensils and dishes will live here, so you want to clean out other people’s crumbs before you put your dishes in their new home. The fronts of cabinets are important too, but if needed they can wait until you’re moved in..
2. High touch areas – light switches, door knobs, etc.
These are the most germy surfaces in a house. Water, bleach and Tide® on a microfibre cloth will clean and disinfect all door knobs, light switches, walls, or any other high touch surfaces. Not to mention, deal with fingerprints and smudges that aren’t yours.
3. Fridge.
Start by taking out all the shelves and drawers, and allowing them to come to room temperature. Then you can bleach and disinfect them all. Make sure you are not putting new food in a smelly fridge.
4. Microwave.
Cleaning your microwave with vinegar is a great way to get the old stench out. Simply microwave 1 cup of water with 2 TBSP of vinegar for up to 5 minutes, then wipe away all the sins.
5. Dishwasher.
Your dishes will not be getting clean when the filter is covered in someone else’s old dinner. Remove the filter and carefully scrub it with bleach. Then run a long, hot cycle with a cup of bleach. Bleach will disinfect and clean, without creating a foam party. Detailed instructions here.
6. Shower/Tub.
The last owners may have moved out, but their foot fungus didn’t. Clean the shower and/or tub (with water, bleach and Tide®) from top to bottom, every nook and cranny.
7. Washing machine.
Don’t forget to clean out the washing machine. Will your clothes really be clean if the machine is full of mold? Pull open the seal, and pour in some straight bleach and get scrubbing. Remember to clean not only the drum but also the detergent drawer and filter.
Cleaning out the dryer is just as important. Make sure there is no leftover lint!
8. Toilet.
Moving onto something a little more personal, the toilets. This can be a dirty job, so make sure you’re gloved up and ready to go. Most toilet lids will easily detach from the bowl, making it easier to clean, research your toilet model and brand to find out. Using water, bleach and Tide®, wipe down your toilet top to bottom, not forgetting behind and around.
9. Sinks – all of them.
Using the same water, bleach and Tide® recipe, wipe down all your sinks. Bathrooms and kitchen. Pay special attention to any nooks and crannies where food or germs can be hiding in plain sight. Then shine it up with some Bar Keeper’s Friend® or Windex®, depending on your sink material.
10. Floors.
Lastly, it’s time to clean your floors. Give all your floors a good vacuum. Then mop your hard floors with, you guessed it, water, bleach and Tide®. Get a fresh batch going in your spin mop bucket. Now do it again. Yep, we mop floors twice around here. ESPECIALLY when you don’t know how dirty the last tenants were. If you are opting to add bleach to disinfect use extreme caution near carpet transitions. Finish up with a final vacuum to get any stray dust and hair that has floated down from the rafters and stuck to the wet floors.
For a more detailed checklist on ALL of the things you need to clean when moving, grab yourself a copy of our moving checklist. Now you are ready to start moving in some boxes! Congratulations on your new home.
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– Brinlyn and Becky @GoCleanCo
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gocleanco
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I circled rollerblades in the Sears Wish Book every year…and every year my mother would patiently explain that we lived on an acreage with gravel roads and rollerblades do not work on gravel…and every year I would be so disappointed when they didn’t show up under the tree. 🤣🤦🏼♀️ #nostalgia #christmastime
gocleanco
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PSA: A lot of people don’t know you can do this when you order a gift off of Amazon. At check out, you can select that the item is a gift and then choose the option to add a gift bag and a custom message and this is how it is delivered! You don’t have to worry about the surprise being ruined if they open the box because it’s already wrapped and they can plunk it under the tree. Perfect if you have family far away that you won’t be seeing this holiday season. Saves ya time and energy in the chaos of the season. 🎁🎄🎅🏻🕰️🕰️🕰️ #christmastime
gocleanco
Nov 13
Nostalgic Christmas!!!! Bring on the tinsel and the garland. I can handle it. 🤭We have some fun things planned to take you back to the days when we made ornaments outta fishhooks, so STAY TUNED ya filthy animals! 🎄🎁 ⛄️ 🎅🏻 🤶🏻❄️ ☕️
gocleanco
Nov 12
Best part of getting my hair done is hanging with sister @hellohairhouse the results aren’t too shabby either
gocleanco
Nov 9
Just out here doing the lords work. meganrreed_
gocleanco
Nov 4
Okay my DM’s are full of people asking for this to live on the feed. Brew a cup of coffee. I use a @nespresso pod but any regular cup java will do. Add in one scoop of your fav protein powder (or do half if you find this too sweet). This-is-a-wing-it-to-how-you-like-it-recipe as most cups of coffee are. I used vanilla protein powder here with a sprinkle of cinnamon, tastes a Christmasy! My go to is usually chocolate protein because it tastes like a mocha. Froth it with frother and drink it hot or over ice. This gets me 26 grams of protein right in the morning which helps cause I’m not a breakfast person. I’m trying y’all. 💪🏻 🍑
gocleanco
Nov 1
You asked and I delivered! You have been requesting I test the viral Tineco floor washers forever so here they are! Full break down of the S5 and S3 model in my stories plus they are both on sale at Canadian Tire and Amazon! @tinecoglobal #sponsored #floorcare #evolutionofclean
gocleanco
Oct 28
Best one yet. 🤣😂🤣🤣 I told you guys he looks like @mrclean
gocleanco
Oct 25
I have shared my new BLANCO sink and faucet but let’s talk about accessories, did you know BLANCO also has under sink organization systems? I completed my BLANCO UNIT with the BOTTON II, it tidies up the mess under your kitchen sink and it pulls out like a drawer; you can store your cleaning supplies in it and also has a handy dandy little handle so you can take your supplies with you around the house. I have a post up on their blog that goes into depth about BLANCO maintenance and care, and more tips in my stories so make sure you check them out. You folks had lots of questions about BLANCO last round and I am happy to help. Plus BLANCO customer service can answer any maintenance questions you might have. #sponsored @blancoamerica1
gocleanco
Oct 22
You can’t win them all. 🐷🩰
gocleanco
Oct 20
Ghosts have chores too! #happyhalloween
gocleanco
Oct 13
It’s a blessing and a curse, really. #housework
gocleanco
Oct 11
Me for the last 24 hours straight 🥴😵💫 What didn’t you snag that you had on your heart set on for Prime Big Deals Days? Drop ONE THING you didn’t nab in the comments below and maybe we will do some surprise Amazon deliveries! 🥰 The only thing I have had time to buy for myself is a Home Alone Pillow with Kevin’s face on it and some Tide Rescue 😂 Swipe to see ➡️➡️➡️
gocleanco
Oct 9
It is the final week of the Fall Cleaning Challenge which means we are cleaning the Common Area’s in our homes (that’s hallways, closets, mudrooms, porches and laundry rooms) we are ALSO taking our buckets, Aquablades, power washers and shop vacuums outside to clean up our outdoor spaces before the ❄️ hits. This is a big week. What’s the biggest disaster area that you need to tackle this week? I’ll go first. It’s my scary linen closet which currently it has a sign on on it that says CAUTION ⚠️ 😂 I also got a new leaf blower that I am very excited to blast some dirt and 🍂 with. Pace yourselves, WE GOT THIS! 👊🏻 #cleaningtips
gocleanco
Oct 8
If you are sick of doing dishes, we got this off Amazon for Stella’s apartment cause she didn’t have a dishwasher and she would not stop complaining about it. The little window is so cute, you can watch everything that happening in it, it’s almost as dramatic as and episode of Love is Blind. 5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ from Stella! #amazonfinds
gocleanco
Oct 7
Hiiiii 👋🏼 Sarah here. I’m the one behind the cleaning hacks, motivation, business tips, home design, decor and sometimes fashion advice and sassy commentary. Oh and I wrote some books in the early days too 🤓 How long have long have you been following along for the ride? Thanks for sticking with me 💕💕💕
gocleanco
Oct 6
Takes me just as long to pick a blanket as it does a pillowcase. 🫠🤣 Everything is linked up in my Amazon Store front! Link is in my bio. Reminder it’s Prime Deals Days next week so expecting lots of stuff to be on sale next week! My rug is from @ruggable and is 9x12 and called the Kamran Hazel. #falldecor
gocleanco
Oct 4
Entering spooky season but it’s just a regular Wednesday for us. Today I learned not everyone pronounces it 👻—GUR 🤣🤣🤣 #happyhalloween
gocleanco
Sep 24
Heya. 👋🏼 Sarah here. We are wrapping up Week One (Kitchen Week—the most overwhelming) of the Fall Cleaning challenge. How is it going? What have you got done? My job during these Challenges is to motivate and help educate you on the most efficient and effective ways to clean so you feel confident about moving onto the next week with us! The Cleaning Challenges get easier each time we do them as it’s a scheduled, routine deep clean that helps you stay on top of things before they get out of hand. If you deep cleaned in the Spring Challenge with us, I know (based on the hundreds of DM’s🤣) that this week felt easier because you lined the tops of your cupboards with parchment paper in the Spring! I find it hard to put into writing how cleaning can make you feel SO GOOD, satisfied and proud of your home. I can’t explain the feeling feeling until you roll up your sleeves and get to work and feel it yourself. Once one room is done, please stop and stand back and survey your work. Take a minute to feel the accomplishment in your bones. This is hard but rewarding work and you CAN do it—I will cheer you on the entire way. Keep sending me your before and afters! They make me so happy and proud of each you, I feel like I am helping clean millions of homes around the world and that’s honestly pretty cool. 😎
gocleanco
Sep 22
It’s Kitchen week of the Fall Cleaning Challenge and I can finally share my new kitchen sink from BLANCO that everyone has been asking about. I am very excited to be working with @blancoamerica1 they are THE kitchen experts and a global brand with over 95 years of experience. Head to my stories to see how I care for this beauty on the daily and how easy it is to treat stains. BLANCO is more than just sinks; they also have faucets and organizational systems (like the BOTTON) that work together as an integrated UNIT. #ad