Whether you are listing your home for sale or just want to get a head start on cleaning for the new year, we’ve compiled a full list of all the nitty gritty tasks you might want to consider doing. You may not even realize the extent that dust bunnies and other dirt have accumulated over the past few months, but now is the time to take action and really make your home shine.
Indoors:
- Move beds, dressers, couches and other furniture to vacuum and dust. Now is the time to do all those annoying cleaning tasks that are easy to put off, such as removing couch cushions to access all those hidden crumbs and picking up things that have been stuck under the furniture for ages.
- Thoroughly shampoo carpets and rugs. Again, this is something you could opt to do yourself, or hire a professional cleaning company if there are deep set stains or a large area you are uncomfortable tackling on your own.
- Febreze fabrics and fluff up pillows. It’s the little things that make the biggest difference, and there could be subtle odors trapped in these areas.
- Mop hard surface flooring.
- Dust light fixtures and blinds and replace any burnt out bulbs. The lighting in your home needs to be at it’s best to really show off all the features that make it unique.
- Filling in holes in the wall from picture frames or other decorations will really make a big difference. Find some spackle to fill them in with, sand it well, and make sure to match the paint that is already on the walls.
- Touch up paint as needed in other areas that have scuff marks or are looking less than stellar. If a room has a bright, obtrusive color you may want to consider changing it to something a little more neutral. Again, it might be your favorite color, but you want to appeal to whoever could potentially be purchasing the home.
- Wash all fabric materials such as curtains, bedding and throw blankets.
- Scrub the inside and outside of all cabinets and vanities.
- Thoroughly clean out the refrigerator and oven.
- Run dishwasher and washing machine on cleaner setting with proper cleaner
Outdoors:
- Clean up the yard and tidy up landscaping as needed
- Clean out the gutters
- Power wash the outside of the house
- Sweep out garage and shed spaces
- Thoroughly clean all windows inside and out
- Have fireplaces inspected and cleaned out
Make sure you are using the proper cleaning products and tools for the type of material you are cleaning. The last thing you want to do is ruin expensive granite counter tops or have streaky glass windows because you skimped on using the best products!
For more helpful ideas and tips check our other articles on our blog!