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Moving house can feel chaotic from the moment you start surveying everything you’ve accumulated over the years. Before you tape up a single box, taking time to properly clean and clear your space can make the entire move feel far more manageable. Not only does it help you stay organized, it can also make your home more appealing if you’re selling or preparing to hand it back to a landlord. With that in mind, here are some smart tips for cleaning up your property before moving day.
Start With Decluttering, Not Deep Cleaning
The first step is always decluttering – after all, there’s no point in scrubbing shelves that are still packed with things you don’t actually want. Go room by room and sort everything into keep, donate, sell, and bin piles, and, of course, be honest with yourself – if you’ve not used something for years, and it’s not got any real sentimental value, it probably doesn’t need to come with you.
Just this one step can massively cut down on the number of boxes you need, and it can make packing a lot quicker, too.
Tackle One Room At A Time
Trying to clean the whole house in one go is overwhelming, so the best thing to do is to pick one room and completely finish it before moving on to another. Start with areas that collect the most clutter, like kitchens, bedrooms, and garages, and that way you’ll feel like you’re making progress, and you’ll have less to do when your energy is running low.
You’ll need to clear surfaces, wipe down cupboards, and vacuum or mop the floors once everything is out of the way, and breaking it down into manageable chunks makes it feel a lot less stressful.
Don’t Forget Hidden Areas
It’s easy to focus on what you can see and then forget about the less obvious spots, but that’s only going to give you more to do right at the end of the process, so make sure you check them all. We mean places like behind furniture, inside wardrobes, under beds, and in storage cupboards because these are the places that often gather plenty of dust, house forgotten items, and that might even have small bits of damage you need to fix before you move.
If you’re renting, doing this kind of extra work can be a useful idea because it could be the difference between getting your full deposit back and having some (or all) of it kept back to do the work after you’ve gone.
Get Help When You Need It
Moving is a big job, and the good news is you definitely don’t have to do everything yourself – friends and family can be very helpful with sorting and cleaning (they’ll usually only need to be paid in snacks and drinks), or you might decide to hire professional cleaners for a final deep clean just to be sure it’s all perfect.
When it comes to the actual move, using a reliable company like https://www.princemovers.com/moving-companies-virginia/ can take a lot of the pressure off because professional movers can handle the heavy lifting and logistics, so you can focus on cleaning and tidying on the day itself.