Clean Apartment Before Moving Out or In
Clean House or Apartment Before Moving Out
Why to Clean an Apartment Before Moving Out/In
When preparing to move and moving, there are dozens of things you need to accomplish. You have to decide on a date, hire a moving service, pack your belongings, and plan every week leading up to the big day. Once you actually move, the work doesn’t end — there’s unpacking, officially changing your location in your documents, and so much more. The last thing you want to do is clean your former or your new home.
Yet, according to Nancy Zafrani, General Manager at Oz Moving & Storage, cleaning should be on the top of your to-do list. Having worked at an NYC moving company for a long time, she certainly knows what she’s talking about. So, we’ve decided to ask her exactly why cleaning is as important as she says. And here is what she told us.
Your Home Will Be Easier to Sell or Rent
Once you move out from your old home, you’ll probably want to sell it to someone or at least rent it. You may have already made all arrangements before moving, but if not, you’ll need to find a buyer or tenant. And in such a case, your home needs to look as presentable as it can be.
Just think about it. Would you be inclined to buy or rent a house the owners left dirty and messy? That certainly wouldn’t leave a good impression on you, and it’s exactly the same with your potential buyers. Plus, seeing how little effort you put into cleaning your home may convince its potential future owners that its maintenance is subpar too. And no one wants to purchase a house that requires a lot of repairs.
A clean home, on the other hand, shows that you put care into it and reassures your potential buyers. It also paints you as someone professional and reliable, which means people are more likely to do business with you.
You’ll Leave Less Work for the Future Residents
You may be thinking that once you move, your former house is no longer your problem. Its future residents are the ones who now have to clean and maintain it, while you have your own home to worry about. And to some extent, that is true. No rule really states you have to clean before you leave.
But it is common courtesy not to leave a mess behind and force future residents to deal with it. They’ll be going through exactly the same thing as you — packing and unpacking, hiring a moving service, and relocating their entire life. That’s stressful enough as it is, and you’ll only add to it if you don’t clean your home.
So, show some solidarity and tidy up! It doesn’t have to be a thorough cleaning, as you might not have time for that. But at the very least, make your house look presentable for the new owners. If it’s too much work for you, hire a cleaning service to help!
You Can’t Be Sure How Well the Previous Owners Cleaned
So far, we’ve only talked about cleaning your old home, but you’ll have to do the same when you arrive at your new one. Of course, the previous owners might have cleaned before they left. But no matter how tidy the house looks when you arrive, you’ll need to do some cleaning of your own.
And why? Well, because there’s no telling how thorough the previous owners were. Most visible surfaces may be clean, but that might not be the case with all cabinets, corners, and sinks. Dust and bacteria can settle in if you give them even the smallest chance, so ensure that you don’t.
Once again, if you feel that cleaning up is too much work on top of everything else, hire a professional. They have experience in move-in clean-ups, so they’ll probably be far more thorough than you’d be. And that’s just what you need!
It Will Be Easier to Unpack
Unpacking is chaotic as it is, but add to that an already messy environment, and you have a recipe for disaster. So, while you may want to finish it as soon as possible, cleaning should come first. Upon arriving, inspect the house thoroughly and see which areas require the most work. Then grab your cleaning supplies and take care of them!
Now, your new house doesn’t have to be squeaky clean before you unpack. You’ll deal with the details after you settle in. But you definitely should take care of any mess that might pose a problem while unpacking. That way, everything will run much smoother.
You’ll Make the Space Feel Yours
Cleaning is obviously necessary for practical reasons, but there’s more to it than that. You’ll need some time to get used to your new home and to really feel like the space belongs to you. And if you want to speed up this process, cleaning is exactly what you need to do.
After all, once you clean up and remove the traces of the previous residents, you’ll feel like you’re in control. The new house is now your space, and you can do whatever you want with it. From an emotional standpoint, the first cleaning is quite important, so don’t put it off. Do it as soon as you have the chance to
In Conclusion
A lot of work awaits you during the moving process, and cleaning up both your previous and new home is certainly on that list. Now you know why it’s so important, so don’t skip it or leave it for later. The sooner you do it, the better — and the happier you will be!