HOUSE CLEAN OUT: How Clean Should A House Be When Selling

When moving out, making extensive renovations, or splitting up a loved one’s estate after they’ve passed away, there are a few occasions when a house must be completely cleaned out. Whatever your situation is, it is significant and can be difficult to manage. Here are some facts about the whole house clean-out sale and services:

What is House Clean Out?

Simply put, it is the complete removal of all appliances, furniture, kitchenware, foodstuffs, and personal items from a specific home or property, so that it appears to be a newly constructed home.

Though the name implies it, there is a distinction between a house clean-out and an estate clean-out. A whole house clean-out is similar to the previous definition. It is often done when the people who live in a house are moving to a new home, completely remodeling it, or need to get rid of everything in their house for any other reason.

How to Clean Out Your House

Regardless of the circumstances, performing a total house clean-out is a big job with a lot of details to keep track of. As property cleaning experts, here are a few pointers to keep in mind for your next whole house clean-out:

#1. Remove everything completely.

Examine everything thoroughly to keep track of every item removed from your home. Examine every box, container, shelf, drawer, and even the pockets on clothing. An in-depth examination will provide you with the satisfaction of knowing what has been removed and to whom each item belongs.

#2. Locate crucial documents

Birth certificates, insurance policies, wills, trusts, bank statements, tax returns, and other important financial documents should be the first things you look for when doing a cleanout. These documents can be in hard copy or stored digitally on the hard drives of different devices.

#3. Take all valuables with you.

Before you start cleaning out your house, you should get rid of any valuables and important legal and financial papers. The process can be tedious enough that someone may inadvertently damage or forget important items.

#4. Take out the garbage

Remove items that are trash to begin cleaning out a room. Broken items, duplicates, and items you haven’t touched in a long time are all prime candidates for purging during this stage.

Don’t worry about making difficult decisions about what needs to be discarded at this point; simply perform an initial sweep. You’ll get a better picture of the overall project in the next step, which will help you make those difficult decisions.

#5. Consider Donating or Selling

Before you clean out your house, you may realize that there is far too much stuff for a thorough cleanout. Consider sharing or selling what you have in abundance. This can be done by having a yard sale or giving your things to a local thrift store or the Salvation Army.

#6. Sort through what’s left.

All that should be left from your decluttering adventure at this point is the keep pile. Put away the items that will remain in the room. The items that will be housed in a different room may pose a problem. Get those items put away if the destination room has already been cleaned.

#7. Think about hiring an estate liquidator.

Estate liquidators value everything in an estate and sell it to the highest bidder. For seniors moving into assisted living or relatives of a deceased family member, this can help reduce the number of items you need to transport once your house has been cleaned out.

House Clean-Out Services

Here is a list of the best whole-house clean-out services:

#1. Tidy

Tidy makes it simple: you create the to-do checklist for the cleaners, or you can use one that has already been created. Then, specify the length of time (four hours with one cleaner is the most common, while four hours with two cleaners is the most thorough), and they’ll get to work.

Simply choose a date and time for your first cleaning and fill out a form with a few questions, such as how many bedrooms you have and how they will enter your home.

#2. MaidPro

MaidPro is the service to call if you need a thorough house cleaning at a reasonable price. The company has a 49-point checklist that employees must complete before leaving their homes. Furthermore, all of the products used are designed to be environmentally friendly. Choose between a one-time clean, a weekly, biweekly, or monthly service, and they’ll work with your budget to determine what they can do.

#3. The Maids

Are you looking for efficient and effective house clean-out services? The Maids could be exactly what you’re looking for. The company is extremely well organized; each group of cleaners that visits your house includes a team leader who serves as the supervisor. During the cleaning, there will be a field manager there to make sure that the cleaning is up to par.

#4. Maid Brigade

Maid Brigade is a green cleaning service that is available throughout the country. All of its products have been certified by Green Seal, and the American Lung Association has said that its equipment improves the quality of air inside. It also tries to use microfiber cloths instead of paper towels and cleaning solutions.

#5. The Cleaning Authority

If you’re looking for eco-friendly cleaning, look no further than The Cleaning Authority, which only uses environmentally friendly products. On alternating weeks, the Cleaning Authority deep cleans your bedrooms, kitchen, and bathrooms. In addition, the company will perform a basic cleaning once a week. The Cleaning Authority also has a fancy, very detailed list of everything that needs to be cleaned regularly. Everything should be sparkling by the end of the month.

#6. Molly Maid

Molly Maid, not to be confused with Merry Maids, a competing service, has been in business for over 35 years. Also, Molly Maids offers packages based on your location, which makes estimating your total fee much easier.

#7. Merry Maids

Since 1979, Merry Maids has been a go-to cleaning service for many families. Since then, it has grown into a huge franchise with more than 500 locations in North America. Merry Maids now services more than 120,000 homes in the United States and Canada.

#8. USA Clean Master

USA Clean Master specializes in carpet and upholstery cleaning. They’ve been in business since 2003, and you should hire them if you need to deep clean your upholstery, area rugs, wood floors, air ducts, or tiles.

House Clean-Out Sale

So you’ve been tasked with selling the estates of deceased family members, but you have no idea how to handle a house clean-out sale?
Set aside any personal belongings.

Some things are simply not for sale. If some items have sentimental value, get them out of there and keep them off the property or in a locked room away from shoppers during the house sale.

#1. Organize

For people shopping at an estate sale, group items that are similar together to make it look like there are several small shops inside the house. Displaying all of the clothes, electronics, and tools together, as well as grouping all of the paintings, frames, and other decors, will keep shoppers moving and the estate sale running smoothly.

#2. Advertise

Placing signs around town is the best way to get the word out about your house clean-out sale. To raise awareness and bring more shoppers to your house clean-out sale, use simple signs that can stick into the ground and have easy-to-read sale information, similar to the local political campaign signs you see around town when an election is approaching.

#3. Clean up

That’s where we come in before you’re ready to hold the estate sale. Some services will clean out your house and remove anything that isn’t appropriate for the sale. This will keep your estate sale space clean, organized, and free of clutter.

Whole House Clean Out

Your house needs to be cleaned, but you’re not sure where to begin. You can clean your entire house in one day if you stay focused and complete tasks in a specific order. Here are some pointers for clean-out your whole house in a single day.

Begin with the dishes and laundry.
Clean from the top down
Get rid of clutter
clean the kitchen
Clean out the refrigerator
Take care of the bathrooms
Tidy the laundry and mudroom
Clean the furniture.
Clean the floors
Finish outside.

How do you empty a house quickly?

We recommend renting a dumpster to quickly empty a house. You can set your schedule when renting a dumpster. You can complete the project in a matter of hours, a week, or so. Furthermore, you can easily remove items from your home while sorting.

How clean should a house be when selling?

Many real estate contracts require sellers to leave their homes “broom-clean.” That means sellers should sweep up after themselves, clear out closets, shelves, and cabinets, empty the refrigerator, dispose of all garbage, and leave the house in a presentable condition.

What needs to be cleaned in a house?

Vacuum your house.
Wash the furniture fabric.
Keep mirrors and glass clean.
Keep surfaces clean.
clean the kitchen and the bathroom.
Keep the floors clean.
Clean the house.

Does a clean house sell faster?

Making your property as clean as possible is critical to a quick buyer turnaround. Cleaning your home will not only help it sell faster but will also guarantee better offers from multiple prospective buyers.

Why do houses deteriorate when empty?

Buildings that have been left alone quickly fall apart because of things like leaks and damage in the ceiling and floor, lack of maintenance, and things like animals and the weather.

How long can a house remain empty?

Most standard home insurance policies allow you to leave your home unoccupied for up to 60 days per year. If you don’t live in your home for a long time, you might not be covered.

How often should you check an empty house?

The interval between checks should be unpredictable. The house may not be checked for ten days, but the thief should not be aware of this.

Frequently Asked Questions

What to get rid of when cleaning out?

Clothes to Remove from Your Closet Cleanout

ill-fitting clothes
Anything you have a lot of.
Items that are no longer in style with you.
Clothing that you haven’t worn or have only worn once.
Things you used to wear frequently but now despise.
Accessories and items that cannot be worn with other items of clothing.

What is the 20/20 rule for decluttering?

And on our most recent book tour, we made sure not to bring anything just in case. Then we put our hypothesis to the test: the 20/20 Rule. We can replace anything we get rid of that we truly need for less than $20 in less than 20 minutes from our current location.

What should I remove first when decluttering?

First and foremost, make your bed. It’s difficult to make any progress decluttering a bedroom when an unmade bed stares you down. Begin with the nightstands. Remove anything that does not belong on them and place it in your trash can.