What is my responsibility re: cleaning when moving?

[Amber]

We have sold our house and will be moving out in 2 weeks. I am trying to figure out how clean do I need to leave the house. We obviously wouldn't leave trash lying around, and would probably vacuum after moving all our stuff out. But do I need to do things like mop the floors (we are in the rainy season and they are going to get dirty from us moving things out and the buyer moving their things in)? Do we need to fill the holes in the wall from nails? Or let the new owners do it?

Honestly, I don't really feel like leaving the house spotless :O The house we are moving into is bank owned and needs a cleaning of its own...so the thought of completly cleaning two houses doesn't exactly thrill me :shifty

[Amber]

We have sold our house and will be moving out in 2 weeks. I am trying to figure out how clean do I need to leave the house. We obviously wouldn't leave trash lying around, and would probably vacuum after moving all our stuff out. But do I need to do things like mop the floors (we are in the rainy season and they are going to get dirty from us moving things out and the buyer moving their things in)? Do we need to fill the holes in the wall from nails? Or let the new owners do it?

Honestly, I don't really feel like leaving the house spotless :O The house we are moving into is bank owned and needs a cleaning of its own...so the thought of completly cleaning two houses doesn't exactly thrill me :shifty

[KatieMae]

I would do the floors (mop/vac) & bathrooms & wipe up the kitchen.

ETA: When we bought our house, it had been on the market for a while - and was empty - and it appeared that they had everything except the carpets ( :sick) cleaned professionally, but I still felt like cleaning the whole place anyway. I came over two days before we moved in & cleaned all of it as thoroughly as I could with a toddler & baby with me! :phew

[KatieMae]

I would do the floors (mop/vac) & bathrooms & wipe up the kitchen.

ETA: When we bought our house, it had been on the market for a while - and was empty - and it appeared that they had everything except the carpets ( :sick) cleaned professionally, but I still felt like cleaning the whole place anyway. I came over two days before we moved in & cleaned all of it as thoroughly as I could with a toddler & baby with me! :phew

[TuneMyHeart]

I left our house as clean as possible. :shrug I vacuumed, left the bathrooms and kitchen really clean, and filled in holes. I wanted it to be like I would want it if I were moving in, KWIM?

[TuneMyHeart]

I left our house as clean as possible. :shrug I vacuumed, left the bathrooms and kitchen really clean, and filled in holes. I wanted it to be like I would want it if I were moving in, KWIM?

[mom2threegirls]

You aren't required to clean it so it's spotless- just get your stuff out. Don't worry about nail holes as long as they aren't large and/or all over the place. The new owners will probably want to clean it all themselves anyways. As long as it's not trashed I wouldn't worry about it if I were you, if I didn't feel like it! :hug

If you still aren't sure you could run it by your realtor :tu.

Congrats on selling your house! :highfive

[mom2threegirls]

You aren't required to clean it so it's spotless- just get your stuff out. Don't worry about nail holes as long as they aren't large and/or all over the place. The new owners will probably want to clean it all themselves anyways. As long as it's not trashed I wouldn't worry about it if I were you, if I didn't feel like it! :hug

If you still aren't sure you could run it by your realtor :tu.

Congrats on selling your house! :highfive

[TuneMyHeart]

Coming back to say I only filled in large holes (like from our medicine cabinets), like Cari said. :)

[TuneMyHeart]

Coming back to say I only filled in large holes (like from our medicine cabinets), like Cari said. :)

[Blue Savannah]

I don't know about your area, but here, it's easy to find a reputable person to clean for $20/hour or so. I'd check into that. . . you have a lot to do with little ones/moving.

[Blue Savannah]

I don't know about your area, but here, it's easy to find a reputable person to clean for $20/hour or so. I'd check into that. . . you have a lot to do with little ones/moving.

[HomeWithMyBabies]

We're moving out in a few weeks too. We're going to sweep it clean but I'm not planning on mopping or extensive scrubbing. I do plan to fill in the nail holes, but that doesn't take long.

[HomeWithMyBabies]

We're moving out in a few weeks too. We're going to sweep it clean but I'm not planning on mopping or extensive scrubbing. I do plan to fill in the nail holes, but that doesn't take long.

[expatmom]

We've always done a good basic clean: mopping, vacuuming, toilets, fridge, surface wash. I know that when I move into a new place, I like to wipe down all the cupboards, so I don't do a huge clean of those; just make sure there isn't any food left behind. A couple of times we've hired a cleaning service for $100 to do a move out clean (a package they offered) and considered it a moving expense. It was well worth the help it provided to minimize stress during the move.

I've never filled in holes unless they were gaping holes.

[expatmom]

We've always done a good basic clean: mopping, vacuuming, toilets, fridge, surface wash. I know that when I move into a new place, I like to wipe down all the cupboards, so I don't do a huge clean of those; just make sure there isn't any food left behind. A couple of times we've hired a cleaning service for $100 to do a move out clean (a package they offered) and considered it a moving expense. It was well worth the help it provided to minimize stress during the move.

I've never filled in holes unless they were gaping holes.

[Rabbit]

I would consider hiring somebody like Merry Maids to clean behind me, if I could at all afford it.

I wouldn't fill in little nail holes, either. They can make the spots more visible, instead of less, which would be a problem for the buyers if they hadn't planned on immediately repainting. I would do any wall repairs from cabinetry being removed.

[Rabbit]

I would consider hiring somebody like Merry Maids to clean behind me, if I could at all afford it.

I wouldn't fill in little nail holes, either. They can make the spots more visible, instead of less, which would be a problem for the buyers if they hadn't planned on immediately repainting. I would do any wall repairs from cabinetry being removed.

[RealLifeMama]

Do not fill in the holes!

We absolutely loved the color of the kitchen and accent wall in the living room when we bought this house. It was a faux finish. The previous owner filled in the holes, but went over them with, of course, a different finish. :rolleyes

I think it would be nice of you to wipe out bathroom cabinets and drawers so the new owner doesn't have your hair or makeup residue inside them. And clean the refrigerator if it conveys.

[RealLifeMama]

Do not fill in the holes!

We absolutely loved the color of the kitchen and accent wall in the living room when we bought this house. It was a faux finish. The previous owner filled in the holes, but went over them with, of course, a different finish. :rolleyes

I think it would be nice of you to wipe out bathroom cabinets and drawers so the new owner doesn't have your hair or makeup residue inside them. And clean the refrigerator if it conveys.

[HomeWithMyBabies]

Dh is going to use the same paint after we fill the holes, since we just painted a year ago. He is...um...particular about his craftsmanship. The buyer is probably going to paint anyway but I don't think Dh could leave this house with holes in the walls. :rolleyes :giggle

[HomeWithMyBabies]

Dh is going to use the same paint after we fill the holes, since we just painted a year ago. He is...um...particular about his craftsmanship. The buyer is probably going to paint anyway but I don't think Dh could leave this house with holes in the walls. :rolleyes :giggle

[Amber]

Well, I think I have a plan. I did a really deep clean on the house about 3 weeks ago. So what I am planning on doing now is to clean the bathroom (toilet, tub and sink) at some point next week. Then if I get around to it, and my back can take it :O, the following week (our last week) I will mop the floor. Then on moving day once everything is out I will do a quick vacuum, sweep and wipe down the kitchen counters and call it good. At some point I would like to wipe down the inside of the fridge since it will be staying.

We are moving 2.5hrs away, and I really need to be there when we start unloading the truck so I can direct traffic and make sure that things get at least close to the room they should be going to :shifty So I won't be able to stay around for very long and clean after we are done loading the truck up...and the new owners take possession of the house that same day, so we won't have the time (or money really) to hire someone to come clean.

There are other things that are probably going to be left undone too...like we really wanted to rake up the leaves and mow the lawn before we left. But it has been really rainy lately and it hasn't been dry long enough to get out and do that :shrug So I am going to leave a little note for the buyers apologizing for it and letting them know where the manuals for the appliances are.

[cobluegirl]

I usually clean it like I would if I was moving out of a rental and was going to be inspected... but not holes in the wall.

I hate moving into a place I have to scour before I can do so....like not obvious "their dirt" stuff