There’s a lot of fuss made about moving out cleaning, and with good reason. When you move out of a Chelsea rental property, you want to get your deposit money back from the landlord, so leaving the place nice and tidy is an absolute must. This is why people like me refer to ourselves as “end of tenancy cleaners” – because we usually get called in to help people get their old homes up to standard.

However, moving in cleaning is just as important – especially if you have just bought a house that’s stood vacant for a while or that was part of an estate sale or one that the previous owners and/or occupants just got out of. Sometimes, your new house might not be quite as clean as you really want it. Or, as happened to one young university student friend of mine, the previous tenants had left the place in a mess (and hadn’t got their deposit money back), and although the landlord had cleaned up most of the mess, there was still a fair bit left to be done. (If this happens to you, take photos of the condition the house was in before you do any moving-in cleaning as well as after you do the moving-in cleaning.)

Anyway, there you are, with all your worldly goods to unpack and a house that’s not quite as clean as it could be. What are you going to do? If you know ahead of your move that your new house isn’t quite going to be up to scratch, you can call in a professional Chelsea end of tenancy cleaning company (or “start of tenancy” – choose your pick!)to go in ahead of you and clean the place up so you can’t have to do anything apart from unpack and decide which cupboard the dinner plated need to live in.

However, what happens when you unlock the door and start dragging in items but find that the house is a bit dingy and messy? You’re going to need some sort of plan.

Focus On The Essentials First

When you’ve just moved into a new place, whose postcode starts with the coveted “SW3”, you need to make sure that you have somewhere to sleep and somewhere to eat – and somewhere to go to the toilet. I’ve moved house a few times over my life as well as working as a professional home cleaner, and in my experience, the first thing that I’d always do is to wipe down the kitchen countertops, the sink and the taps very thoroughly. This way, you know for certain that you can prepare a sandwich safely without poisoning yourself. Of course, there are hundreds of eateries down Kings Road, where sandwich duties can be fully outsourced, but… homemade is always best.

The next things I’d tackle are:

• The toilet – if you can replace the old seat, go for it!
• Bathroom taps and sink, plus the towel rail if it’s got dust, spiders or (worst case scenario) mould or limescale.
• Vacuum the bedroom floor where your bed is going to go – then move in your bed and make it. Do this for all members of the family. This way, you’ve got somewhere to sleep after the stress of your move.

After these essentials are taken care of, you can work through the rest of the house as needed – or get the professionals in to do the rest if you want to.

Blitz Any Nasties

In some houses (even in Chelsea, yes), there are some horrors that are quite hazardous. Mould, obvious traces of pests and rubbish left behind by the previous occupants all fall into this category. Although these things aren’t always in obvious places and may even be in dark corners, they are a health and safety hazard, so for the sake of your health and your family, deal with these as soon as you spot them.

In the case of rodent pests, you may also need to stop up any obvious holes and lay a trap or two, as well as clean out the droppings and sanitise the area where you found them very thoroughly. Mice have no bladder sphincters, so they are continually everywhere they go. For other pests, such as wasps, you will probably need the help of a professional pest removal service (and if the house is a rental, you should notify the landlord about the pest problem, as he or she should have taken care of this before you moved in).

Clean As You Unpack

This may seem like heresy. After all, during the end of tenancy, you should pack everything first, then clean the cupboards, etc. Shouldn’t you merely reverse things when doing the moving-in cleaning, getting all the storage spaces nice and clean, then unpacking all your goodies?

Unfortunately, it’s not usually as simple as that. For one thing, in your old Chelsea home, you knew where everything belonged, and you could leave packing the things you use every day, like your coffee mug and your socks, until the last minute – and then cleaning the cupboard or drawers that they belonged in. You’d be a little bit loony if you left the plates and cups you need to eat off every meal in a cardboard box wrapped in towels while you cleaned every single cupboard, drawer and shelf in the kitchen.

Once you’ve decided where, say, your dinner plates need to live, wipe out that shelf or that cupboard and maybe put some paper down to line the bottom of the cupboard (old newspaper will do until you can find the perfect bit of vinyl that suits the house and your taste). Don’t overthink it – ask yourself where you’d expect to look for plates in this kitchen, then put the plates there. And it’s not the end of the world if you later change your mind about where the plates need to go. You’re allowed to change your mind. Let me say that again:

• You have permission to change your mind about the best place to keep things.
• There is no right or wrong place to put plates, etc., and you are allowed to experiment if needed.

Clean the cupboards and other storage spaces as you move things into them. If it’s all a bit overwhelming and you still don’t want to call in a professional moving-in service (which you can do at any time during the process – honestly!), then let this happen organically. If you take something out of the packing boxes to use, put it away somewhere in the new house – and clean that place out before you put your jam jars, wine glasses or towels into it.

However, make sure that everything gets out of the boxes and properly unpacked into a new home!

Don’t Forget – Get The Oven Cleaned

If you’re lucky, the previous occupants will have left the oven in lovely condition – so nice and sparkling that you’re almost afraid to use it (don’t be silly – go ahead and bake yourself a batch of muffins!). If you’re not lucky, it will be grimy and grotty. There’s nothing for it but to get out the oven cleaner of your choice and get all that grime and gungy grease off it. This won’t be an easy job, but at least you can reassure yourself that you won’t have to get the oven looking as perfect as if it had just come from the shop but just to a sufficiently safe standard so it won’t burst into flames the first time you grill a few sausages… and you won’t have to clean it to perfection when you move out, either if you’re renting (don’t forget to take photos of what the oven looked like when you moved in case the landlord throws a wobbly and wants the oven perfect when you leave – you can prove that you didn’t have a perfect oven when you moved in, so you’re under no obligation to have it perfect when you move out).

I have been in the tenancy cleaning industry for over eleven years, and I would say 95% of all customers are nice people who simply want the best service for the money they pay. Sure, you might get someone who had a terrible day and needed to unload on the first thing before their eyes, but my interaction with customers is almost always positive.

Almost. Because there is this rare occasion when you meet someone who tries to be a prick on purpose, assuming you are in no position to respond. Let me give you one of the latest examples.

The common practice in the industry is for the tenancy cleaning companies to communicate exclusively with their customers. In other words, the tenants contact you to book their move-out cleaning, and you work out the details with them. There is one inherent problem with this approach – while the tenant has to book the professional cleaner, the party that is more interested in the procedure is the property owner. Tenants only want to move out, get their security deposit back, and continue their lives. Landlords, however, may have a different idea – they may have specific requirements for the procedure and certain expectations about the quality of service.

For that reason, our tenancy cleaning company decided very early on that we would always call on the property owners – either landlords or estate managers – and find out if they had anything specific in mind for the move-out cleaning. Wouldn’t that be too much of an effort, you may ask? Not at all – in most cases, we don’t need much more than a courtesy call, a sort of backup policy. As I already said, that is in most cases.

A few weeks ago, our customer support team received a standard call – a Chelsea couple moving out of their rented apartment near the Royal Hospital South Grounds. It was all going according to plan when the lady mentioned that their landlord might be a bit “problematic”. “He is not the easiest guy to talk to, and my husband and I believe he wants to keep the security deposit no matter what. Look, it’s not about the money, and if you don’t want the hassle, we will understand. We just wanted to let you know before you took the job.”

It is the case where the support team usually redirects to me. For some reason, I’ve built the reputation of the “weirdo whisperer” – I can find common ground with even the strangest person. However, this case was about to test even my considerable communication skills.

I began with a courtesy call. Our customers had provided us with the landlord’s number, and I called him late afternoon. I knew I had jumped into an emotional cesspool from how he answered the phone. We know at least one person who blames the world for everything – the weather, the economy, their health, the youth, God knows what else. It is never their fault – the government, aliens, and CIA are in cahoots to ruin their life. That’s the kind of person I was talking to on the phone.

After I presented myself, he asked me twice about the company’s name and, after a long pause, dismissively barked he had never heard of it. I politely explained that we are relatively new in the business, but we make up for the lack of experience with complete dedication to high-quality performance.

“Whatever, you don’t need to sell me that marketing nonsense”, he said derisively. My patience was already running low, so I switched to any requirements he might have. Not surprisingly, he couldn’t point out anything particular – the ever-dissatisfied rarely bother with details. I finished the conversation with an invitation to join us for the final quality check-up, which he readily accepted – no doubt with the intention to ruin the day of everyone on my cleaning team.

My next phone call was to my mentor in the cleaning industry – the former CEO of one of the largest cleaning companies in London who had started as a regular carpet cleaner. Now retired, he was a walking encyclopaedia on customer relations and how to build a successful cleaning business. “A couple of things”, he said when I described the case. “First – and you know this – don’t let him get under your skin. Keep it cool no matter what he says, don’t argue, don’t try to convince – you will never succeed this way. Second, do your homework, and do it well. You need the perfect cleaning job. Give him no reason to complain, but most importantly – learn the tenancy contract by heart, especially the cleaning clause. It might be a good idea to talk to a lawyer, just in case.”

I couldn’t argue with such sensible advice. When the day of the appointment came, I joined my cleaning team and made sure they did every chore in our task sheet by the book. The bathroom was sparkling, the kitchen was in perfect order, and the carpets looked like brand new. Finally, the moment of truth came, and the landlord arrived (10 minutes late) to check the apartment. I had asked the tenants to leave the final inspection to me, and they had agreed wholeheartedly.

I could just sense that the guy was looking for the tiniest excuse to rip our work apart. His anger became almost palpable when he couldn’t find a single concrete blemish to hang his hat on. “I don’t think that the cleaning – if you want to call it this way – is at all what I expected in terms of quality. That simply won’t do. I don’t consider the tenancy cleaning clause fulfilled.”

I nodded politely and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen from my backpack. “Could you please write a list of your complaints so our team can address them accordingly?”, I said and handed him the paper. He stared at me with his mouth agape. “I am afraid it is standard procedure. I am a manager at the company, and I have observed the whole procedure. It complies with our highest standards of performance. If you want to challenge this assertion, I will need it in writing so our lawyers can address it, too.”

I don’t know what had a more cold-showering effect on him – the steely calmness in my voice or mentioning the word “lawyer”. “That won’t be necessary…” was all he could muster before he took the envelope with the security deposit out of his pocket and put it on the table.

I learned a valuable lesson that day – don’t argue with rude people; shut them up with your performance and professionalism. Oh, and the word “lawyer” certainly helps.

I’m sure we’ve all heard the saying. “A crowded house is a sign of a crowded mind.” But is this statement true? When a tidy and well-organised person suddenly stops caring about the condition of his home and becomes a messy person, it is usually indicative of something unusual that happens in this person’s life – fatigue and feelings of hopelessness or both. Critical signs of depression. When someone suffers from depression, routine tasks such as housekeeping are usually less important. Although a cluttered house may not necessarily be a sign of a cluttered mind, it can be one of the early depression symptoms.
Here are some traits that some people can recognise.

Mental issues

We do not assume that a cluttered room is a reason for a diagnosis, but there may be individuals with mental illness to explain the way they live. The collector wants the mess to such an extent that removing something can be psychologically harmful. If this is the case, one may want to seek help.

Creatively and productively busy

You may have heard this phrase uttered by a crowded person: “Do not clean up the mess. I know exactly where everything is.” We’re sure you’ve probably seen the cluttered rooms of someone who’s not lazy, quite the opposite. They can always work on something that excludes cleaning. And yet they also have a firm idea of ​​their environment, where they are pretty organised despite all the confusion. So don’t be surprised if an /writer’s workspace/living space is full of paints and books. They are more interested in keeping their home full of ideas than tidying.

Undisturbed

Depending on the levels of dirt, a messy room can also be considered a home. Research has found that people with more confusing living spaces are less likely to adhere to social norms about how a person should live, feeling less stressed by the need to maintain cleanliness in their interior. That is not true for everyone, but those who keep things messy probably either like it that way or do not worry about it.

Naughty

Of course, if this is a child’s cluttered room, his parents likely asked him to clean it. And this child probably refuses to do so. If this child grows up and still lives in a cluttered room, he may have trouble following the rules and accepting orders, believing that this is his room and he will do whatever he wants with it. These people can apply the same habits by leaving garbage on the table after eating by refusing to clean up this mess.

Solving problems

Researchers have found that people in the cluttered room are more adept at solving puzzles and riddles. It again speaks of an environment in which they feel a calmer atmosphere, like a living space that is comfortable and cosy, not clean and tidy. We are sure that the mind feels less stressed to deal with a problem if it does not feel pressured to keep things tidy. It may explain why many gamers can be adept at video games but need to clean up their gaming zone.

Not-so-healthy lifestyle

The worst messes are those with food. Someone with a cluttered living space is likelier to wait to clean their dishes and leave food utensils still inlaid with food to dry. That carries the dangers of mould in the living area and attracts mice, which can easily break through your cluttered corners, leaving small pieces of debris and holes behind. And even if you like rodents, their presence can turn your living space into a nightmare of sights and smells. Not to mention the horrible fast food one eats with this messy lifestyle.

Open to new things

Another test of people in clean and people in cluttered rooms. The participants were given smoothie menus. The results were that those in the clean rooms preferred the more traditional smoothies, while the occupants of the cluttered rooms enjoyed some new choices. We’re still determining how reliable this study may have been, but we assume you can count on a messy person to choose something exotic for dinner outdoors, whatever it costs. The study may be trying to say more broadly that someone messy is likely to give new things a chance. However, cleaning their room may not be one of those things.

Stubborn

As we said, there is a chance that the inhabitant of the cluttered room will play differently from the rules of society. Denying their parents’ request to clean their room can lead to many things being denied, including making the bed or washing dishes. Reluctance to clean and organise can lead to a refusal of more, and one may refuse to maintain order in public places. They can also become very defensive about their living spaces.

Generosity

On the other hand, a cluttered room can signal more generosity. A study found that those who live in a messy room are more likely to donate more to charity. With so much clutter around, one feels that there is too much, realising how lucky they are to have so many things while others have less. We are sure many people want to get all this rubbish out but have yet to reach the kitchen. But please, if you try to donate these dishes, wash them first!

Conservative

Some people find it very difficult to say goodbye to the things they love. You’ve probably seen these homes: they have tea sets that no one uses, old furniture placed on the balcony, an old bicycle that no one has ridden for a long time, and other useless things.

At best, this behaviour indicates a conservative personality: they do not want to change things and try to hide from these changes. The worst-case scenario is when a person constantly brings useless things home. That is a sign of obsessive behaviour and neurosis. These people can’t stop piling up.

Not many individuals can say that they love cleaning. However, specific individuals disdain it so much that it’s frightening: they collect all the garbage on their balcony or put all the dirty dishes in the sink until they realise there are no clean dishes left.

Procrastination is an issue that many individuals have to manage. It often manifests in our daily tasks. And it seems more logical to do a little work regularly instead of doing a lot. But in fact, people use excuses like “I’m bored,” “I don’t have time now,” or “I’ll do it tomorrow.” If you notice that you sometimes procrastinate, try to start with small things. Wash your dishes immediately after eating, and take out the garbage daily – this forms a healthy habit of doing everything on time. You will need this habit in more critical aspects of your life, such as work or relationships with others.

When do you need professional help to clean your home? Here are some options for turning to specialists: when you do not have time after work to keep your home clean, when your only free time is the weekend, and you want to pay attention to your family. You use the apartment or villa for vacation several times a year. The rest of the time, it is empty.

In addition to her homework, a modern housewife is engaged in her professional career and the children. When you are at work every day after you get home, you have to finish urgent commitments such as cooking dinner, paying attention to the children, and other small things that fully engage your attention, and there is no time left to clean the house. Wiping dust and washing the bathroom and kitchen requires more time, which every engaged housewife only has time on weekdays. And on the weekends, you will not have time to rest and recharge for the new busy week.

Ask for help, trust the professionals

In these cases, we advise you to turn to clean companies, which will be the ideal option to do everything for you. While at work, companies will completely clean your home of dust and dirt, and when you return, you will only enjoy a clean house. Save time and effort on these things; trust the professionals. Companies can clean your home once or monthly according to your needs.

Are you one of these?

You have a villa or apartment in a remote area, which you can use only to unwind from your daily life. To use it, you first need to clean it of dust and cobwebs that will collect while you are gone. In this case, you can also use the cleaning services of companies that will go before you to clean. And then you need to rest fully, not grab the rag and the vacuum cleaner and clean all day or weekend so that you can feel good using it.

Cleaning companies are also a solution for housewives who prefer to avoid cleaning themselves. Not everyone likes to wipe dust and rub tiles and floors from dirt, which can take hours, depending on the area of ​​your home. Washing windows is another tedious task for most housewives. For this “yes”, you need a professional to clean your home.

You have pets that bring with them joy and love, but they also leave behind hairs and dirt from muddy paws. They can’t clean up after themselves, so that’s your job. And if you have a small child crawling and playing on the floor, cleaning and maintaining the home can be a real challenge. In addition to basic cleaning, the companies offer various packages and options for subscription cleaning tailored to your needs. Ensure your comfort and cleanliness for a few days after their cleaning and disinfection.

With subscription cleaning, you will maintain your home systematically. And basic cleaning will need to be done much less often. With a subscription, they will clean the furniture in detail in addition to the surface. Once the professionals thoroughly clean your home, you know that maintaining it becomes easier. You can maintain it or leave it to the company you trust.

Choose an option that will help you in your daily life. Make the most of your time for the things that are more important to you.

Which places do professional helpers emphasize when cleaning your home?

We will draw your attention to the places professional cleaning assistants emphasize when visiting your home. But these are important places and objects that you can also clean regularly to ensure a clean house, free of bacteria and layered dirt.

1. Cleaning the sink in the bathroom and kitchen. These places accumulate layers of soap, shower gel, detergents, toothpaste and grease from dishes. Sinks are the areas professional cleaners always clean when they visit, but you can also clean them every day after using them, so they will be kept clean and friendly. You do not need to use strong detergents every day to clean them, you need to take a minute to wipe them, and they will be perfect.
2. Garbage disposal daily. Make it a habit to take the garbage with you every day when you walk or work. This way, it will not stay in your home and harm the air quality. In this way, you can teach your children to help you by taking the garbage (as long as it is not too heavy for them) to throw it away, so you will make them the habit of doing it from an early age in the future. Garbage disposal daily helps maintain your home’s hygiene and does not require more than a minute.
3. Dry your bathroom’s walls every time you shower. That will avoid layering soap and mould on the tiles. You can do this with the help of a rubber band again for no more than 1 minute a day. After drying the bathroom walls, you guarantee you will not have mould or an unpleasant odour from its appearance.
4. Clean the areas where there is a lot of “traffic” for each family member. Namely carpets, paths, corridor, pad in front of the front door, etc. They are essential in filters that absorb house dust and retain it in them. If you clean them daily to ensure a clean home, you can use vacuum cleaners or steam cleaners to clean them.

We hope you found the article helpful. If you try to observe these small details in your daily life, you will ensure a clean and friendly home in which you will enjoy living.

So, you are about to move out of your former residence. Congratulations – we know it is always a huge step. But before you start planning the welcome party at your new place, there is this tiresome end of tenancy cleaning to arrange. 

Let’s assume you have already picked your contractor and scheduled the date for cleaning. Here are the three obligatory things you must do before the cleaning crew arrives.

Notify Your Landlord About Your Choice

The best tenancy cleaning companies will usually do that for you but leave nothing to chance. Consider this the final courtesy or the classy thing to do. Most landlords do not care who does the cleaning as long as the results are satisfactory, but some know their business and will inquire about your choice of contractor.

Move All Your Boxes Before The Cleaning

“Come on, that’s self-evident!”, you would say. You will be surprised how many people don’t consider it or bungle their planning. If you want the best results for your money, the more empty the apartment – the more efficient the effort.

Leave A List With Suggestions With The Most Problematic Areas

Speaking from experience – most cleaners consider this a sign of extra attention from their customers and love their input. Yes, the best professionals will quickly find their way around the premises and locate the most pressing issues. But that doesn’t mean that they do not appreciate the help!