Packing up and moving your household can be a large undertaking that takes hours and sometimes days. But after you have moved out all your furnishings and boxes into your new place, it is time to clean your old place before you can start decorating at your new place. Often, your landlord will want the house cleaned out and the keys returned before the end of your last month's rent is up, otherwise, they will charge you for additional time in the rental house. Here are some recommendations to help you clean out your rental house to help ensure you get your deposit back and you can be on your way to enjoying your new place.

Clean Kitchen Appliances

Often, when you start cleaning an entire apartment or house, it can be easiest to start with some of the biggest areas to clean right at the start. This helps you see more progress early on in the cleaning and keep you motivated to handle the rest of the house after the kitchen is cleaned. 

Clean inside and outside the fridge, stove, microwave, and dishwasher. The dishwasher can get a build-up of food deposits, hard water build-up, mold, and mildew, so it is an area you need to clean even though it is supposed to do the cleaning for you. Be sure to pull out the stove and fridge to sweep and mop behind them as well. 

Wipe Down Vertical Surfaces

Be sure you clean and wipe down the fronts of all the kitchen cabinets and drawers, as these can become splattered and smudged with residue over time. Also wipe off walls in the kitchen and through the entire house, along with the fronts of the doors. 

When you wipe down the walls in the kitchen, be sure to use a cleaner that removes grease build-up, especially around the stove. Also, clean the ceiling of dust and grease build-up above the stove, as this is a large collection point of build-up.

Clean Commonly-Forgotten Areas

Once you get a good portion of the house cleaned, you should look to clean areas within the home that are the most forgotten and overlooked. This includes the window sill ledges and window tracks, light switch and outlet cover plates, all ledges and shelves inside and outside closets, ceiling fans and light fixtures, and along the baseboards. Also, vacuum out the vent covers inside the bathroom and the HVAC vents and air intake covers. 

Use these tips or hire a professional relocation cleaning service to get your old place sparkling-clean.