How to Prepare Your Home for a Cleaning Service: Checklist & Tips

Preparing your home before a professional cleaning service arrives costs you 10–20 minutes and directly improves the quality and value of your $160–$400 cleaning appointment. The goal of pre-cleaning preparation is not to clean your home before the cleaners arrive — that defeats the purpose. The goal is to remove obstacles so the cleaning team can spend their full scheduled time actually cleaning rather than navigating clutter, searching for access to surfaces, or dealing with logistics that you could have handled in advance.

The single most impactful preparation step is decluttering surfaces. Kitchen counters, bathroom counters, bedroom nightstands, coffee tables, and dining tables should be cleared of personal items, papers, dishes, and anything that does not belong on the counter permanently. When surfaces are clear, cleaners can wipe, disinfect, and polish them completely in a single pass. When surfaces are covered with items, cleaners either skip them (leaving them unclean) or spend significant time moving items — time that comes directly out of actual cleaning time. Ten minutes of decluttering before the team arrives is worth far more than the time it takes.

Pick up items from the floor throughout the home. Laundry, shoes, children's toys, pet toys, bags, and any floor-level clutter should be moved off the floor before the cleaning team arrives. This applies especially to bedroom floors, living room floors, and any area the cleaners need to vacuum and mop. Vacuuming and mopping cannot be done properly around items on the floor — cleaners will work around obstacles, leaving those areas with less thorough results.

Secure or remove valuables and sentimental items. This is not about distrust — 24 25 Cleaners background-checks every cleaner on our team. It is about peace of mind and avoiding accidental damage to irreplaceable items. Small valuables (jewelry, cash, important documents), fragile items (heirlooms, delicate decorative pieces), and anything you would be distressed to have accidentally moved or broken should be put away or secured before the team arrives. This also removes the cognitive burden of worrying about these items during the clean.

Provide clear access to the home. Make sure there is a clear entry method arranged — whether that is leaving a key under a mat, providing a door code, leaving the door unlocked, or being present at the time of arrival. Confirm the entry arrangement with 24 25 Cleaners when you schedule the appointment. For apartment buildings, ensure the front desk or building management is aware the cleaning team will be visiting, especially if a fob or access card is needed for the elevator or building entry.

Communicate special instructions in advance. If there are areas of the home you want skipped (a home office with sensitive materials, a room where a pet sleeps, a space currently being renovated), let the cleaning team know before they arrive — not during. If you have surface-specific care requirements (a marble countertop that cannot tolerate acidic cleaners, a delicate wood floor that needs a specific product), communicate this when booking. Written notes left in the home are helpful for one-time items; for recurring cleans, confirm special instructions with 24 25 Cleaners when setting up your account.

For deep cleans, there are additional preparation steps. If you want the inside of the oven cleaned, remove all oven racks and set them aside so the team can access the interior easily. If the inside of the refrigerator is on your list, clear out expired items, remove any shelving you want the team to clean separately, and turn the fridge temperature up slightly to avoid the interior getting too cold to work comfortably. If you want windows done, ensure all window locks are in the open position for easy interior access.

Pets are a common logistics consideration. Inform 24 25 Cleaners if you have pets — dogs and cats that are anxious around strangers, protective of the home, or likely to escape through an open door should be secured in a room not being cleaned or temporarily removed from the home during the appointment. Uncaged birds, reptiles, and other animals should similarly be secured. Let the team know which rooms pets are in so they can plan their cleaning sequence accordingly.

After the cleaning team departs, do a walkthrough while the clean is fresh. Check the areas most important to you — kitchen surfaces, bathrooms, floors — and confirm the results meet your expectations. If anything was missed or does not look right, contact 24 25 Cleaners within 24 hours. Our satisfaction guarantee means we will return and address any issue at no charge. Doing this promptly ensures the issue can be addressed while the visit is recent and the context is clear. Call 425-494-5199 (Washington) or 424-484-0180 (California) with any concerns — we are responsive and stand behind every clean.