Move-In Cleaning Checklist: What to Clean Before You Unpack
Our move-in cleaning checklist, room by room: what a move-in clean includes, and what to do first if your Georgia rental is dirty when you get the keys.
By Bozman Cleaning9 min read
Clean before you unpack. That’s the whole idea behind a move-in clean, and it’s why this move-in cleaning checklist starts with the inside of things: every cabinet and drawer, the fridge and the oven, the bathroom cabinets, the closets. Once your dishes and clothes are in there, you won’t get to those surfaces again for a long time. Then come the blinds, baseboards, switches and doors, and the floors go last. And if the place is dirty when you get the keys, take photos before anyone touches a sponge.
When the rental is dirty on move-in day
Here’s a real one. In May 2026 a family hired us to get the house they’d just rented ready before they moved in. This is what they wrote afterwards:
“We recently moved into a new rental and hired this cleaning team to help get everything ready. These women worked for 9 hours straight because of how dirty the home was when we received it. […] They went above and beyond to make sure my family could move into a smooth, clean, and comfortable environment.”
To be clear, nine hours isn’t normal. That’s what that particular house needed. What we’d point to is the order they did things in: keys first, cleaning second, furniture and boxes after. If they’d unpacked into those cabinets, the job would have been twice as awkward and half as thorough.
Why do people get a dirty rental in the first place? Usually nothing dramatic. The last tenant skipped the move-out clean, or the landlord had a few days between leases and didn’t fit one in. Either way, the grease on the range hood and the film inside the cabinets aren’t yours, and the easiest moment to get rid of them is right now, while the rooms are empty.
Before you clean: take photos and get it in writing
Here’s the catch. Cleaning wipes away the proof of what you walked into. So before you start (or before we do):
- Photograph every room as you found it. Wide shots first, then close-ups: inside the oven, inside the fridge, the cabinets, tubs, toilets, carpet, anything broken. Your phone dates each photo for you.
- Ask for the move-in list. In Georgia, a landlord covered by the inspection rules has to give you a list of existing damage before taking your security deposit, and you can sign it or write down what you disagree with (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-33(a)). Some small landlords are exempt, so ask which applies to you.
- Send a short email with the photos. Ideally on the day you get the keys. Two lines and the attachments is plenty.
- Then clean. Keep those photos with your lease. You’ll want them again at move-out, and our Georgia move-out cleaning checklist explains why.
Who pays for the cleaning, or whether the landlord sends someone back, depends on your lease and your landlord. We’re a cleaning company, not lawyers, so take this as general information, not legal advice.
What does a move-in cleaning include?
Ours uses the exact same list as our move-out cleaning. Makes sense when you think about it: both are an empty home, cleaned inside and out. These are the lines our team works from.
Entire home
- Dust all ceiling fans, vents and blinds
- Clean mirrors, all glass shelves and surfaces
- Clean the baseboards and light switches with a damp cloth
- High-dust the whole home
- Wipe the inside of the windows and blinds with a damp cloth
- Dust and wipe doors, door frames and door knobs
- Collect and dispose of all trash to your trash bin
- Vacuum the entire floor and carpets with two vacuum cleaners
- Use a wet and dry mop to clean and shine floors
Kitchen
- Clean the inside and outside of the cabinets and drawers, and countertops with a wet cloth
- Clean the refrigerator inside and outside, top and sides
- Clean the oven inside and out
- Clean the microwave inside and out
- Clean and polish the stove top
- Clean the outside, top, front and sides of the dishwasher
Bathrooms
- Thoroughly clean showers, sinks, tiles, toilets, doors, furniture and all cabinets (inside and outside)
- Polish all glass surfaces, shower doors and taps
- Disinfect surfaces with antibacterial spray
Bedrooms, laundry and pantry
- Clean all surfaces from dust
- Wipe laundry and pantry surfaces and shelves with a wet cloth
What’s not on it: painting, hauling away furniture or bags someone left behind, and carpet shampooing. If the carpet needs more than a vacuum, carpet cleaning can go on the same booking, and an empty room is the best time for it anyway.
Move-in cleaning checklist, room by room
Doing it yourself? Fair enough. One rule saves a lot of re-wiping: work top to bottom in every room, so dust falls on things you haven’t cleaned yet. And leave all the floors for the very end.
Kitchen
- Cabinets and drawers, inside: shelves, edges, and the hinges, which collect more than you’d think
- Fridge: pull out the shelves and drawers, wash them in the sink, wipe the walls and the door seals
- Oven: follow the label on whatever cleaner you use, and check first whether it’s a self-cleaning oven, since some cleaners shouldn’t go in those
- Microwave: inside, the turntable, the door, and the vent above it
- Range hood: the outside and the filter (this is usually where the last tenant’s cooking ends up)
- Stove top and the backsplash behind it
- Dishwasher: the door edge, the front and the sides
- Sink, faucet, and the cabinet under the sink
Bathrooms
- Shower and tub: the walls, the glass, the door track and the drain cover
- Toilet: bowl, seat hinges, the base and the floor around it
- Sink, faucet, and the vanity cabinets inside and out
- Mirror and any glass shelves
- The exhaust fan cover, which nobody ever looks at
Bedrooms and living areas
- Closets: shelves, the rod, the floor
- Ceiling fans and vents
- Blinds and the inside of the window glass
- Baseboards, light switches, door frames and door knobs
Laundry and pantry
- Wipe the shelves and surfaces
- Clean the floor where the washer and dryer will go, before they go in. You won’t see that spot again for years.
Floors, last
- Vacuum every room, carpet edges and closets included
- Mop the hard floors
Move-in vs move-out cleaning
| Move-in cleaning | Move-out cleaning | |
|---|---|---|
| When | After you get the keys, before your boxes arrive | After the truck leaves, before the keys go back |
| Who books it | The new tenant or buyer | The leaving tenant, or the landlord between tenants |
| What it covers | The empty-home list: cabinets, fridge and oven inside, bathrooms, blinds, baseboards, floors | The same list |
| What to keep | Photos of what you received, and the move-in list | Photos of what you left, for the deposit |
Same job, different day, different reason.
How long does a move-in clean take?
Honestly, it depends, and anyone who gives you one number without seeing the place is guessing. What changes it most:
- How the last person left it. A home that got a move-out clean goes fast. One handed over dirty, like the house in the review above, takes a lot longer.
- The kitchen. Oven grease, the range hood and old spills inside the fridge eat more time than any other room.
- How many bathrooms, and how much buildup is on the glass and tile.
- Carpet. Vacuuming is included. Deep cleaning the carpet is a separate service.
When you book, upload a couple of photos of the oven and the fridge. Then the team knows what they’re walking into.
Book it for the day before the truck
The best day is one when the home is empty, the power and water are on, and your stuff arrives tomorrow. Put the access details in the notes when you book: the lockbox code, the leasing office hours, or who has the key. You pick the size by bedrooms and baths, from one bedroom up to four, and you see the total before you confirm. Nothing is charged when you book.
Book a move-in cleaning online. Already living there with full cabinets? Then deep cleaning is the better fit, because a move-in list can’t really be done around your things.
Frequently asked questions
What does a move-in cleaning include?
A move-in cleaning covers an empty home inside and out: the inside of every cabinet and drawer, the fridge and oven inside and out, the microwave, the bathrooms including cabinets and shower glass, blinds, baseboards, switches, doors and frames, and then the floors are vacuumed and mopped. Our full list is above.
Should I clean a new home before moving in?
Yes, if you can do it before you unpack. Cabinets, drawers, closets and the fridge only get properly cleaned while they’re empty, and the last occupant’s dust and grease come off easiest then. A brand-new build is no exception, since construction leaves its own fine dust behind.
What should I do if my rental is dirty when I move in?
Photograph every room before cleaning, note the condition on the move-in list your landlord gives you, and email the photos to your landlord right away. Then sort out with your landlord, under your lease, who does the cleaning. Keep the photos for move-out.
Is move-in cleaning the same as move-out cleaning?
The checklist is the same, since both happen in an empty home. The difference is timing and purpose: a move-in clean gets the home ready for you, a move-out clean gets it ready for the deposit inspection.
Do I need to be home during the move-in clean?
No, as long as the team can get in and the power and water are on. Leave the access details in the notes. If you can, stop by at the end for a quick walk-through and open the cabinets, the oven and the fridge together.
How we made this guide
- The “What does a move-in cleaning include?” list is the checklist our team uses on move-in and move-out visits, copied word for word.
- The review is a public Google review of Bozman Cleaning from May 28, 2026, shortened where you see […].
- The Georgia rule on the move-in damage list is O.C.G.A. § 44-7-33.
