The Complete Move-Out Cleaning Checklist

Two things first. If your landlord, agent, or housing office has their own checkout list, get it — that list, not this one, is your grading rubric, and anything on it outranks anything here. And clean after the movers, not before: moving furniture out reveals four years of dust lines and scuffs you can’t see today, and cleaning around boxes is cleaning twice.

• Inside and outside of every cabinet and drawer
• Inside the oven — racks, door glass, and drip pans
• Inside the fridge and freezer (defrosted, shelves washed)
• Microwave and dishwasher, inside and out
• Range hood and filter degreased
• Counters, sink, faucet, and backsplash descaled
• Behind and beneath appliances where they can be moved
• Floors scrubbed to the corners and under the toe-kicks

• Toilet — bowl, tank, base, and behind it
• Tub and shower descaled, glass polished
• Vanity inside and out, mirror, fixtures
• Exhaust fan cover dusted
• Floor hand-detailed at edges and behind the toilet

• Closets and shelving wiped out
• Baseboards, trim, doors, and door frames
• Switch plates and outlet covers
• Window sills and tracks
• Ceiling fans, light fixtures, and vents
• Cobwebs — ceilings, corners, behind doors
• Walls spot-cleaned for scuffs and marks
• All floors vacuumed and mopped

• Garage swept and cleared of debris
• Porches and entryways swept
• Light bulbs working (inspectors notice)
• Nail holes and wall damage handled per your lease
• Trash fully removed — not left at the curb after pickup day

Ask any landlord: it’s the oven, the fridge, the bathroom descaling, and the inside of cabinets. Those four eat more deposits than everything else combined, because they’re the jobs people run out of time for on the last day. If you only have energy for part of this list, spend it there. And photograph everything when you finish — a dated photo set of a clean empty home ends most deposit disputes before they start.

Families clearing quarters or ending leases around Fort Barfoot know these inspections are stricter than a civilian walkthrough, and the dates don’t flex. If you’re on PCS orders, build the clean into your timeline like any other appointment — after the movers, before the inspection, with a day of margin. Or hand it to us — inspection-standard move-out cleans, documented with photos on request, are a big part of what we do.