How to Clean a House Before Moving Out

When you are vacating your sold home in Camden ready for its new occupants, it's a very nice touch to leave it as clean as possible. If what goes around comes around, this might help ensure your new home is as beautiful for you when you arrive, too. It's not just about karma, though. You're far more likely to get complaints and have post-sale niggles if you leave the place in a mess, in all the hurry of moving out.

Cleaning up to move house in Camden, NW1 needn't wait until the actual completion day, in fact, it shouldn't. If you do your decluttering and packing in a systematic way, you can actually have very little to do on moving day itself. Getting rid of unwanted items, whether at car boot sales, open house, garage sales, to charity shops (or just the local dump) should be the first step in preparing to move. You can clear huge swathes of your home this way, and feel completely purged and cleansed, too.

Working through the packing room by room is highly effective. You start by packing up the rooms that don't get used that much, including attics, sheds, spare and guest rooms. As each one is cleared of all personal items, you can give it a good clean once empty. Make good any holes from things like picture hooks, remove cobwebs and dustballs where furniture once stood.

Hoover around curtain rails or poles and ceilings as well as the floors in the home in the NW1. Get rid of adhesives from the wall by using more of that, for example, Blu-tac, to roll off the residue on walls and even carpets. Then shut the door on each room that is clean and fresh and try not to go back in.

Creating one room downstairs as 'packing central' really works here. It means you don't have to leave packed removals boxes, which can themselves spread dirt. They all go into packing central and each room can be totally finished. There are going to be other rooms however that are in constant use right up to moving day. Minimise those, by sleeping the whole family together for a night or two. Put all bathrooms bar one out of bounds, get them cleaned and shut down.

So, on moving day, with this kind of planning and preparation, you're likely to have one bedroom, one bath, packing central and the kitchen not fully cleaned. But don't panic. There's plenty of time. Chances are, 90% of things are moved and packed, leaving the bare basics, overnight bags and large furniture to go. Try and have all the cupboards and wardrobes empty, keeping things out on the surface. That way, the insides of your furniture will be clean. So much nicer when it arrives in your new house.

Absolutely key is leaving a cleaning kit, or two depending on how many of you are there to help clean the property in Camden, ready for moving day. Get two large and waterproof boxes, ideally plastic and see-through. Pack them with clothes of all kinds, feather duster and all the cleaning materials you might need. It's like a buzz box in a restaurant and should be the very last thing to go on the removals van or into the car. Number one rule: keep some bin bags in it and DO NOT PACK THE VACUUM CLEANER.

As each room is emptied of the furniture and boxes, whizz around to dust, make good and hoover. It's often staggering how much dirt, money, tissue and kids toys is discovered when the big furniture is moved. So keep the bin bag and a box to hand. Only do the vacuuming when everyone and everything is out of a room. Trying to do so around removals men is absolutely futile and only causes problems.