We’ve rented a lot of houses.

We have to clean the rental houses when we move to a new location. I’ve never paid a cleaning service. Some homeowners have been surprised to hear that and perhaps a little nervous, but it saves us hundreds of dollars and only takes a few hours of work to get a house ready for the next renter.

I try to keep things clean and neat all along so it’s not such an overwhelming job.

It’s easier to clean a house that isn’t full of clutter.

How to have a low-maintenance house:

• Minimal lifestyle. Refuse. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Rot.
• A place for everything and everything in its place. If you need more stuff to store your stuff, minimize.
• Low-maintenance and enduring surfaces and materials. Leather is more durable and easily wipeable than microfiber upholstery, for instance.
• Eliminate knick-knacks and flat surfaces to minimize dusting.
• Clear the floors. Hanging items (TV, coats, lights) make it easier to clean floors. Tile and wood is easier than carpet.
• Vent bathrooms with fans or open windows to reduce mold.
• Run the stove fan while cooking to reduce grease in the kitchen. Clean regularly.
• No shoes in the house. Install a shoe cabinet by the door.
• Under counter or wall soap dispensers in kitchen and bathrooms. Keep counters clear.
• Gas fireplaces are cleaner than wood-burning ones.
• Plants for air cleaners. I love my houseplants!
• Store perishables in clear airtight reusable containers to eliminate waste.
• Use only dishwasher safe kitchen and dining items. No paper products! Less hand washing.
• Run full loads in dishwasher and washer/dryer.

Having less stuff and a low maintenance household reduces anxiety.

While those Pinterest pictures of cutesy decor look nice in images, they’re not for my reality. We don’t redecorate with every season, or even every time we move to a new house (and we move frequently with the military!). We’ve had the same furniture for almost 14 years.

If I’ve learned anything about living in so many different houses, it’s how to clean them quickly and easily – whether for company, a housing inspection, or landlord walk-through before leaving.

It irritates me to no end that so many rental houses have cheap paint that flakes or isn’t washable. We take tons of pictures during an initial walkthrough of any flaws we don’t want to be responsible for repairing, but there’s always something that we notice after living in a house for a few months. Landlords shouldn’t cut too many corners to save money. They just have to make those cosmetic or major repairs for the next tenants anyway.

I like to streamline my cleaning methods.

Always begin from the top and work your way down.

Ceiling fans and light fixtures, countertops, cabinets, etc. and floors last.

I use reusable sponges and cloth rags, only occasionally paper towels. We also have a carpet cleaner that works wonders.

For rug spots, baking soda usually works great. I often work it in with a brush, let it dry, then vacuum it up.

My favorite natural cleaners: vinegar, citric acid, baking soda, peroxide, rubbing alcohol.

Living Room

Dust cobwebs from ceilings, fans, door jambs, and window sills.

Wash windows with vinegar and/or soapy squeegee and dry with newspaper on a cloudy day for no streaks!

Vacuum and wash floors. Don’t forget the baseboards!

Mop your way out of a room, and it helps to keep the mop head going in the same direction of the grain of a hardwood floor – this reduces the chance of streaks forming.

Make sure to vacuum and wash sliding door tracks.

Bedrooms

Dust cobwebs from ceilings, fans, door jambs, and window sills.

Wash windows.

Vacuum and wash floors. Don’t forget the baseboards!

Kitchen

Dust cobwebs from ceiling, window frames, doorjambs.

Wash walls. Use baking soda and/or soap. We do our best when the paint isn’t gloss or semi-gloss. We’ve had to pay damages because of stains, but it really isn’t our fault when there’s shoddy or cheap workmanship. Gloss paint should be in bathrooms and kitchens!

Wash windows.

Wash cabinets, in and out.

For those flat top stoves, a razor blade removes the crusted-on spots. For gas stoves, make a paste with baking soda and water and scrub the cool surfaces. Let sit for a few minutes and then rinse. For electric coil stoves, wash the cool and unplugged coils with soap and rinse well. Try not to get the plugs wet. Stainless steel pads can scrub the drip pans well.

I keep the drip pans and oven lined with foil to help with cleaning.

Clean ovens with baking soda and peroxide. A razor blade also gets all that icky baked-on grease off the oven door. For the oven racks, soak them in baking soda or citric acid. We do double duty and use bathtubs for soaking grates and drip pans.

Wash refrigerator, including door seals. I take out and wash shelves and drawers in warm water. Pull out the entire unit and clean vents and underneath. We often find cat toys!

For stainless appliances, use a damp microfiber cloth, then buff with a dry one. Always wipe in the direction of the grain of the stainless.

Wash the seal and rim around the dishwasher.

Vacuum floor and mop floor.

Bathrooms

Get those mirrors clean. Use vinegar to remove any residue. I like squeegees to get them streak-free.

Citric acid gets even the hardest stains out! We use this in toilets.

Dust cobwebs from ceiling, window frames, doorjambs.

Wash shower and tub. Sometimes, I have to let them soak for the vinegar to work. Baking soda is a great scrub. Citric acid is also good for stains.

Clean sinks, counters, drawers, cabinets.

Wash walls.

Vacuum and wash floors.

Yes, sometimes I even use bleach.

Windows

Use vinegar to remove any residue. I like squeegees to get them streak-free. Newspaper also works better than cloth or paper towels. Clean sills, frames, and tracks.

Walls

Patch holes in white walls with plain toothpaste or buy wall patch spackle.

Dust corners for cobwebs. Don’t forget to wash baseboards! Vacuum lint and dust from radiators, air vents, and air returns. Wipe off any residue.

Floors

Vacuuming hard floors saves time and does a better job than brooms or dust mops. Don’t forget to wash baseboards!

Scrub tile floors with a hard sponge mop or brush. I even used a razor blade to get off tough spots on the tile.

Mop your way out of a room, and it helps to keep the mop head going in the same direction of the grain of a hardwood floor – this reduces the chance of streaks forming.

Washer and Dryer

A cup of vinegar in the washer cleans out most residue. I use a cloth and wipe out the seal and leave the lid open. Wash out soap dispensers.

Clean the lint trap in the dryer, vacuuming and wiping out residue.

Garage

We have a couple Rubbermaids of camping equipment in the corner. Also, coolers and some other seasonal items are stored nearby.

We keep yard toys on a low shelf that the kids can reach.

Tools are on a shelf and work desk.

Gardening and lawn care items are on a shelf or hanging. The lawnmower is in the corner with the gas can.

Bikes and scooters are neatly stored along the side. I have to enforce this!

By the door is another shelf with gardening and birding items.

I prefer no shoes in the house. We have a shoe shelf by the door. Sometimes, the shoes don’t quite make it in the shelf.

Sweep or blow floor frequently to keep dust, dirt, and leaves from coming inside on the bottoms of feet.

Outside

Trim bushes and hedges.

Mow and edge lawn.

We sweep or blow driveway, porch, patio, and deck areas frequently to make sure they look neat and tidy.

I can’t justify paying a lot for lawn maintenance on a rental house. We occasionally buy some low-maintenance, high-producing flowers that last a whole season – impatiens or petunias or pansies. I get mulch or pebbles or straw for upkeep in beds because I like everything looking neat. We are stewards of the house and it’s our responsibility.

Sometimes, landlords complain that the house isn’t clean or neat enough, or they feel there’s more than general wear and tear. Whether I missed a spot or they’re trying to make excuses to refuse the deposit return…

I just calmly ask how I can make it right.

For one landlady, it was a window shelf in the bathroom that had some dust, vertical blinds that needed to be wiped again, and a toilet base needed to be wiped again. They also had cloth wallpaper in the kitchen (are you kidding me?!) that would not come clean. So they blamed us for grease stains and we only got half our deposit back.

Another landlord complained about my children’s welcome chalk drawings on the front concrete stoop (really?!) and that the lawn wasn’t professionally mowed and edged (since our lawn equipment had already been shipped).

Some landlords are just really nitpicky and don’t really want to return that deposit.

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