HOUSE CLEANING CHECKLIST
Free house cleaning checklist — room by room, ready to print
What a standard clean includes in every room, with a place for the client, the date and the cleaner's name. Free in Word and PDF, with a daily, per-visit and monthly cleaning schedule template to go with it.
Word and PDF · Free · No email, no sign-up
The short answer
A house cleaning checklist lists what gets done in every room on a standard visit: dust, wipe, vacuum and mop everywhere, plus the kitchen (counters, stovetop, sink, appliance fronts, microwave) and the bathrooms (toilet, shower, sink, mirror). What it leaves out matters as much — the oven, the fridge, the windows, the walls and the baseboards are a deep clean or an extra.
For a cleaning business the checklist does three jobs. It's the quote (the client sees what's included before the price), it's the crew's instructions (a new cleaner can walk a house with it on day one), and it's the record (a checked-off list left on the counter shows what was done).
Below: the printable checklist, a cleaning schedule template for daily, per-visit and monthly tasks, every line explained, and how the same list becomes the services list on your website.
FREE CHECKLIST · WORD AND PDF
The house cleaning checklist, ready to print
A standard clean, room by room, with a check box on every line. Fill in the client, the address and the date, hand it to the crew, and leave the checked off copy behind. Letter size, portrait, two pages. Free, no email address, no sign-up.
Checklist · check off every line
| [Your business name] | |
| House Cleaning Checklist | |
| Standard clean — what's included on every visit | |
| Client: ______________________________ Address: ______________________________ | |
| Date: ____________ Cleaner(s): __________________ In: ______ Out: ______ | |
| Every room | |
| ☐ | Dust all reachable surfaces, shelves and decor |
| ☐ | Dust ceiling fans, light fixtures and vents you can reach |
| ☐ | Wipe light switches, door handles and door frames |
| ☐ | Wipe window sills and ledges |
| ☐ | Spot-clean fingerprints and marks on doors and walls |
| ☐ | Empty trash cans and put in fresh liners |
| ☐ | Vacuum carpets and rugs, including edges |
| ☐ | Vacuum and mop hard floors |
| ☐ | Straighten cushions, throws and anything out of place |
| Kitchen | |
| ☐ | Wipe and disinfect countertops and backsplash |
| ☐ | Clean the outside of the fridge, oven, dishwasher and hood |
| ☐ | Clean the microwave inside and out |
| ☐ | Clean the stovetop, burner grates and control knobs |
| ☐ | Scrub and shine the sink, faucet and drain |
| ☐ | Wipe cabinet fronts and handles |
| ☐ | Wash dishes left in the sink, or load the dishwasher (if agreed) |
| ☐ | Wipe the table and chairs |
| ☐ | Sweep and mop the floor |
| Bathrooms | |
| ☐ | Scrub and disinfect the toilet — bowl, seat, lid, base and behind |
| ☐ | Clean the shower and tub, walls, door or curtain liner |
| ☐ | Clean the sink, faucet and counter |
| ☐ | Clean mirrors and glass |
| ☐ | Wipe cabinet fronts and towel bars |
| ☐ | Empty the bathroom trash and put in a fresh liner |
| ☐ | Hang fresh towels if the client left them out (if agreed) |
| ☐ | Sweep and mop the floor, including behind the door |
| Bedrooms | |
| ☐ | Make the beds — change the linens if fresh ones are left out |
| ☐ | Dust nightstands, dressers, headboards and lamps |
| ☐ | Tidy surfaces and straighten what's out of place |
| ☐ | Vacuum under the edge of the bed as far as you can reach |
| Living and dining rooms | |
| ☐ | Dust the TV, consoles and electronics with a dry cloth |
| ☐ | Wipe tables and polish wood surfaces |
| ☐ | Vacuum sofa cushions and under them (if agreed) |
| ☐ | Dust picture frames, lamps and shelves |
| Entry, hallway and stairs | |
| ☐ | Vacuum the stairs and landings |
| ☐ | Shake out or vacuum door mats |
| ☐ | Wipe banisters and handrails |
| ☐ | Wipe the front door inside |
| Laundry room | |
| ☐ | Wipe the tops and fronts of the washer and dryer |
| ☐ | Clean the laundry sink |
| ☐ | Sweep and mop the laundry floor |
| Before you leave | |
| ☐ | Walk every room against this list |
| ☐ | Put supplies away and take your trash with you |
| ☐ | Lights off, doors locked, alarm set as the client asked |
| ☐ | Leave your note, or text the client that you're done |
| Not included in a standard clean: inside the oven, inside the fridge, inside windows, washing walls, baseboards, blinds, and washing or folding laundry. Add them as extras, or book a deep clean. | |
| [Your business name] · [Your phone] · [Your website] | |
The Word file is a standard .docx — edit the lines to match what your cleans include, add your logo, and save it as your master copy. The PDF prints as-is. Print at “Actual size”, not “Fit to page”.
CLEANING SCHEDULE TEMPLATE
The cleaning schedule template — daily, every visit, monthly
What gets done between visits, on every visit, every other visit, monthly and every season — whatever the plan. Give it to recurring clients so they know what's coming, and so the monthly jobs never get forgotten.
Schedule · check off as you go
| [Your business name] | |
| Cleaning Schedule | |
| Daily, every visit and monthly — what gets done, and when | |
| Home: ______________________________ Plan: [weekly / every two weeks / monthly] | |
| Visit day: ______________ Cleaner(s): ______________________ Start date: ______________ | |
| Daily (the client, between visits) | |
| ☐ | Make the beds |
| ☐ | Wipe kitchen counters and the stovetop after cooking |
| ☐ | Wash the dishes or run the dishwasher |
| ☐ | Wipe the bathroom sink and counter |
| ☐ | Sweep the kitchen floor |
| ☐ | Take out the trash |
| ☐ | A ten-minute tidy before bed |
| Every visit | |
| ☐ | The whole house cleaning checklist: dust, wipe, vacuum, mop, kitchen, bathrooms |
| ☐ | Change the bed linens |
| ☐ | Clean mirrors and glass doors |
| ☐ | Hang fresh towels |
| ☐ | Take out the trash and recycling |
| Every other visit | |
| ☐ | Vacuum upholstery and under the cushions |
| ☐ | Dust blinds and window frames |
| ☐ | Wipe baseboards in the busy rooms |
| ☐ | Wipe the inside of the trash cans |
| ☐ | Dust the tops of door frames and tall furniture |
| Monthly | |
| ☐ | Inside the oven |
| ☐ | Inside the fridge — shelves, drawers and door seals |
| ☐ | Wash the shower curtain or liner |
| ☐ | Wash ceiling fan blades, vents and light fixtures |
| ☐ | Wipe walls, doors and switch plates |
| ☐ | Clean inside windows and tracks |
| ☐ | Vacuum under and behind furniture |
| ☐ | Descale the kettle and coffee maker |
| Every season | |
| ☐ | A deep clean — see the deep cleaning checklist |
| ☐ | Behind and under the fridge and stove |
| ☐ | Wash windows outside |
| ☐ | Flip or rotate mattresses |
| ☐ | Wash curtains and clean blinds slat by slat |
| ☐ | Scrub tile grout |
| Check off the monthly and seasonal lines as they're done so the client can see what's coming next visit. | |
| [Your business name] · [Your phone] · [Your website] | |
The daily lines are the client's — most cleaners leave them on the sheet so the visit isn't spent on dishes.
Build the website
Start your cleaning website now
Add your business name and your town to the sentence, and Zarla builds the site, with a page for each service and town you list. You edit it in chat and publish when you're ready.
Already have a website? Bring it across →Zarla keeps your old page addresses where it can and redirects the ones that change, helping you keep the Google standing you've built.
STANDARD, DEEP OR MOVE-OUT
What's in each kind of clean
The three cleans most companies sell, side by side — so the checklist you hand over matches the price you quoted.
| Area | Standard clean | Deep clean | Move-out clean |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kitchen | Counters, stovetop, sink, appliance fronts, microwave, floor | Plus inside the oven and fridge, behind the appliances, hood filter, grout | Everything, including inside every cabinet and drawer, empty |
| Bathrooms | Toilet, shower, sink, mirror, floor | Plus grout, descaling, exhaust fan, behind the toilet | Everything, including inside the vanity and the medicine cabinet |
| Floors | Vacuum and mop | Edge-vacuum, grout, under furniture | Edge to edge, including closets and under appliances |
| Walls and baseboards | Spot-clean marks | Washed | Washed, scuffs removed, nail holes noted |
| Windows | Sills only | Inside glass, sills and tracks | Inside glass, sills, tracks and blinds |
| Bedrooms | Beds made, surfaces dusted | Under the bed, mattress vacuumed, closets | Closets empty and wiped, floors edge to edge |
| How it's priced | Per visit, by the home's size | Two to three times a standard clean | By the whole home, as a one-off |
STEP BY STEP
How to use a house cleaning checklist with clients and crews
Ten minutes to set up once; then the same sheet on every job.
Make it yours
Open the Word file, put your business name and phone on it, and strike out anything your standard clean doesn't include. Save it as your master.
Send it with the quote
Attach the checklist to every quote. The customer sees exactly what the price buys, and “you didn't do the oven” stops being a conversation.
Print one per visit
Fill in the client, address, date and cleaner at the top. A clipboard in the caddy is all the system you need.
Check off as you go, room by room
The crew works top to bottom through each room and checks off each line. A new cleaner can follow it on day one.
Leave the checked off copy
On the kitchen counter, with the time in and out. It's the record of what was done and the reminder to rebook.
Put the same list online
What's included is the first thing a customer looks for on a cleaner's website. The checklist is that page, already written.
Every line on the checklist, explained
“Every room” comes first for a reason. Dust, switches, sills, trash, vacuum and mop are the same in a bedroom and a hallway. Crews that learn that block clean faster, because every room starts the same way: top to bottom, dry before wet.
The kitchen lines are the ones customers check. The stovetop, the sink and the microwave inside are where a missed job shows. “Outside of appliances” is deliberate: inside the oven and the fridge are extras on most price lists.
Bathrooms are where the client decides whether to rebook. The base of the toilet, behind it, and the floor behind the door are the three places a quick clean skips and a customer notices.
“If agreed” marks an add-on. Dishes, fresh towels and under the sofa cushions take time some clients pay for and some don't. Agree it on the quote, and the sheet carries the answer.
“Before you leave” is the part that gets you rebooked. A walk-through against the list, supplies away, the alarm set the way the client asked, and a note on the counter. It takes four minutes and it's the difference between a clean and a service.
Put the checklist on your website as your services list
The checklist you hand a client is the services list they looked for before they called. Most cleaning websites say “we clean homes” and leave the customer guessing; the ones that get the call list the rooms and the tasks — a standard clean includes this, a deep clean adds that, a move-out clean covers the lot.
If you build your cleaning website with Zarla, add your business name and your town to the sentence above, and Zarla builds the site, with a page for each service and town you list. Then tell the editor “add a what's-included section listing the rooms and tasks on my house cleaning checklist” and the list goes on the site, in a section you can edit any time.
Want to see a finished site first? Browse cleaning website templates, see how Zarla builds cleaning websites, or look at six cleaning website designs and what agencies charge for them.
The rest of the pack
One checklist per kind of clean, all free: the deep cleaning checklist, move-out cleaning checklist and office cleaning checklist. Hand the client the one that matches the quote.
Setting up or pricing the business? How to start a cleaning business covers the first steps; how much to charge for house cleaning has the 2026 rates and a calculator; the cleaning invoice template bills the visit, and how to write a quote prices it first.
House cleaning checklists: common questions
Yes. The house cleaning checklist and the cleaning schedule template on this page download free as a Word document and a PDF, with no email address and no sign-up. Edit the Word file to match your own cleans, or print the PDF and check it off by hand.
The tasks done in every room (dust, wipe switches and sills, empty trash, vacuum, mop), then the kitchen (counters, stovetop, sink, appliance fronts, microwave inside, floor), the bathrooms (toilet, shower and tub, sink, mirror, floor), the bedrooms (beds made, surfaces dusted) and the living areas — plus a line at the top for the client, the address, the date and the cleaner, and a “before you leave” block. Anything beyond that, like inside the oven or the windows, belongs on a deep cleaning checklist or as a priced extra.
A standard clean is the surfaces you see and use: dusting, wiping, vacuuming, mopping, the kitchen and the bathrooms. A deep clean adds the places a weekly visit doesn't reach — inside the oven and fridge, behind the appliances, baseboards, walls, inside windows, grout, under the furniture. Most companies sell the deep clean first, then a standard clean every week or two, and the deep clean takes two to three times the hours.
Three ways. It's attached to the quote, so the customer sees what the price includes. It's the crew's instructions on the day — printed, one per visit, checked off room by room. And it's left behind on the counter as the record of what was done, with the time in and out. The same list, in the same order, on the company's website is what customers read before they call.
Top to bottom and dry before wet, one room at a time: dust the high surfaces first, then the furniture, then wipe, then vacuum, then mop, so nothing falls on a floor you've already finished. Kitchen and bathrooms get their own blocks on the checklist because they have their own tools and products. Most crews do the bathrooms first — the products need time to work — and the floors last.
The checklist is what gets done on one visit. The schedule is what gets done over time — the daily tidy the client does between visits, the regular visit, the every-other-visit and monthly jobs (inside the oven, the fridge, the ceiling fans) and the seasonal deep clean. Recurring clients like it because it answers “when do you do the windows?” before they ask.
For a weekly client, yes: the house cleaning checklist is what gets done on every visit, and the schedule's “every visit” block is the weekly clean. For a client on every two weeks or monthly, the same checklist is the visit and the schedule's other blocks stretch to match — the template is written so it works for any plan.
Yes — that's what the Word file is for. Add your logo and phone number, delete the lines your standard clean doesn't include, add the ones it does, and save it as your master copy. The PDF is the same checklist for printing as-is.
It should — as your services list. A visitor to a cleaning website wants to know what a clean includes and what it doesn't before they ask for a price, and the checklist already answers that room by room. If you build your site with Zarla, tell the editor to add a what's-included section with those lines — it's a section you can edit any time your service changes.
Turn the checklist into the website that books the clean
Add your business name and your town, and Zarla builds the site from that one line — with a page for each service you list and a quote form, ready to edit in chat.
Already have a website? Bring it across →Zarla keeps your old page addresses where it can and redirects the ones that change, helping you keep the Google standing you've built.