Pre-move cleaning and feeling overwhelmed

stressedout45

Moving week has arrived at last and I’m very excited but..

 My anxiety levels are not good. My back is absolutely done in and I’m just coming out the other end of a flare-up of a chronic health issue. 

 I’m non-stop this week, right up to the move,  and I’m very concerned I’m not going to have the time nor the energy to give the house a thorough clean on move day (the house is being packed up the day before completion and we are staying elsewhere the night before as we are not moving locally). 

Basically wanting to know what happens if I don’t actually get housework done (I’m definitely going to clean the bathrooms though).  Is this a really horrendous thing to do?  Can the buyers demand that I come back 60 plus miles to clean? Lol.  

It’s not horrendous, but it does need a clean. 

[Deleted User]

It's exactly the same for everyone, not just you !

Do what you can then just leave it, it's nothing to get so worked up about.

Your buyers are buying a house they liked upon previous viewings not a shiney new showhouse. 

PollyWollyDoodle

Honestly they’re not going to ask you to come back and clean!  Most people don’t get a chance because you can’t vacuum under beds etc until they are packed and by that time you’re busy getting ready to rush to the new property to arrive before the removal van.

Just do what you can, clean the bathrooms and have the vacuum cleaner ready to whisk round, it’s much easier when the house is empty.  When (if) I finally complete on my purchase I’m fully expecting that I’ll need to clean it throughout. The vendor hasn’t bothered much before viewings 

Doozergirl

You could get a cleaner to come in on your last couple of days and give the place a proper going over. 

No one wants to be left with a grubby house.    We had time so we even cleaned the carpets and I gave the hard floors a deep clean.   

I've been there so many times before and there's nothing quite like steam cleaning other people's toilets.    People can and do get really despondent when they see the 'real' condition of a house on moving day.  I'm not a big one for worrying a out what other people think, but the extra effort is worth it just to not have people
cursing you when they've made such a massive investment.  

lookstraightahead

Just get a cleaner in to help out.

Everyone gets very stressed with moving, you're not alone! 

Flugelhorn

it is hard to get it all clean and TBH the purchasers will probably be expecting to come along and clean anyway. We were able to go back to our last house (moved out before completion - we already had next house) and spent 4 hours cleaning  (big house) - the purchasers turned up the next day armed cleaning kit and sent us an e-mail saying how delighted they were not to need it!

the point is that we had plenty of time to clean while the house was empty (very very hard when trying to do it on the day of completion) and the purchasers certainly expected to do their own. 

agree with above posters , make sure bathrooms are OK, kitchen surfaces cleaned  and carpets hoovered and enjoy your new house

hazyjo

Is there anyone nearby who could help you?

Agree with packing hoover last!

Removal men usually head off leaving me with kitchen roll, flash wipes and the hoover. Just do your best to clear the worst.

You could be emptying cupboards and cleaning the shelves now, even if the stuff is going straight back in for a few days.

Are the removal men packing for you? I'm sincerely hope so! It's worth EVERY PENNY.

Also agree with maybe getting cleaners in for a deep clean.

Have a think about how you'll feel when you get to your new place (presuming that is what you're doing) and you're knackered, stressed, have your whole house in boxes to unpack and the carpets and skirting boards are an inch thick in dust where beds were and food cupboards are minging. I moved into a 4 storey house just like that and was not a happy bunny (don't get me started on the shower tray!)! Just had to roll my sleeves up and swear a lot.

Good luck.

meeemee

Same as us hazyjo moving into an uncleaned house took the shine off the excitement for sure, op please get a cleaner or friends to help it’s an awful feeling getting the keys to find out it needs cleaning and having the removal men just wanting to do their job and get things unloaded, now that is stress if you end up in that position too! It is doable with wet wipes and a Hoover as others have said.

UnderOffer

I just couldn’t leave a dirty house, is there anyway you could find someone to clean and pay for a 2 hour slot?, surely it wouldn’t cost more than £50, would be money well spent and you could sleep easy knowing you did your best. 

If I arrived at a dirty, dusty non hoovered house I’d be so disappointed and would let everyone know about it for the first 6 months, as I’d probably not stop moaning! I was pretty peeved to move here and find not one toilet roll in any of the loos! Luckily I had put a couple in the car, so the 4 movers and 3 kids were sorted 😀. 

user1977

Depends how non-clean you're leaving it, but bear in mind this isn't like tenants who have to put up with a letting agent searching for specks of dust on unreachable surfaces - reasonably clean is fine. The buyers aren't going to be suing you for failing to hoover.

Irishpearce26

OP do what you can and don't worry about it as im sure the same will be happening at the house you are moving. There is no rule about how clean you need to leave a house, if bathrooms are cleaned and you have done a sweep with a duster and vacuum then that's fine.

Regarding toilet roll just take it with you, no one wants someone else's manky toilet roll and again its not expected to be there when you move in.

Don't waste 6 months of your life worrying/complaining about it.