If you’re hiring someone to clean an empty and tidy house before you move in, there’s little prep work to do. Make sure to discuss your goals with the cleaning service, arrange entry to the house, and communicate any problem areas or special requests. If you’ve already moved into the house, or if it’s messy, it’s best to complete the following tasks before the cleaners arrive:

• Declutter things like clothes, toys, or cardboard boxes

• Do the dishes

• Put fragile items in a safe spot where they can’t be accidentally broken

• Keep pets away from cleaning areas

Most DIY floor cleaners don’t require rinsing, but you’ll want to make sure you don’t add too much dish soap or oil to the cleaner to avoid having to rinse it after cleaning. For non-wood floors, mix 8 parts warm water, 1 part vinegar, and 1 part baking soda with a few drops of dish soap. For wood floors, use olive oil in that same mixture instead of the vinegar. You can let these solutions air-dry after cleaning your floors with them, although you should manually dry your floors if they aren’t waterproof.

Those switching from an electric stove to a gas stove may lament the loss of its self-cleaning feature. Don’t worry though, you can clean your oven in a few easy steps with some oven cleaner and scrubbing. Bake up a batch of celebratory sugar cookies when you’re finished.

There are different reasons for wanting to wash your floor by hand or using a mop. For deep and thorough cleaning, hand washing allows you to scrub hard-to-reach spots, ensuring the entire floor is pristine. You may want to use this method every other month. Mopping is ideal for weekly maintenance and vast spaces where hand washing is too time-consuming and labor-intensive. Remember, cleaning your floors regularly is better than skipping the task altogether, so use the best method that works for you.