This Amazing Housekeeping Checklist Will Keep You Organized & On Schedule

Hotel managers and property managers understand the importance of detailed and efficient housekeeping. Cleanliness is one of the most significant concerns that people have when visiting a new place or moving into a new home. One of the most common complaints about a hotel room, vacation rental, or long-term rental property is that it is not clean. If you work with a housekeeping team in your industry, use this housekeeping checklist to keep everything on track.

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The Kitchen

Whether it’s a vacation rental, hotel room, or long-term rental home, the kitchen is one of the most used spaces in any house. Because people are cooking and eating in this area, they expect it to be spotless. Some of the ways housekeeping teams can ensure that a kitchen is guest or tenant ready include:

• Wash, dry, and put away all the dishes
• Sweep and mop the floors
• Wipe down all surfaces
• Clean out refrigerator, oven, and microwave
• Empty garbage
• Dust kitchen light fixtures
• Clean and sanitize trash receptacles
• Wipe down the inside of the dishwasher

Bathrooms

Bathrooms tend to be smaller spaces—but they often require a lot of work to clean. Most people may be able to tolerate in an unorganized living area or bedroom, but an unclean bathroom is unacceptable. To ensure that every bathroom in your business, rental, or hotel room is up to standard:

• Wipe down and clean the tub and shower
• Clean the vanity, fill soaps, and wash hand towels
• Clean the mirror
• Clean out the drawers
• Wash the rugs and wipe down shower doors/shower curtain
• Disinfect the toilet
• Take out the garbage
• Clean floors and baseboards

Bedrooms

Depending on the size of the room, a bedroom can be one of the most time-consuming spaces for a housekeeping team to tackle. This is because bedrooms can have many different areas, decorative items, and pieces of furniture. Here’s a quick bedroom housekeeping checklist:

• Move all pieces of furniture that you can to make it easy to vacuum. Don’t just vacuum around it.
• Remove the bedding and start a load of laundry
• Dust and wipe down all surfaces
• Sweep and/or vacuum
• Make the beds
• Make sure all knick-knacks are in place, such as remotes, decorative items, and technology

Taking a photograph of what a clean and organized bedroom should look like can help housekeepers clean the room so that it is consistent every time.

You can easily capture and annotate images with the Device Magic mobile forms app. Snap a picture with the camera on your device, add context and annotations, and submit it—with or without a network connection.

Common Areas

A thorough cleaning of common areas should include:

• Dusting all of the furnishings
• Sanitizing things that people frequently touch, such as a remote control, video game equipment, electronics, and light switches
• Wipe down all upholstery with a microfiber cloth
• Sweep, vacuum, and mop
• Clean under the furniture
• Wipe down all surfaces
• Vacuum the window treatments
• Clean the windows
• Dust the dining room table and set up dishes if appropriate
• Clean all doors leading to the outside

Because many tenants and guests spend most of their time in the living room, this is an area where you may see plenty of wear and tear. Giving housekeepers access to mobile inspection forms can allow them to quickly document any damage to game rooms, living rooms, dining rooms, and other common areas as they clean.

The Outside Space

Tenants and guests often get their first impression of a home, based on the exterior. If they see an entranceway lined with cobwebs or an unkempt front yard, they may walk into the space with a negative mindset. The front yard, backyard, patios, balconies, and other outdoor areas should be checked regularly for cleanliness and safety concerns. While most housekeepers are not responsible for yard work and landscaping, they should pay close attention to these areas. Ensure your housekeeping team does not skip vital steps such as:

• Checking that all exterior lights are working
• Sweeping the front porch and front door area
• Clearing out cobwebs from the entryway
• Making sure walkways are clear of debris
• Sweeping walkways
• Organizing chairs and toys around a pool deck (if applicable)
• Wiping down outdoor dining surfaces
• Emptying ashtrays
• Checking patio chair cushions for rips or damage

Cleaning the exterior of the home is just as important as the interior of the house. Each company has different expectations for their housekeeping teams. Some require housekeepers to take care of outdoor issues, while others may strictly focus on the inside. Either way, a housekeeper will be one of the first to see if an outdoor area needs attention and can use a mobile form to document what they see so that the correct professional can take care of it.

Housekeeping Tips From The Pros

Seasoned housekeeping teams know how to quickly and effectively clean one space and move on to another. Some key tips to keep in mind include:

• Open up a few windows if you can. This allows for extra light and it can help to clear out any foul odors.
• Always sweep or vacuum before you mop.
• Use an easy-to-carry cleaning cart so that your tools and cleaning supplies are always close by.
• Photograph and document any damages that you notice.
• Use checklists and keep detailed records so you can ensure all tasks are completed.

Improve Organization & Productivity With Device Magic

Housekeepers enter the workspace with an arsenal of tools and resources to do their job effectively. The last thing they need is more paperwork and forms to carry around with them to follow cleaning procedures or document damages. Enabling you to create and fill out custom mobile forms from anywhere, Device Magic makes it easy for housekeepers to have all of the forms, checklists, procedure guides, and documentation they need to stay organized and on schedule.

Whether you work in a hotel or the property management industry, well-equipped housekeepers are essential to the success of your business. Try Device Magic for Free to see how it can help you and your housekeeping team be more organized, efficient, and productive.