Updated · Make This Useful
Office cleaning checklist
An office clean follows the building: let yourself in and disarm the alarm, empty every bin, then reception, desks and touch points, the break room, the restrooms, and floors last before you set the alarm. Weekly tasks such as dusting ledges and vacuuming under desks sit on top of the nightly list. The rule that matters most is the log. You rarely see the person who pays you, so the note you leave is how they know what was done.
Edit the office list
Nightly work in walking order, with weekly tasks marked. Take off the weekly lines on nightly visits and add the building’s own notes.
Office cleaning checklist
- Unlock, disarm, lights on; note anything open or out of place
- Read the log: requests, rooms off limits, anyone still working
- Trash and recycling: every bin emptied, liners replaced, bags out
- Reception: entry glass, front desk counter, chairs and side tables
- Desks: wipe clear desks only; leave papers and screens untouched
- Touch points: door handles, light switches, railings, the printer
- Conference room: table wiped, chairs pushed in, whiteboard if asked
- Break room: counters, sink, table, microwave inside, appliance fronts
- Break room: dishes by the office rule; coffee station wiped
- Restrooms: toilets and urinals inside and out, partitions wiped
- Restrooms: sinks, mirrors, dispensers; refill paper and soap
- Restrooms: floor mopped with disinfectant, corners included
- Weekly: dust ledges, partitions, sills and chair bases in reach
- Weekly: fridge cleared by the office’s rule, shelves wiped
- Weekly: vacuum under desks and along every edge
- Vacuum carpet and traffic lanes; mats shaken or vacuumed
- Mop hard floors in the break room, entry and halls
- Log what is low, broken or skipped for the office manager
- Lights off, doors and windows checked, alarm set, locked up
What gets cleaned every night and what weekly?
Nightly is what people notice by morning: trash and recycling, restrooms, the break room counters and sink, door handles and shared equipment, and the traffic lanes on the carpet. Weekly is the detail: dusting ledges, partitions and chair bases, vacuuming under desks and along edges, mopping every hard floor. Periodic work such as carpet extraction, strip-and-wax and dusting above reach is priced and scheduled on its own. Write on the contract which list each visit gets.
The mistake that loses accounts is letting the weekly work drift. Nobody complains the first week the under-desk vacuuming is skipped, but a few weeks later the dust bunnies show and the office manager starts asking for other quotes. Give each weekly task a fixed night and tick it on the log, so you can show it was done when someone asks.
Should office cleaners clean people’s desks?
Clear desks only. Wipe a desk that has nothing on it; leave papers, sticky notes and anything personal exactly where they are, and never tidy. Keyboards, screens and phones are usually off limits unless the client asks and supplies a safe product. Take trash from the bins, never from the desktop, because a cup with notes tucked under it may not be trash. Locked shred bins belong to the shredding company, so leave them alone.
What should you leave for the office manager?
A short log after every visit: what was done, which weekly task was ticked, what is running low and anything wrong. Broken things go on it (a dripping faucet, a light out, a door that will not latch), and so do security notes: a door you found unlocked, an alarm already off, someone still in the building. One clear note about a propped-open back door does more for the account than a spotless break room.
Frequently asked questions
Who supplies toilet paper, paper towels and soap in an office?
Either side can, as long as the contract says which. If the client buys them, restock from their closet and log when stock is low. If you supply them, bill consumables as their own line so your cleaning price stays easy to compare. Check the dispensers before you buy: many take one brand’s refills only, a common surprise on a new account.
Do office cleaners clean out the fridge?
Only on the schedule and rule the office sets, usually a weekly clear-out where anything unlabeled or past its date goes. Never decide on your own what counts as old food. Ask the office manager to post the rule on the fridge door, then empty it, wipe the shelves and log it. Dishes in the sink get a rule too: load the dishwasher, or leave them.
What if staff are still working when you arrive?
Start where nobody is: restrooms, the break room, reception and empty offices. Leave occupied rooms for last, keep the vacuum away from anyone on a call and knock before opening a closed door. If someone is still at their desk when you have to go, empty their bin if they say it is fine and log the room as skipped, so it is not read as a miss.