Move-in cleaning
The morning before your furniture arrives is the only time you will ever have empty closets, empty cabinets and open floors. We clean it then — so your dishes never go into somebody else’s drawers.
Free quote · No contract · Booked backward from the day you get the keys
"Kitchen floor has never looked better. Whole house looks fresh"
"They were so thorough! Our house was so clean when they were done."
"These ladies did a phenomenal job! They can come and clean my house any day."
Our own background-checked W‑2 employees, bonded and insured — never gig labor.
A free, no-obligation quote — or a ballpark now from the online estimator.
Teams clock in and out at your home, so the time you booked is verifiable.
No phone tree — call or text. A reminder with your arrival window comes before every visit.
Who it’s for
The house is empty exactly once, and only for a day or two. That is the window.
Most people do not leave a house the way you would leave it. The morning before your furniture arrives is the only time you will ever have empty closets, empty cabinets and open floors. It is also the last moment to fix it before your dishes go into somebody else’s drawers.
Landlords, agents and property managers use us for turnovers on a deadline — cleaned after the old tenant is out, finished before showings start or the next lease begins. One visit, one invoice, no contract, and we work from your turnover checklist if you have one.
Why it is the bigger job
Most people assume the opposite, so it is worth saying plainly — and it is why we ask which one you need before we quote it.
You want the house to look right for the walkthrough, and you would rather not spend a fortune doing it. Fair enough — you are leaving.
You are about to live in it. The cabinets need to be clean inside before your dishes go in them. The shower needs to have someone else’s residue gone before you stand in it. Nobody wants to unpack into a stranger’s grime.
A move-in clean usually takes noticeably longer than a move-out clean of the same house. We would rather tell you that on the phone than surprise you on the day.
What's included
An empty house lets us into the places that are normally covered, stacked on, or hidden behind something heavy. You cannot clean inside a cabinet that is full of plates.
Fronts, edges and knobs hand-washed — kitchen, bathrooms, laundry and the built-ins. Closet shelves, rods and trim wiped, and the floor along the back wall where hangers leave grit.
See the full checklist →
Inside emptied cabinets and drawers, inside the refrigerator — shelves, bins and door gaskets — and inside the oven, door glass included. Interior window washing is an add-on too, within reach from our step ladder. Ask when you book: add-ons need a day's notice and cannot be added on the morning.
See the full checklist →Counters, backsplash and sink scrubbed, faucets and fixtures dried by hand so the hard water out here doesn't leave a film. Appliance exteriors, plus the gaps beside and behind them. We don't disconnect anything plumbed, gassed or wired.
See the full checklist →
Soap scum off the shower walls and door glass, the sliding-door track cleared out, under the rim of the toilet and behind it, and the baseboards around it wiped by hand.
See the full checklist →
Doors, door frames, trim and baseboards hand-washed through the whole house — washed, not spot-cleaned. Switch plates, handles, high dusting for cobwebs, stair rails and spindles one at a time. Floors last: vacuumed with sealed-HEPA machines, then mopped in detail into the corners and edges, wall to wall.
See the full checklist →
No hauling of trash or leftover belongings, no carpet shampooing, no mold remediation, nothing above the second step of a ladder, no work outside the house, and nothing inside the dishwasher, washer or dryer. We mop thoroughly — we don't scrub floors on hands and knees.
See the full checklist →The two doors you open first
Real Barrington-area homes our teams cleaned — not stock photography. Both of these are add-ons, and on a move-in nearly everyone takes them.
Before
After
Before
AfterWhat happens on the day
Square footage, how many bathrooms, hard floors or carpet, whether it will be completely empty, whether the refrigerator and oven need doing, and the day you get the keys. You get an honest estimate on that call and we hold the day.
The clean belongs in the gap between closing and the moving truck. We try to leave a day of slack, because moves slip. If the closing runs late, call us — moving one day is far easier than cleaning around furniture.
Nobody has to be there. A lockbox code, the listing agent, a key left with a neighbor — any of those work, and we lock up behind us. The one thing we do need is water and electricity switched on.
A team of two arrives with everything — three on larger homes, roughly 3,500 square feet and up. Cobwebs and high dusting first, then cabinets and closets opened and cleaned inside, then surfaces hand-washed, appliances, bathrooms, and floors last, working backward toward the front door so nothing gets walked on twice.
An empty house is unforgiving light, so the team goes back over the work themselves before locking up. After that the Happy Home Guarantee applies: if something is not right, call the office within two business days and we come back and re-clean that area at no charge.
No obligation · No contracts · No subscriptions
Move clean or deep clean?
A deep clean is for a house you are living in: your things are in it, and the work is stripping back the buildup around them — cabinet fronts, baseboards, trim, grout — so that regular visits can hold the standard afterward.
A move-in clean is for an empty house, bought against a date on a contract. Because the rooms are bare we get places a deep clean simply cannot reach: the inside of every cabinet and drawer, closet shelves and rods, the floor under where the sofa stood, behind the appliances. And this is often where recurring service starts.
Loved by local homeowners
“Sarah is wonderful. I am happy with her. It’s my first time to use happy maids and although Sarah was highly recommended by previous owners, I still didn’t want to get my expectations high but I am very impressed with her. She is the only one I want cleaning my home other than me as she cleans it the way I would.”Josh S.Verified Happy Maids client
“We are very happy with our cleaning yesterday. They were very thorough and efficient. We probably will do at least a quarterly cleaning in the future”Larry F.Verified Happy Maids client
“My cleaners did a great job. They were very thorough and the house is spotless!”Melissa S.Verified Happy Maids client
Questions, answered
What people ask before booking the clean between closing and the moving truck.
View all frequently asked questions →It works best empty, and that is what the estimate assumes. The interior work — inside emptied cabinets and drawers, and mopping wall to wall — isn’t possible around boxes and furniture. If a few pieces are staying, tell us on the call and we’ll plan around them.
Before. We come while the house is still empty, because that is the only time the closets, cabinets and floors are fully reachable.
Because it is a longer job. A move-out clean makes a house presentable for a walkthrough; a move-in clean has to make it livable for you — inside every cabinet before your dishes go in, the shower before you stand in it. Same house, more time.
Both are add-ons rather than standard, because not every job needs them. On an empty house almost everyone wants them, and they take real time — an oven properly done is not a five-minute task. Ask when you call and we’ll build the time into the estimate rather than surprise you later.
Neither. We clean an empty house; we don’t haul junk, and anything left behind needs to be gone before we arrive. Carpets are vacuumed with sealed-HEPA machines but not shampooed or extracted.
It depends on the size and condition of the house and what you add, so we quote it on the phone instead of posting a package price that would be wrong for most homes. We charge for the time the work takes, with a minimum visit length. You’ll have the number before we book the date.
That’s the normal case, and it’s fine. Give us a lockbox code, the agent’s number, or a key drop, and we let ourselves in and lock up after. Water and electricity need to be on. We call or text when the team finishes.
Often that’s exactly how it starts. The move-in clean sets the house to a standard, and a weekly, biweekly or monthly visit holds it there, with the same familiar team whenever possible and no contract. Mention it on the first call and we’ll look at the schedule while we’re booking the move.
As close to empty as you can get it, and the add-ons prepared: if the oven has a self-clean cycle, run it and let it finish a day before we come; empty the refrigerator out, because a packed fridge means that part gets dropped; and empty the cabinets and drawers you want cleaned inside. Add-ons need at least one business day’s notice and cannot be attached on the cleaning day.
Usually, and we will tell you honestly on the phone if we think it is not. What the previous occupant left behind is the biggest unknown in the quote, which is why we ask about the condition rather than just the square footage.
Ready when you are
We book backward from it, and we will tell you honestly how long the house will take.
Call or text 847-382-0082, Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, and a real person picks up.
