With the hectic and busy working day in an office, it’s easy for cleaning responsibilities to be overlooked in favour of producing high quality work to boost the success of your business.
But keeping your office clean is a great way to ensure higher levels of productivity. Creating and sticking to an office cleaning checklist will make the cleaning tasks seem less daunting and will ensure your staff are working in a healthy and safe work environment.
Below, we’ve put together some checklists to help you manage and organise the cleaning of your office more effectively.
How Often Should an Office be Cleaned?
An office should be cleaned daily to remove any excess dirt and crumbs that have built up over the course of the day. This will make it easier to keep on top of your cleaning responsibilities so that when your office needs a more thorough cleaning, the dirt hasn’t built up to make the cleaning job harder than it needs to be.
Aside from the regular surface daily cleans, weekly cleans and monthly cleans will also help to support a high level of hygiene in the office. Weekly and monthly cleans are useful in sanitising the office and removing dust.
Deep cleaning is less a part of the office cleaning schedule as it should only need to take place once or twice a year. This will consist of an intensive disinfection process in all the hidden areas not included in regular cleanings, such as behind appliances, beneath sinks and cleaning out grouting in washrooms.

Planning Your Office Cleaning Schedule
Before you start implementing the cleaning part of an office cleaning checklist, it’s important to get organised so that your time can be managed more effectively and the right rooms are getting the right care and attention.
Draw up your schedule to include an order in which to clean rooms and the cleaning supplies needed for each room. This list will change from business to business as every office is laid out differently and has different requirements and needs. Areas in an office included on the cleaning checklist are:
- Office desks
- Office equipment
- Reception areas
- Break rooms
- Kitchens
- Washrooms
Employees should be trained on the basics of cleaning in order to enforce the needs and goals of the cleaning checklist on the days we aren’t scheduled to come in and clean. This should include health and safety info on allergies and health conditions so they know where and how to clean to protect their fellow employees. This will also make it easier for them to react quickly in case of emergency.
Daily Office Cleaning Checklist
Your daily office cleaning checklist should be concerned with the smaller aspects of cleaning surfaces and should take no time at all when done properly.
Keeping the office clean will ensure that your business can become more successful as your employees will be working in a more positive environment. This cleaning schedule is what we will follow on days we are contracted to clean your office.
Daily Office Desk Cleaning
- Tidy up paper and clutter
- Tidy up and store computer wires neatly
- Organise pens and other stationery
- Clean out waste paper baskets
- Wipe down phones, keyboards and other computer equipment
- Sweep up crumbs and clean any stains
- Clean chair and armrests
- Wipe down printers and scanners
Daily Reception Area Cleaning
- Wipe down glass windows
- Clean door handles
- Clean chairs and coffee tables
- Wipe down the reception desk (follow the same points listed above for office desk cleaning)
- Empty bins
- Vacuum the floor
Daily Kitchen Cleaning
- Wipe down table tops and counters
- Wipe down cabinet surfaces
- Clean out the microwave
- Wipe down the surface of the fridge
- Clean the kettle
- Mop the floor
- Clean the sink
- Remove any food waste
- Make sure food in the fridge is stored correctly
Daily Washroom Cleaning
- Clean down sinks and taps
- Clean cubicle door handles
- Clean toilets and toilet seats
- Mop the floor and clean up any excess liquid
- Wipe down the hand dryer
- Restock the bathroom with soap, toilet roll, paper towels and feminine hygiene products if needed
Following the above checklists will help to build a habit and a routine that maintains a high level of hygiene, protecting your employees from sickness and germs and ensuring your office always looks its best.
Weekly Office Cleaning Checklist
A weekly office cleaning checklist will cover more general tasks to ensure the whole office is sanitised and disinfected for the next week of work. This checklist won’t include the smaller items such as wiping down keyboards that are found in daily office cleaning tasks.
These tasks will generally be undertaken by our professional cleaners, helping to support you through your cleaning needs by supplementing the daily cleaning checklist.
- Mopping or vacuuming all floors
- Wiping down the interior of windows and glass surfaces
- Cleaning door handles, light switches and other hotspot areas for germs
- Disinfecting surfaces in the office, kitchen, washroom and reception area
- Cleaning window sills and door frames
- Collecting and disposing of waste
- Cleaning chairs and upholstery to remove dust and stains
Some of these weekly cleaning tasks will require more specialist knowledge. Cleaning floors, for example, require different practices depending on the type of material.
Any marble floors in the office will need treatment with a mild pH cleaning solution to avoid discolouring the marble while wooden floors will need to be swept first to lift up loose debris. This ensures you avoid driving loose dirt particles into the wood that can damage the material over time.
It’s also important to manage how much water is being used while cleaning floors. Too much water on carpets will encourage mould growth while in wood, excess water can damage and warp the material.
Monthly Office Cleaning Checklist
A monthly cleaning checklist follows the same principles as the weekly checklist but with a more intensive and targeted focus in order to provide a more thorough disinfection and remove tougher stains and bacteria.
- Removing appliances and equipment from surfaces to disinfect the whole area
- Removing food and office equipment from cabinets and storage areas in offices and kitchens to clean shelves
- Cleaning ceiling fans and light fixtures
- Cleaning out ventilation systems
- Vacuuming and cleaning upholstery
- Cleaning skirting boards
- Cleaning cobwebs out of the corners of walls
- Cleaning windows and window frames
- Disinfecting doors and door handles in washrooms and reception areas
At the end of every monthly cleaning, your office will be in a better, more controlled state that should make subsequent daily cleaning routines easier than ever.
It’s important to then maintain these schedules, organising tasks by difficulty or area. For example, in a monthly clean, cleaning higher areas in the office such as ceilings, light fixtures and door frames will dislodge dust and debris to surfaces. From surfaces, dust will be dislodged to the floor.
Cleaning from high to low will ensure your office is getting an effective cleaning coverage that leaves as little trace behind as possible.
Of course, there will always be hiccoughs and unexpected wrinkles that can upset a routine. You may find yourself with a surprise pest problem or office machinery can break down suddenly. Our professional cleaners will be adept at handling emergency issues with as little disruption to the cleaning checklist as possible, adapting the schedule where needed to give your office the care it deserves.
For more information on how best to implement these cleaning practices for your office, you can check out our tips on removing stains and cleaning office equipment. If you want to learn more about how our services can help your office, you can get in touch now via our contact page or submit your information for a free quote.