Office cleaning, no matter what type of business you manage, is a vital and often underappreciated task. During the winter holidays, there is an extra reason to clean the office thoroughly. Fewer people at work means that you have a unique opportunity to really deep clean the place that would otherwise be impossible at full occupancy.

But before you rush out the door to your next holiday party, review our checklist. While some of these may seem obvious, these are often the most missed items during holiday office cleaning.

1. Wipe all the equipment in personal cubicles.

It’s easy to think, “That’s So-and-So’s space. They’ll clean it.” But most employees aren’t taking the time to properly dust and sanitize the equipment in their workspace.

You’ll want to respect your employees’ personal belongings, of course, and it’s a best practice to inform them ahead of time that you will be cleaning personal desks.

Use a low-pile microfiber cloth to wipe down all surfaces of desks: tops, undersides, edges,  and corners as well as any other surfaces that are likely to collect dust over time (such as shelves or cubicle walls). To clean screens, keyboards, and trackpads, use a lint-free cloth dampened with warm water or diluted rubbing alcohol. Do not spray liquid directly onto electronics or computer equipment.

2. Make sure to cover the hard-to-reach areas near your furniture.

One of the commonly overlooked items in an office deep cleaning checklist is to clean behind furniture.

Locate the pieces that don’t move often, such as desks, drawers, and filing cabinets. Cleaning behind these pieces of furniture can be a chore if you do not have a vacuum with attachments like a brush or a tool like a broom with stiff bristles on it. If you move furniture around frequently and do not have time to clean behind them all the time, then consider purchasing dust covers for them so that they are easy to wash down when needed.

3. Dust overhead ceiling fans and light fixtures.

Overhead lights, ceiling fans, and other high-up areas can get dusty, which can make things look dingy and dirty even if you’ve already cleaned them.

They’re not only dirty, but they’re also hard to reach—and if you don’t get them clean, they can start collecting dust and causing allergies. For office cleaning during holidays, you can use a duster on these areas or simply wipe them down with a damp cloth (you’ll need a ladder for this one) and dry thoroughly afterward.

4. Steam clean upholstery.

Dingy, stained furniture could benefit from a good steam cleaning, especially when it’s the season for deep-cleaning the office again.

Whether it is an upholstered chair in the lobby or leather chairs in a conference room, office furniture somehow gets neglected, but your furniture is accumulating germs and residue on a daily basis. Even leather furniture can become dust-covered and oily. Spray cleaners can work wonders on most surfaces, but sometimes they just don’t get it all done.

You need something that works better on tough stains like grease or grime but won’t leave streaks or damage fabric like microfiber cloths do! That’s where steam works wonders. Steam cleaning can help eliminate germs from upholstery and restore its original shine.

5. Declutter office spaces.

Clear out your drawers by organizing files into labeled folders or binders so that they are easy to find when needed. Throwing away old papers or documents that you no longer need should definitely be on your office deep cleaning checklist as well. This will help reduce clutter in your drawers and make them easier to clean out later on down the road when they get too full again.

Think you can skip this step if your work is all digital? Now is also a good time to purge computer drives of unneeded files. Free up space on your hard drive by moving items to cloud storage—or simply deleting the items you’ll never need again.

6. Clean out the office pantry.

When it’s time for holiday office cleaning, remove items that have expired or have been damaged by pests or other factors that might make them unsafe to eat. Don’t forget to move cleaning the microwave to the top of the cleaning priority list to keep food prep areas sanitary and to eliminate offensive food odors from all those food explosions.

7. Disinfect out-of-the-way high-touch surfaces.

In addition to cleaning your office, make sure you disinfect any high-touch surfaces that may come into contact with employees or clients. High-touch surfaces include door knobs, door handles, railings, and light switches. Stair handrails and elevator buttons are often disregarded as well, so be sure to add them to your deep cleaning checklist.

8. Spray clean your windows.

Cleaning windows isn’t just about keeping them sparkling; a clean glass pane lets in more sunlight and lowers heating costs in the winter. So if you have windows in your office building, make sure they’re washed even during holidays along with the rest of your office to keep energy costs down as well as improve visibility. Use a dedicated glass cleaner spray or ammonia-free window cleaner solution to prevent streaking or smearing.

9. Don’t forget to sanitize the restrooms.

As one of the most frequented areas, be sure to clean restrooms thoroughly. Sanitize or disinfect toilets, doors, sinks, and appliances. Then, refill toilet paper, paper towel rolls, and soap dispensers so it’s ready for the employees’ return after the holiday break.

It’s time to bring in the professionals.

It sounds like a lot! If you want to get your office cleaned up during the holidays, you can do it yourself, but if you’re trying to juggle your office cleaning with all the other tasks on your plate, it’s easy to fall behind.

If you don’t have the time or desire to clean your office yourself, contact us at Seattle Commercial Cleaners and our team of professionals will take care of everything for you. We offer a variety of services, including regular maintenance, deep cleaning, and janitorial services tailored to your business’s needs.