Moving into a new house is an incredibly stressful yet rewarding experience. After careful planning and deliberate execution, finally enjoying your new home is so heartwarming. However, the responsibilities don’t end there!
Key Takeaways
- Do a walkthrough of your new home to ensure everything is how it should be.
- Child-proof your home (if necessary) to ensure it’s safe for your little one.
- Unpack, but make a plan first!
- Contact utility companies to set up your services.
- Set up a change of address with USPS.
- Do a deep cleaning of your new residence.
- Schedule repairs and discover what home improvements you want to make.
- Change your locks and install a home security system.
Before you can completely settle in, there are a few things you need to do. We’ll let you know it all and more.
See Related: A 7-Tip Checklist For Moving Out Of Your Parents’ House
#1. Complete A Full Walkthrough Of Your New Home
After a long and stressful move, there’s nothing more liberating and calming than stepping foot into your new home. Though your new house may feel foreign at first, soon, it will harbor many new memories and experiences.
But the journey doesn’t stop there. After all, just because you’re physically at your new residence doesn’t mean your new life can yet start!
That’s because there are still so many things to do right after move-in day. And though it may not seem like much at first, essential tasks can be disastrous if overlooked or forgotten.
Something easy to do when your home is still empty is a complete walkthrough. Before your belongings are unpacked by movers and scattered across your home, take this opportunity to inspect your residence.
However, it can be hard to pinpoint items of interest if you don’t know what you’re looking for. So here is a general checklist to get you started.
- Review your purchase agreement and ensure agreements with the previous owner, including promised repairs, were upheld.
- Test all the outlets, light switches, major appliances, and fixtures, and check on all the doors and windows.
- Ensure you can find the warranties and maintenance guides that should have been left behind.
- Search for mold and pests. You want to make sure there is no indication you’ll have a problem with that!
Locate Things Like The Fuse Box And Water Shut-Off Valve
A walkthrough isn’t just checking your new home’s status and condition. It’s also about ensuring you are familiar with your new space.
It’s essential to locate important items like smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, shut-off valves, circuit breakers, and electrical panels.
Identifying these locations now and ensuring all your family members know where they are will help you feel settled. Plus, you’ll know exactly where there are in the case of an emergency!
#2. Child-Proof Your Home (If Necessary)
Often, we aren’t moving into a new house alone. If you’re moving with little ones, the moving process and beyond will need to consider that.
Whether you’re settling into your new home with a baby, a little kid, or even a fuzzy friend, you need to ensure that home is safe for them immediately. So you’ll need to either child-proof or pet-proof your home right away!
Baby-proofing is a journey in and of itself. Even overlooking the smallest detail can be disastrous later on. So make sure you are diligent and get it done as soon as possible!
Here are some places to begin your baby-proofing. Add in more measures where you see fit.
- Cover electrical outlets and cords
- Secure heavy items that could fall over
- Stash breakable and sharp objects in secure, high places that are impossible for little ones to get to
- Tamper-proof knobs on the stove and oven
- Put locks on cabinets in the kitchen as well as in the bathroom
- Securely close and lock all windows and tie up cords for blinds
- Set up a gate around stairs and other areas little ones shouldn’t venture into
- Put edge guards on the corners of furniture and counters
#3. Make A Plan For Your Belongings And Unpack
Now comes the fun (or maybe not-so-fun) part. Unpacking and styling your new home can be a rewarding and fulfilling experience. After all, this is when you get to make your new home your own!
But make sure you don’t start unpacking your belongings haphazardly. This can end up leaving you with more work in the end and ruining the excitement of a new house.
First, make a plan of what goes where. Decide where you want heavy items like furniture to go. Imagine your ideal setup in your head, adjust it to the physical space, and execute your vision.
Ideally, you will have carefully labeled every box with the room it is for or with a list of the items inside. It’s a good idea to start unpacking by placing the right boxes in each room and organizing them before cutting the packing tape.
Make sure you are deliberate in your unpacking. Take it one box at a time. That’s where detailed box labeling comes in handy!
Make Unpacking A Breeze With The Right Moving Company
Unpacking can be a hassle and a pain to deal with. But did you know that it’s incredibly easy to bypass the most challenging part of the process altogether?
If you’ve hired a moving company to tackle the journey with you, they probably packed your items for you. And some moving companies will even place the boxes in their designated rooms to make unpacking easier for you.
At The Movers Moving And Storage, we pride ourselves on our exceptional packing services. Not only are we deliberate and thorough, but we also treat your belongings like our own.
We know that packing can be incredibly time-consuming and frustrating. But our years of experience make us true experts in this art. We carefully secure fragile items with bubble wrap and take the utmost care when packaging them.
The easiest way to ensure you can quickly and smoothly unpack your belongings starts by packing them correctly. And we know exactly how to do that!
Bonus: How Much Notice Should I Give A Moving Company?
#4. Set Up Utilities And Other Services
You’ll need to make sure your utilities are transferred or set up for your new house as soon as possible. In fact, this should be done even before you arrive at your new house.
On move-in day, it’s a good idea to double-check that all your utilities are working. Test services and ensure you run the water, turn on the heat or A/C, and check the gas. It’s also a good idea to contact local waste management and check that your new address is on the roster for garbage pickup.
In addition, you likely will need to set up internet and cable. If your internet provider doesn’t supply one, make sure you also grab a new router and modem.
#5. Update Your Address With The Post Office
You’re moving into a new home, so you’ll have a new address. And you should make sure you change your address everywhere you might need to in a timely fashion.
Don’t underestimate the process of changing your address. It’s more lengthy than you may realize. But first, start with setting up a change of address with USPS.
If you’ve moved to a new state, you’ll need to get a new driver’s license from the DMV (don’t put it off, even though you really don’t want to go there.) And if you receive social security benefits, let the Social Security Administration (SSA) know about your change of address.
As you transfer or set up utilities, change your address with your gas and electric companies as well. This way, your phone, internet, and cable provider will all be aware of your new location.
This list could go on for a while. So, in addition to these essential places, you might also need to update your address with the following:
- Insurance providers for homeowner’s or renter’s insurance
- Your employer
- Any loan providers
- Your bank, credit card company, and any applicable financial agencies
- Subscription and magazine services
- Friends and family members
Lastly, don’t forget to transfer medical records to your new doctor.
#6. Do A Deep Clean, And Hire A Cleaning Service If Needed
After your items are in their place and the furniture is settled, it’s a good idea to clean your new house from top to bottom. Who knows what was tracked in during the hectic move?
Like with unpacking, don’t start your ultimate clean with no plan. Make sure you clean from high to low. Clean your fridge so you can immediately store perishables, then proceed to the rest of the kitchen.
The kitchen and bathrooms should be first. Then, tackle the rest of the rooms before ending with the floor.
Now is also a good opportunity to clean hard-to-reach or easily forgotten places like the furnace filter or air filters. But no matter what, don’t skimp your home’s first clean. If needed, hire a cleaning service to help out.
#7. Find Out What Repairs Or Improvements You Want To Make
As you complete your home walkthrough and the first clean, keep an eye out for some possible home repairs. These areas will be easier to spot when your mind is fresh and you’re not yet 100% familiar with the new space.
Make a list of what needs to be done. Maybe it’s simple fixes, like a couple of kitchen cabinet handles that are wobbly. Or it could be something more extensive.
Whatever it might be, make a note of it now so you can return to it in due time. Plus, if there are any improvements you want to make, you can start planning for those now!
#8. Change Your Locks
You should be able to feel safe in your own home. So whenever you finally arrive at your house, it’s a good idea to change the locks immediately.
After all, you never know who owned a key previously. It could be a harmless grandma or maybe a nosy neighbor. But changing your locks gives you the peace of mind you deserve in your new home.
If you have a home security system, it’s also a good idea to go ahead and get that installed.
Lastly, don’t forget to explore your new surroundings. Introduce yourself to the neighbors and find the grocery store with everything you need. After all, this is the best part of a new home!
Keep Reading: 5 Ways To Cope With The Stress Of Moving
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The Movers Moving & Storage has been a family-owned and operated moving company for 40 years and across three generations. Serving areas in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Bradenton, Spring Hill, Lakeland, Wesley Chapel, Brandon, and Clearwater in Florida, our simple approach to moving has not changed since the day we opened. We treat our customers like family and their belongings like our own. For more moving facts and information, follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.
