It is said that the entire process of moving into another home is one of life’s most stressful events. Regrettably, that transitional period of moving house often turns out be a time filled with all kinds of worries, anxiety, and fears. And, of course, loads and loads of hard work – from the day your move is confirmed to the day you find yourself in your new place, amidst mountains of cardboard boxes waiting to be unpacked and recycled.
Even more regrettable, though, is the fact that the hard work ahead of you won’t really stop once your household items have been delivered to your new place. There are a number of essential things to do after moving into a new house, and some of those important tasks just cannot be put off until you find some free time later on.
The urgency with which you are expected to follow your moving into a new house checklist suggests that you should get down to work without delay. Make sure you remember to take care of the following 10 things to do after moving into a new house.
1. Check and inspect all delivered items
Some post relocation tasks will always be more urgent than others so it’s crucial that you are familiar with the first things to do after moving into a new home. Without a doubt, the number one task in terms of urgency is to check whether all the household items have been delivered successfully inside your new place. Ideally, each and every possession of yours that was loaded into the moving van on the move-out day should be present on the move-in day. This is the simple math behind a successful household move.
Take out your detailed inventory list (or packing list) and check each item as it is carried inside. If you notice that something is missing or you see signs of damage on any of your belongings, notify the removal men immediately. If you are unable to complete that check at delivery, do it as soon as you can even if your removal crew members have already left. Again, should you find something out of the ordinary, call the removal company without delay to inform them of the problem(s). Reputable removals will work with you to straighten out any issues you may have.
The bedroom is the room you should set up first upon arriving in your new home.
What’s next on your post-move agenda is something that you can’t possibly postpone for a later time – unpacking the essentials so that you can get that feeling of semblance to your pre-move life.
No, you won’t be able to unpack all of the cardboard boxes in one go, and you shouldn’t either. Instead, unpack only the necessities – the absolute essential items that you need on a daily basis (usually found in the Open-first boxes). And yes, the other low-priority boxes can and will wait until the timing is right.
Do you need to have a well-deserved rest after the chaotic moving day? Unpack the bedroom-bound containers first or get down to re-assembling the bed if that’s what you need to do.
Do you need to have a refreshing shower at all costs? What about an energy-boosting meal after the energy-draining moving activities? It seems like the order of unpacking after moving into a new flat or house is nothing but solid logic through and through.
3. Take care of the new house utilities
Let’s face it: you’ve just moved into a new property and there are many things for you to yet discover and learn and know. For example, it’s possible that you don’t know your current gas, electricity and water suppliers. For your information, the majority of energy suppliers will put new movers into standard tariffs by default. The problem? Standard tariffs tend to be the most expensive ones out there.
One of the things you should do when moving into a new house is to take care of the utilities (gas, electricity and water) first. Find the utilities meters of your new home and take their readings so that you don’t get overcharged on your very first energy bill. Then, in addition to figuring out what types of meters your new property has, you will need to know the names of your energy suppliers so that you can switch to better tariffs, if possible.
When people move house, their utility bills shouldn’t increase but they often do. Once you’ve gathered enough information, make sure your own energy bills are kept to a minimum.
It’s fair to say that moving into a new house is pretty much like walking into an uncharted territory – you don’t really know what to expect. At least not yet. And the only way to remedy that feeling of strangeness and unfamiliarity is to inspect your new property very carefully in order to identify things that are or could be 1) problematic, 2) dangerous, or 3) both.
What to do first? Take an exploratory trip in and around your property in search of any signs of damage, mostly from water or fire.
Make sure your new home has no secrets from you.
Locate the main water valve and look for water leaks of any type. Fix any leaks or have them fixed regardless of how small they may seem.
Find the fuse box and make sure everything looks normal. If something looks suspicious to you, call a certified electrician.
Keep your eyes open for signs of infestation and deal with any pests as quickly as possible. If necessary, contact a pest control company.
Look for early onsets of mold and mildew, especially in or around your bathroom and toilet.
Identify areas that could pose a health threat to your or your family, and eliminate them.
5. Unpack, clean and organize
Whenever you get a bit of free time, you are expected to use it to unpack the rest of the delivered boxes so that you can get back on track as fast as you can. Now that you have unpacked the essentials, it’s time to turn your attention to the rest of your material things. The good news here is that you can do the unpacking task at your own comfortable pace without being pressed for time by any approaching deadlines. You can even go as far as enjoying the unpacking job to some extent, who knows.
Stop wondering what to do when you move into a new home and get down to unpacking ASAP. And while having a go at it, the question of what to with the packaging materials will inevitable take center stage. It’s not rocket science – just use your best judgment to keep the supplies that are still usable and recycle the ones that have already served their purpose.
As you’re nearing the end of your unpacking project, it’s surely time to think about cleaning up your new apartment or house. Get hold of cleaning products of good quality and follow a good move-in cleaning checklist – vacuum the carpeted areas, mop the hardwood or tiled floors, clean all reflective services (yes, that includes the windows), clean the dust, and so on and so on.
You may have known your old house or flat like the palm on your hand, but now you are probably feeling like a fish out of water. One of the things to remember when moving into a new house is that you simply don’t know how secure it is. It’s an unknown neighbourhood in a strange city, and you may find it hard to feel safe again unless you are certain that your new property is as secure as it can be.
Do you feel safe and protected in your new house?
Change the locks of all outside doors as an extra protection.
Check all windows if they are secured against unauthorized access.
Consult a security firm whether your new home will need a burglar alarm to keep possible intruders away.
Consider installing smoke detectors on key spots around the house or apartment.
Place fire extinguishers whenever necessary, including one in the kitchen area just in case.
If you have a small child, don’t forget to child-proof your home to guarantee an accident-free environment where your loved one can play and grow safely.
Pet-proof your entire living space, too, if you happen to have a loyal dog, a capricious cat or another domesticated animal as a pet.
7. Notify friends and institutions of your new address
One of the trickiest moments of moving house is that you and your family know that your residential address has already changed but a myriad of other people and institutions won’t know that until you inform them of that change of address. Although that pending notification is highly logical, it’s perfectly normal that you forget about it due to an overload of things to do when moving into a new house.
Who to notify of your new postal address when moving into a new home? Here’s our brief change of address notification checklist:
Family and friends. Your immediately family members and close friends will definitely be aware of the fact that your address is different. After all, some of them must have been active participants in the moving process. However, some members of your extended family and not-so-close friends are yet to learn of the big news, so it’s up to you to let them know. How you choose to do that is, once again, entirely up to you.
Utility companies. In addition to contacting your gas, electricity and water suppliers immediately upon moving into your new flat or house, or even before that, it’s also a good idea to inform your telephone, cable TV, and Internet service providers that your postal address is now different so that they can update their database, transfer the required accounts, or maybe even create new ones for you.
Important institutions. There’s just no way around this – you will have to inform major institutions of your recently changed address. How you schedule and prioritize that tedious task is entirely up to you, but here’s a concise list of who to contact when moving into a new house: employers, banks, health care providers, insurance companies, schools, as well as various service providers of primary importance.
If you had been dreaming of moving into a new house, then your dream has finally come true. But when the harsh post-move reality hits, you may soon come to the realization that dreams are purer and more beautiful before they are realized.
Sometimes dreams do come true.
The never-ending checklist of moving into a new house will probably drain up your energy and eat up all of your time, but you shouldn’t forget to work towards making that strange place into your own special home. Little by little, keep turning the strangeness of the new residence into the cozy and welcoming home you’ve always wanted.
Creating a living space where you will feel really happy is an ongoing process, one that will take from a few months up to several years to complete. Don’t be afraid to experiment with subtle or bold decorating techniques until you’re fully satisfied with the final result. It’s usually the small, almost invisible touches that will turn things around in your favour, right?
If only the previous joyful task of turning your new place into your dream home could have been the last thing you would have to do, right? But life is rarely a fairy tale and the struggle continues even though you’ve just completed a rare feat – a successful house move.
And now, having already spent loads of money to cover the high relocation expenses, it’s finally time to sit down and take a look at your financial situation as it stands right now. Yes, you had to spend some money to get here, now you should see what’s left in your savings account in order to know how to proceed in the all-important period immediately after the household move.
If things are not particularly rosy from a financial standpoint, then you should consider altering your spending habits until you get back on your feet. What you need to do when moving into a new house is resist the temptation to go on a huge shopping spree right after the move. Instead, be patient and wait until you are 100% certain that the things you will purchase for the new flat or house will be 101% useful.
If you’ve done the sensible thing to use the services of a top rated and affordable removal company (oh, yes, such removals still exist), then the even more sensible thing to do after moving into a new home is to rate the removal firm you’ve used so that other people can benefit from your rating in the future. Leaving a moving review takes no more than 10 minutes, and under specific circumstances, those 10 minutes may prove to be hugely beneficial to you as well.
Follow the link below to learn everything you need to know about how to write a moving review, including all the valid reasons why you should do it after the move is over.
I always make sure the internet is hooked up too! it is probably the single most important aspect of moving for me. Very good points, it’s important to decompress after the stresses of a major move. Thanks!
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It is said that the entire process of moving into another home is one of life’s most stressful events. Regrettably, that transitional period of moving house often turns out be a time filled with all kinds of worries, anxiety, and fears. And, of course, loads and loads of hard work – from the day your move is confirmed to the day you find yourself in your new place, amidst mountains of cardboard boxes waiting to be unpacked and recycled.
I always make sure the internet is hooked up too! it is probably the single most important aspect of moving for me. Very good points, it’s important to decompress after the stresses of a major move. Thanks!