The Essential To-Do List for Your New Home
Moving into a new home is strange and thrilling. It’s also tiring! When you’ve got all your stuff out of your old home and you’ve made your way to your new home, you’ll want to relax. But I have bad news for you: there’s plenty to do. Look through this list and get to it!
Clean, clean, clean
Yeah, I know, Cleaning is boring. But a deep clean every now and then really is necessary. Of course, people are averse to deep cleaning not just because of the cleaning itself. It’s because everything is in the way. In order to have an effective deep clean, you need to remove furniture, unhide all the corners, remove things from their shelves…
Yeah, it’s a long process. But you shouldn’t underestimate how filthy a home can get if you don’t have a really thorough clean every now and again. And here’s one thing that’s certain: you shouldn’t assume that the previous owner gave the house a thorough clean before selling it. Now is the perfect opportunity for a deep clean. Before you start unpacking everything, give the place a really good seeing-to. Or, ya know, hire someone else to do it for you. I won’t judge you for it. If that’s how you want to play it, check out http://goldenshine.com/.
Get some friends and family round
It can be very weird trying to settle into a new home. For the first few nights it can feel like you’re on a very unglamorous vacation. As though you’re staying in some sort of strange hotel. (Except that no-one is going to clean up after you or cook your meals. Sad face.) There are loads of ways you can start to make your home feel more familiar. Getting the stuff that’s packed up out of their boxes and in their right place is a good way to do it. (So stop procrastinating!) But a really good way of doing it is to start having visitors round.
When you go to the house of a stranger, or even that of a friend or family member, you can’t just invite people over, can you? So doing just that in your new place can help you feel more at home. Get your friends and family over and show off your new pad. Have a housewarming party, if you must. https://pinterest.com/, as ever, has some great inspiration for housewarming party ideas.
Run around the house naked
An undeniable thrill that makes you feel very familiar with a new home. Probably one for singletons or couples as opposed to the whole family. It’s not recommended that you try this at the same time as the previous suggestion.
Check your utilities for functionality
You’ll probably want to make a checklist for this, as there are a lot of things to go through! Of course, many new homeowners will have had a property inspection take place before they completed their purchase. But most people actually buy property without having a thorough professional inspection first. There are a couple of possible reasons for this. One is that there are often people in the property before the purchase, making this arrangement awkward. The other is that they trust the seller to declare all problems with the property.
From very recent personal experience, I can assure you that landlords often sell properties without disclosing all the problems with it. (I know, it’s illegal. But they do it anyway.) So make a checklist and go through everything. Are your taps free from leaking? Does the gas work? Is your water heating, ya know, heating water? It’s vital that you fix any problems as soon as possible. There are always services you can turn to. For example, you could look into fixing a faulty water heater at http://quickwaterheater.com/.
See what the local amenities have to offer
Becoming familiar with your new home shouldn’t see you lock yourself away in your home until you feel okay. You need to get out and explore the surrounding area. What kind of parks are there nearby? Are there any decent shopping centers? How varied is the stock at your local convenience store? Over the years, this is knowledge you acquire as you stay at a particular place. Get the info now to give yourself an advantage.
This is especially important if you’ve got needs or desires that are considered outside the norm. Let’s say you’re a vegetarian or a vegan, for example. You’ll want to find any nearby food joints that cater to you. More importantly, you’ll want to locate nearby shopping outlets that sell good cruelty-free products at a decent price. If you’re not as physically able to do certain things, that’s something else you’ll want to keep in mind as you explore the area. What places are easy access for you?
Start taking energy-saving measures
Check the insulation in your attic and see if it’s letting any heat out. If your water heater doesn’t have modern insulation, throw a blanket over it to give it a hand. Replace those dusty air filters. Replace all the light bulbs with energy-efficient ones. Do it all now, while there are fewer things in the way. It will help the environment and save you money in the long run!
Change your locks!
I don’t want you to think I’m trying to make you paranoid. But seriously: change your locks. Sure, you may have gotten the key from the previous owner. You may have been assured that it was the only copy in existence. And let’s say, for the sake of argument, that they’re telling the truth. It’s the only copy they know about – but did those guys change the lock when they moved in? Maybe they weren’t given the only copy. Maybe, someone, they know made a copy of theirs while it was in their possession. For all you know, there are hundreds of copies of keys to that lock.
Okay, that’s probably overly dramatic. But I have a point, right? Unless you change your locks, you never really know how many people have access to your property. Changing the locks in your house probably sounds more than expensive than it actually is. Look into it at http://fivestarsandiegolocksmith.com/.
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