Essential Tasks to Complete When Moving into a New Home

After you plan the perfect relocation, you’ll have a few more tasks to complete to settle in your new home fully. Unfortunately, packing is just one of these steps. Getting familiar with your home, knowing how it works, and prioritizing the improvements you want to make are all essential steps to moving into your new home. We know all this sounds overwhelming when all you want to do is start enjoying your new home. However, it’s better to tackle all this in the beginning than improvise as you start living in the new place. After all, you want to move into it with peace of mind. So, here are the essential tasks to complete when moving into a new home.

Do a final walkthrough

Doing a final walkthrough of your new home before you settle in is an excellent idea. If you previously viewed the property staged, viewing it as a blank canvas allows you to determine how your personal belongings would fit in. We suggest you bring a tape measure to see where you can put some of your bulkier stuff, such as furniture. In addition, this will help you on moving day as well – it will save you time while unloading the moving vehicle if you already know where you want your belongings to go.

Creating a vision board and verifying that all of the selling terms were met is critical. Check every outlet, switch, and fixture in your new home, verify any agreed-upon repairs, and if the seller left the appliances as they said they would. If there is a problem, the sooner you bring it to the attention of the appropriate party, the better.

If you’re relocating out of state and can’t do an in-person walkthrough, book a virtual one with your agent. Some companies even provide 3-D scans of living areas, allowing you to conduct a virtual tour on your own time and assess measurements from a distance.

Deep clean your new home

There is no better time to clean your home thoroughly than when it is empty. You have the opportunity to tackle every floorboard, every window sill, and practically every nook and cranny. Therefore, you should make this the first step of making your new home ready for your family after you do the final walkthrough.

We suggest starting with ceilings and high shelves in each room and then working your way down to do floors. Dust and grimes love high places as much as the low ones, so you don’t want them falling on your belongings once you move in. In addition, start with the room you use the most – the kitchen and the bathroom. Then, move on to the other rooms in the house. Of course, if you have kids, cleaning their room should be your priority.

To ensure everything is properly cleaned and sanitized, you should hire a professional cleaning service to tackle this task. However, if this doesn’t fit your budget, make sure to make a proper plan and set aside enough time to clean everything.

FATCO PDX

Child or pet-proof your new home

If you are relocating with children or pets, you must take extra precautions to guarantee their safety in a new house. This is another one of the essential tasks to complete when moving into a new home that you cannot overlook. In addition to the usual risks such as sharp edges, open doors and windows, and outlets, keep an eye out for momentary moving-specific hazards.

Put scissors and box cutters out of reach, keep boxes containing dangerous objects (cleaning supplies, glass, etc.) in a separate area, and make sure packing materials aren’t mistaken for toys.

To ensure you’ll avoid any dangerous situation, we advise you to create a child/pet-friendly part of the house without any moving stuff. This way, your child/pet will be safe, and they won’t bother you while you’re unpacking everything. It’s a win-win situation.

Make a solid unpacking plan

It’s tempting to dig straight in, but if you tackle the boxes randomly, you’ll wind up with dishes but no cutlery, shirts but no pants, and a toothbrush but no toothpaste at the end of the day.

Labeling your boxes ahead of time is essential, but so is deciding what should be prioritized when you get to your new home. For example, if you’re fine with takeaway food but want to set up your TV as soon as possible, then it’s logical to unpack your living room first. However, if preparing meals for your family is important to you, then the kitchen should be the first thing on your unpacking list. Therefore, plan what you want to have ready and then unpack in the order of importance.

In addition, you should plan the furniture arrangement as well. As we already said, this will be a big help when it comes to the unloading on a moving day. Of course, you may make modifications afterward, but coming into this task with a basic strategy will undoubtedly make the process simpler.

Set up the connectivity and utilities

We can’t overlook these two when it comes to essential tasks to complete when moving into a new home. You certainly don’t want to spend the first night in your new home in the dark. Therefore, set up all the utilities (heat, electricity, water, and gas) before you move in. In addition, don’t forget to set up the WiFi and the phone connection as well.

Some providers enable you to transfer service from one area to another (this depends on how far you’re relocating). Still, you often have to cancel one location before starting over at another.

Since setting up these things may necessitate appointments, make sure to plan everything ahead so the person who needs to set everything up can come as soon as possible.

Change your address

You may have already changed your address with the post office before moving day, but if not, now’s the right time to do it. You should notify everyone important to you. This includes friends and family, subscription services, your bank, loan providers, and anyone who sends you regular mail or invoices. If you’re relocating to a new state, you’ll also need to contact your state’s department of motor vehicles to get a new driver’s license and car registration.