Moving into a new home is always an exciting moment in your life, whether you finally bought a home or have found a great place to rent. Throughout all this excitement, though, you need to look after a few things before you can feel like the house is truly a home. Once you move into your new house, here are five things you need to do before anything else.
Make It Safe
Safety is a must for anyone moving into a new home. Whenever you move to a new home, you should change the locks This is just in case whoever used to live there has nefarious ideas. It’s also worth double-checking all the windows and other entry points. This is to ensure everything is secure.
Besides locks, you should also identify any electrical hazards, especially if you have moved into an older property. If you hear any buzzing or see sparks when you plug appliances in, call an electrician.
Know Who to Call In Emergencies
There are hundreds of potential problems you might encounter when moving into a new home. Don’t let this scare you though. Because there are solutions that should save you plenty of stress (and money).
Writing a list of names and numbers to call when everything goes south could be the most important thing you do. You’ll need numbers for an emergency plumber, locksmith, and even the local police and fire services.
Set Up the Utilities
Since the majority of people work from home, you need to have your internet set up immediately. Ideally, you can call the company and have them stop by. But you may be able to set up your internet all by yourself when moving into a new home.
You’ll also need to organize gas and electricity providers. These are all things you can do before moving in. Many services can take a month to change over. Just be prepared to pay the existing supplier for that period.
Change Smoke Detector Batteries
You’ll be able to tell if the smoke alarm batteries have not been changed for a while. This is because there will be an inescapable beep every few minutes. Changing the batteries throughout the house will protect you from disasters. And it help you sleep comfortably.
If you don’t have one already, purchase a carbon monoxide detector. Since carbon monoxide can cause severe health problems, including hallucinations and, eventually, death, you will be doing yourself and your family a huge favor.
Make It Yours
Moving into a new home isn’t all about keeping your family safe and going through the boring – but essential – setups. You also have the opportunity to make it yours.
Fill the walls with artwork. Line up your books and records however you like. Arrange your plants in the optimal position for sunlight. Most importantly of all, enjoy being in your new home.
Sweet Home
Once you’re inside those four walls, no one can tell you that you don’t belong anywhere. While you can’t transform the property to meet your ideas overnight, you can take gradual steps in the right direction that ensure you can feel comfortable at home. So, sit back, put your feet up, and relax, because you’re home.