We finally took the leap and purchased our first home a few months ago! It was time. The advantages of owning versus renting are plenty reason enough. As soon as we closed and got the keys to our new place, I knew I wanted to be sure that everything was totally safe and in order, (even though we live in a very safe neighborhood.) You really can’t be too careful!
There are some things you need to do as soon as you move into your new home. I have compiled what I believe to be the 8 most important things to do immediately after moving into your NEW HOME:
1. Do a Deep Clean
You never know who lived there before you and how they treated their home. Some people are perfectly fine living in utter filth. While the home may appear completely spotless, it’s still important to deep clean quite a few areas.
Deep Clean:
- All Carpet (Vacuum and rug scrub). THIS Hoover Rug Scrubber is what I have and Honestly, it’s one of the best purchases I’ve EVER made!
- Steam Clean All Hard Floors This SKG Steam Cleaner is the one I use and it was another AWESOME purchase! 6 attachments!
- Wipe Down all Countertops in the Kitchen & Bathrooms
- Steam Inside of Oven
- Wipe Out the inside of all Cabinets
- Clean Toilets & Sinks
- Clean Windows and Window Panes
Useful Cleaning Items I use:
2. Change All Locks
This is just a good idea, just in case. You never want people you don’t know to have keys to your place. Keys could have been handed out over time so you literally don’t know who has one.
3. Meet The Neighbors
You want to know who you’re living around so it’s a good idea to get acquainted with your neighbors. They’ll know about the neighborhood and can suggest a lot of different services. Also, it’s just a good idea to get a feel for who is around you and what they’re all about. Who knows? You may make some new friends!
4. Make a Priority List
My husband and I didn’t think of this right away or realize how important it was. When you get a new home, you want to make it your own. There are likely some things you want to change. Having a priority list will stop you from starting too many projects at once and then becoming overwhelmed. (We certainly did).
Write down everything you want to do for the place and then prioritize those tasks in a numbered list. Trust me, it’ll save you a lot of headaches and probably money too!
5. Switch out the Old Toilet Seats for New Ones
This one is pretty basic but who wants to sit their ass where other people sat theirs? Not me. Change them out!
6. Replace The Furnace Filter
If you have forced-air heating and cooling, replace those filters! It’s also a good idea to get in the habit of doing this every month or every other month. This is going to save you from encountering pricier issues in the future.
7. Know Where the Main Water Valve is
You’re going to want to locate the main water valve inside the home. There will probably be instances in which you’re going to need to shut it off so it’s just a good thing to know from the beginning. It shouldn’t be too hard to find either.
8. Check Smoke Alarms & CO Detectors, Replace if Needed
You wouldn’t want to live somewhere without working smark alarms or working carbon monoxide detectors. It just isn’t safe for you or your family. This is going to give you peace of mind and that’s truly priceless.
Enjoy Your New Home!
I know it can be overwhelming to purchase a new home and finally be able to move in. I was there recently. These 8, pretty simple things to do are going to make the process easier and give you some much-needed peace of mind!
Great list! Changing the locks is so important. As you said, you never know who has a key to the house. It’s always good to meet your neighbors. Especially if you have young children. We recently purchased our last home, I hope. It was a flip so it should have been good to go. But the flipper ran out of money and didn’t care about the yard. So we knew going in that we had quite a bit of work to do. We created a budget for everything that needed to be done so that we wouldn’t be overwhelmed by the total costs in the end. I’ve never done that before, but since we were doing $20,000+ in improvements, it was necessary.