What To Do Next After A House Move

Moving house takes a ton of preparation and work. You might have checklists of things to do that go on for months prior to your move-in day, just to make sure that nothing gets lost or forgotten in the shuffle. But with so much energy committed towards preparing for your final day in your old home, how much have you thought about what you need to do when you arrive?

Just because you’ve moved into your new house doesn’t mean the work is suddenly done. There are quite a few important things that many new homeowners forget to do as soon as they move in, leading to avoidable headaches and problems.

Here are 8 important things you can do as soon as you move into your new home:

1.  Say Hi to the Neighbours

Never underestimate the importance of first impressions, especially if it’s with the people you’ll be living next to for the foreseeable future. If you’re lucky, your neighbors will be as proactive as you are, with plates of baked goodies and maybe even some boxed up meals to help you with your transition.

Remember: be nice, and keep track of everyone’s names. A new neighbourhood means a new start, and being part of the community can do wonders for how much you and your family enjoy your new home.

2. Get Some Take Out

If your neighbours didn’t bring you over any food, no worries. But do you really want to spend your first day unpacking your entire kitchen and then cooking a full meal for your family? Plan ahead and try to order some yummy dishes as soon as you arrive, so that by the time the movers leave, you and your family have some pizzas or Chinese food to dig into.

And it will help if you pack plenty of bottled water. Who knows how long it will be until you have your family’s regular systems running up again, and that includes where you source your drinking water. You can never go wrong with preparation.

3. Set Your Alarms

You don’t want to spend your first night worrying about a break-in. Some families live and die by a tight security system, and forgetting to set this up can bring you loads of unnecessary anxiety. Before you move in, find out if the required hardware is already installed in the home; if not, get it installed right away.

When you finally move in, set your passwords, your codes, and give your new alarm system a test. Spend your first night in absolute comfort.

4. Refrigerator, Freezer: Plug Them In!

It might seem like a Captain Obvious kind of tip, but you wouldn’t believe how often people move into a new home, load their refrigerator and freezer with all their groceries, and check in a few hours later just to find that no one had remembered to plug it in. There’s nothing worse than opening your refrigerator on the first evening of your new home and finding that your entire stash of groceries has gone bad.

5. Store Your Pets Away

A new home is a new environment, and while your kids might be excited for the move-in, your pets definitely won’t understand. With all the excitement and energy that comes with moving house, your pets might get stressed or even afraid, especially if they’re in an unfamiliar location.

The best way to ease your dogs and cats into a new home is by locking them off in a bedroom or closet with food and water until the movers have left and all the movement has died down. Afterwards, you can let them out, allowing them to slowly discover the new home at their own pace.

6. Check The Internet

Who doesn’t want to settle down after a long day and check social media on the laptops and phones? Whether for work, play, or even just to order a hot meal, the Internet is a lifesaver, and making sure that it’s set up is vital towards having a happy night at home.

So set up the modem, the router, and all your smart devices that need to know your new WiFI and new password.

7. Install New Locks

This is a simple one, but crucial. Too many new homeowners trust that their locks are perfectly fine, but who knows who the old owners of your home might have entrusted with spare keys to their locks? Now that their locks are yours, it’s your responsibility to make sure that no one can get into your house, and that means installing a new set of locks on all your doors.

Have a home service locksmith scheduled for a home visit on your first day, and pay extra for extra sets of keys.

8. Test All Your Utilities

Water, gas, lights, toilets, and anything else you have in your new home—make sure everything works. You might have tested them prior to moving in, but anything can happen before the day of your move-in. It’s better to deal with any undiscovered issues right now rather than later.
 

Need Help Moving In?

If your house move is getting to be too big of a project to handle on your own, then give us a call at Giffen Furniture Removals, home of Brisbane’s top moving and storage team. Let us do all the heavy lifting involved in your move-in day, while you sit back and enjoy your new home.

Give us a call today and ask for a free quote for moving and storage needs.