New Home Move-In Checklist
My family and I recently made a big move from California to Texas! We wanted to save as much money as possible during this move so we decided to pack up a moving truck and drive it ourselves. The drive took 5 days and with almost 30 hours on the road. We did make one site-seeing stop, but it didn’t take us too far out of our way.
When we initially decided to move out of state we decided to sell a majority of our furniture to make the move easier. All we kept was our beds, a dresser, and our dining room table. So when we arrived here we were starting almost entirely from scratch! We didn’t have many cleaning supplies, food staples, or basic household items. I didn’t even have salt and pepper to cook with! During our drive, I started to make a list of things we would need to get – trash bags, sponges, spices, hand soap, etc. A lot of things that I thought we packed, apparently didn’t make it. I had to buy trash cans, shower curtains, a garden hose – so many things!
During the first week, I took several trips to the market as I realized what was missing. I kept all of those lists and made a handy checklist for anyone moving into a new house so that you don’t have to make the same mistake we did.
Print: New Home Move-In Checklist
Here are a few more tips of things to do:
Do repairs before you move in. This is especially true for those projects best done without furniture in the way, such as interior painting or installing flooring. If you’re not able to do these before you move in, but still plan on the projects you can at least keep the furniture in the middle of the room or keep large items in the garage until you’re done.
Clean. Unpacking does create a lot of dust and dirt in your home. But giving your house a good once over can eliminate some of the dirt that has settled while the house was on the market. Vacuum and clean the floors, bleach the entire bathroom, clean the fridge and the oven and all the sinks, and wipe down all your cabinets, drawers, shelves, and closets.
Change the locks. Even if the previous owners seem nice and trustworthy, there’s no way of knowing how many copies of the house key were made – or who has them.
File a change of address with the post office. This request takes a few days to process and then once it starts it could take another week for the post office to start forwarding. So be sure to do this ASAP! However, the service doesn’t last forever so be sure to change your address with your banks, credit cards, memberships, etc.
Look up local emergency numbers. Write down the numbers for local police, fire department, poison control and hospitals then post it on the fridge.
Find your shut off valves. Don’t wait for a pipe in the kitchen to break, or a blackout to find your shut off valves! The water and gas valves might be indoors, or outdoors. Sometimes they are in the basement or at the street level. Your circuit breaker will control the electricity. This also can be indoors or outdoors. There are switches, or breakers, to all areas and rooms to the house. It’s always a great idea to try each breaker and label them.
What do you wish you knew before you moved into your home? Comment below!
