Moving into a new home is an intense experience and one that few people will describe as fun, overall. There are a few things you can do to make the experience easier and less stressful, and that includes a few tips on what to do before moving in. When you relocate to a new home, there’s lots you have to do: planning, packing, cleaning, moving.
There are plenty of challenges to face here, from ones as small as which cabinets to store your kitchenware into the big decisions of major projects. When moving into your new home, these are some things to consider that might make the transition easier from the get-go.
1. Check Your Locks and Keys
Before relocating, you’ll never actually know how many keys are floating around and giving strangers access to your new home unless you decide to install brand new locks or rekey the existing locks. If your house is previously owned, anyone from neighbors, workmen, relatives, cleaning services, or others may have copies of the previous keys. This is a good project to do before you move in and will give you peace of mind in the long run.
2. Redo the Flooring
If you’re moving into a brand new house, you probably don’t need to do anything with the flooring. In which case, lucky you! However, if you’ve bought a home that has carpet you despise, or you’re looking at a fixer-upper, you may need to tackle the job. Do you get to it after you’ve moved in, or right now?
It’s fair to decide that flooring may be too much to handle at the moment, that it belongs as a project down the road. It may not be in your immediate budget, but make sure you consider the cost of BOTH the time and hassle if you push it off. Replacing carpets is a huge project, and if you can spare the time or money prior to moving, you’ll be doing yourself a monumental favor. Consider how much easier it will be to tackle any flooring project before you have all your furniture in place.
3. Painting
It’s much easier to paint an empty room than to have to deal with moving furniture around and covering everything, regardless if you tackle the project yourself or hire someone else to do it. If you do decide to paint rooms prior to moving in, allow several days to repaint before your movers show up or before you decide to move in the rest of the furniture, especially if you’re tackling this project yourself. This sort of work often takes much longer than you think, and you don’t want to rush a paint job and have it look less than stellar.
If you hire a professional crew or have friends come help you, the project can be tackled faster, and painting can even be considered a time-saver. Try and match your walls to your furniture, and remember that painting does include priming, trim, and base coats. This is a project that you will thank yourself for in the future if you handle it now.
4. Install or Redo the Molding
We all love the clean, fresh, respectable look of nice crown molding in a room. It’s a luxury, and the ability to install molding within the entire house before you move in will be an activity you thank yourself for later. If you’ve already primed and pre-painted the molding strips, you can do this after you repaint the interior walls of the home. This is another project that can be more complex than you initially imagine and will be much easier in a home that hasn’t been fully moved into yet.
5. Consider New Closets
Most people may not spend much time considering the closet systems of their new home, but having things properly organized and fitted will make you feel great. There are many closet systems out there that include double hanging poles, fitted drawers, and shelves that reach the ceiling. This is another project you don’t want to put off until later because you’ll have to take everything out and possibly live in suitcases while you redo your closets or install new ones. Professional closet installers can handle this quickly, as this may be more of a complex do-it-yourself project.
6. Any Electrical Upgrades
If your home is new, you probably have all the electrical outlets you need, as modern homes are more apprised of this necessity. Older homes can be more of a challenge with this and may require additional upgrades that are much easier done in empty rooms. Electricians are paid handsomely by the hour and can work much faster if they have easy access to all rooms and outlets. You can also use this time to install new ceiling fans, wall switches, and more. Consider lighting up your hallways with new lighting tracks or having lights installed in your closets. Electrical outlets are a luxury that not enough people consider, and the more you have the better your quality of life will be.
7. Check The Garage
Have you truly looked through your new garage? This is a big aspect of relocation, and now is the time to consider whether or not your garage will actually serve as a place to park your car or if it will become a storage space for garden tools and smaller vehicles. Once you move in, it’s virtually impossible to stop your garage from filling with stuff. So, if you want to take the time now to install new shelves, storage spaces, a workbench, and more, it’s much easier before your garage is stacked and inaccessible. Also, installing anything new or setting up space beforehand might limit your garage from just becoming a storage dump. Consider paying for some exterior or temporary storage elsewhere so that you can devote your new garage to some more useful activities.
Regardless of what you decide to do with your new home prior to relocating, make sure you take the time to get things done long before you start piling in furniture! It can also be a good idea to scope out the neighborhood and city before you move in, even if you think you know it. Before relocating, consider checking out some new restaurants, setting up new dentist appointments for the kids, or checking out the school (even if it’s still summer).
Author Bio:
Alison Brown
Alison Brown is the Marketing Strategist at Children’s Dental Fun Zone. She has been inclined towards oral care since her childhood as she comes from a family of dental background. She loves spending time with kids and contributes her insights by writing and promoting informative blogs for families to help them adapt to their new homes and localities without any hurdles.
Leave a Reply