Enjoying Your New Home Post Move

Now that you have moved in to your new home, you want to enjoy yourself. That’s not so easy with 1,000 boxes left to unpack. (At least it seems like 1,000 boxes.)

Setting up the inside and outside of your home the way you want it doesn’t have to be extremely complicated. If you plan and organize effectively, you can begin enjoying yourself in your new house from Day One.

Personalizing Your New Home

Although things may be in disarray for some time right after your move, you can take steps to personalize your new home, which will help you put yourself and your family more at ease in your new space. Here are some suggestions:

Getting organized and getting the house running smoothly

If you followed our tips in our last article, Moving Day, you learned to take special care when packing so that your unpacking will go smoothly and quickly.

Marking all boxes clearly and making sure they are delivered to the correct places in your new home will save time, hassle and uncertainty. In addition, separating certain items from the overall jumble — such as bedding linens and primary cooking supplies — can help you feel comfortable and “at home” in your new home as soon as you move in.

If you prioritize your unpacking, you can keep your sanity while your new living space takes shape. Set a schedule for unpacking and try to stick to it.

Set up utilities and familiarize family members with new systems

You should have notified your utility providers and other service providers of your move in advance, including the electric company, the phone company, the water and sewer company (or municipality), the cable TV company, your Internet service provider, security company, garbage pickup, etc. On moving day when you arrive at your new home, make sure everyone has followed up and everything is running properly.

Then grab all familiy members and go through your new home room by room and introduce them all to the new systems. You may have a new thermostat and programming it or adjusting it may take some training. The appliances, such as the washer and dryer and dishwasher, may be different from the ones at your previous residence, so take the time to learn how to use them and teach others who will be using them how to do so. Make sure everyone knows how to operate your new security system. Have everyone test their new house keys in all of the locks to make sure they work properly.

Decorating

Depending on your situation and your own personal flair for decorating (or lack thereof), it may take some time to achieve the look and style you desire in your new home. Again, if you employ proper planning and remain patient, you should begin to see results pretty soon. One good rule of thumb is to make a list of which rooms to decorate and in what order. By prioritizing your decorating in this way, you won’t have a scattershot approach and you will be able to at least begin enjoying a main room first and lesser-used rooms a little later on.

Home maintenance

Depending on the age and condition of your new home, you may have a little or a lot of fix-up jobs to perform after moving in. (Even brand new homes often need some attention, but you should contact the builder to do it.) If these tasks fall to you, you could hire a handyman to take care of your list of projects or make a list and tackle them one at a time.

Lawn and landscaping

Did you notify your lawn service of your move? If you do your mow your own grass, set aside a few hours to complete this job during the first week after your move and you’ll be surprised how much better the entire home looks when you finish.

Pools, decks and other exterior amenities

If you have a swimming pool at your new home, you’ll probably want to have your pool service technician come out and check everything before you host a pool party. Depending on the weather, you may be tempted to put this off, but don’t because any problems that the previous owner may be liable for should be addresses as soon as possible after you move in.

If you have a deck, large patio, screened-in enclosure or a boat dock at your new home, you should have checked them during your final walk through, but also examine them carefully now to be sure everything is as it should be.

This article concludes our 25-part Home Buyer’s Checklist series of articles. We hope it is helpful to you when you embark on your own home buying adventure. To read the other 24 articles in this series, go to newhomesrealestate.net/homebuyingguide. To find a new home, go to www.newhomes.com. To find an existing home, go to newhomesrealestate.net.

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed.

You may also Subscribe to New Homes Real Estate Listings For Sale by Email Thanks for visiting!