Moving into a new house can be pretty stressful—even for the well-prepared. There’s often a lot of planning to do, heavy loads to shift about, and dirt to clear out. But if you take care of the details carefully enough, you’ll get a new abode with comfort that makes the stress worthwhile.
The tasks you’ll have to deal with aren’t all equally important. Here, we’ll talk about the ones you must handle if you’re going to make settling down as smoothly as possible.
Inspect Your New House
The first thing you’ll want to do is to walk through the new house. Your aim here is to thoroughly inspect the property, just to make sure that everything is in order. Have a good look at the plumbing, sewage systems, outlets, switches, window panes, and other fixtures.
You may find some minor issues, like doorknobs that need fixing. This may not require the intervention of the landlord or property manager; you could repair them yourself. But if there are major damages—like several cracked tiles or leaking toilets –you’ll have to get the property owner to fix them.
Ideally, you should tackle such issues before you relocate.
Plan Your Set-Up
Decide how your belongings are going to fit into your new residence. Lay out a mental picture of them and where you’ll place them. Do this for your furniture, boxes, kitchenware, clothes, and other things that you’ll be moving into your new home.
Don’t wait until you’re actually lifting things into the house to think about this. Plan your setup before you move. This will make the process much easier. You won’t have to keep shifting and shoving heavy stuff around your living space. Even if you still have to adjust the layout you planned, those changes will probably be relatively few.
Clean The House
Make sure to clean the house while it’s still empty. This will allow you to get to all the surfaces and corners that need to be wiped down. Clear the dirt off floors, windows, doors, counters, shelves, and other planes.
You may also want to get rid of pests. Depending on the extent of pest infestation in and around the property, you could either use a regular insect killer or hire an extermination company to fumigate it. You don’t want to have pests disturbing your peace after you’ve settled down.
Connect Utilities
Ensure that your home is connected to the power grid. If it isn’t, you may need to work with the landlord or their property manager to fix this. And if the water supply has been turned off, you’ll want to get it turned on.
Note: Some unoccupied houses are disconnected because their previous occupants failed to settle their electricity bills. Be sure to verify that there are no outstanding bills to pay when you’re moving in. If there are, you should discuss it with your landlord. If you’re unable to resolve the issue, you should probably not make that place your home.
Change Your Address
Do this as soon as you relocate. Change the address you’ve listed with your bank, utility providers, and other important authorities and documents.
Final Words
Moving doesn’t have to be difficult. It may be problematic if you don’t plan it beforehand. But your relocation will be much smoother if you take the steps we’ve discussed here.
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