That’s it, you’ve arrived at your new house. Unfortunately, the moving day isn’t done until you shut your eyes and call it a day. And by then, you still have a slew of crucial tasks ahead of you.
Naturally, the activities you can do on your first day in your new home will be decided by the day you arrive. If you arrive too late in the evening at your place, you won’t have any time for urgent post-move activities other than sleeping. In that case, your first day in your new home will basically begin the moment you wake up.
The top ten items to do on your first day in a new home are mentioned below.
1. Verify that all services are up and running.
When you first walked into your new home and turned on the light switch, what happened? What was the first time you twisted the faucet handle?
The first thing you can do before moving into a new home is to double-check if all of the house utilities are working properly. The big utilities to be concerned with are, of course, electricity (power), drinking water, and coal. All should be fine as long as the services have been moved prior to the switch.
Locate and log the readings of the energy and water metres, then hold those digits in a safe location. This is critical in the event of inconsistencies and a subsequent conflict.
Internet, television, and cable TV are all essential services, so you can still reconnect them once you’ve adjusted to your new home’s settings for a few days.
2. Look for any signs of trouble in the building.
It’s important that you take the time to check your new home or apartment for any glitches or signs of trouble, no matter how late you arrive. Keep in mind that the location you’ve just arrived at is new, and it’ll take some time for you to figure out what there is to know about it.
Once you’ve double-checked all the main utilities are operational, go from room and room to see if anything seems to be in order. Examine all windows and doors to see if they can be safely closed. Check for any plumbing leaks or leaking faucets by inspecting all water pipes. Keep an eye out for alarming signs of destruction (usually caused by water or fire), as well as signs of potential infestations.
It’s important to do the inspection as soon as possible after moving in; it doesn’t have to be exhaustive and you won’t have enough time on your first day in your new house. Consider it a tentative home inspection, and arrange for a more thorough one in the coming days.
3. Place all of the boxes in their proper locations.
If you’ve done the smart thing and hired experienced movers to secure and ship your possessions (furniture, crates, etc. ), you can be assured that they’ll unload them from their moving truck and deliver them to their new rooms. And, as long as the moving boxes are well numbered, you shouldn’t have too much trouble with them – at least until it’s time to unpack them. If you’re unloading your belongings from the moving truck yourself, or with the help of a few good mates, you can take those cardboard boxes to their proper quarters. Don’t just put them in the corridor or the room nearest to the front door to stack them. The extra work will pay off handsomely the next day, when you’ll have to unpack those containers one by one on the spur of the moment.
4. Unpack the boxes with the necessities (Open-First boxes)
When it comes to moving boxes, the first thing you can do when you arrive is open your necessities boxes – this is especially crucial if your other household goods are yet to arrive from your cross-country moving business. Don’t you suppose those survival boxes are called Open-First boxes for a reason?
When packing your necessities boxes, you might have used a brilliant strategy: one survival box per individual. And if you did, identifying the packed essentials for each member of the family would be a breeze. Finally, the more straightforward things are on your first day in your new home, the more time and effort you’ll save.
Unpack toiletries and other personal hygiene products, medicines, basic clothing, and other items that you’ll need right away before you can get to the rest of your belongings.
5. Verify that your children are both healthy and at ease.
Some stuff will still be more crucial than others, so your post-move mission should be to begin working on your moving into a new house checklist from top to bottom – that is, to complete your vital high-priority activities first.
If you’ve just moved into a new home with small children, you already know that their security, protection, and well-being come first. Even if the new location would be strange and mysterious to you, you must ensure that the children’s routine is restored as quickly as possible. This would restore their sense of confidence and still reducing the tension and uncertainty they are likely experiencing at the time.
If you happen to spot any unsafe places or objects after the initial tour of the new house, make sure to address them as soon as possible. Your post-relocation transfer checklist should also remind you to child-proof the whole house in the coming days.
6. Take good care of your animals.
Moving with pets can be difficult, particularly in the first few days after arriving at your new residence. Since both dogs and cats are highly responsive, a sudden shift in situation can have a greater impact on them than you think. In the beginning, your pet animal can show the typical signs of separation anxiety – keep an eye out for unusual behavioural habits like prolonged sleeping, loss of appetite, or excessive barking or meowing. What do you do on your first day in your new home or apartment? Keep your pet indoors, but make it as convenient as possible by having the comforts they are used to. Introduce them to the new location gradually, room by room, as they would most likely be terrified of the unfamiliar noises, smells, and sights.
Provide your pets with fresh water, treats, and even their old toys. Be sure there are no open windows or doors that your animal companion might flee – the transition to a new home will take some time.
7. Assemble your bed and get it ready to use.
Regardless of how much time you have before your battery is totally depleted for the day – some, less, or zero – you’ll need to make sure you have somewhere to sleep after the extreme fatigue that most Moving days appear to offer.
If the new location already has a bed, all you have to do is unpack the bedding and cover it up for a decent night’s sleep. If, on the other hand, you’ve dragged your bed all the way from the old building, it’s time to reassemble it as soon as possible in the new one. When experienced movers are hired to do the bed re-assembly, the operation can be much faster.
If you don’t have any beds in your new place and are waiting for one to be shipped or purchased, your only choice is to sleep on an inflatable mattress or inside sleeping bags.
8. Make sure the bathroom is ready for a relaxing shower.
Your own moving day will leave you tired, starving, and filthy, among other things. Of course, if you’ve driven across town or thousands of miles across the globe, there’s a major difference. The transition from your old home to your new one will take anything from a few hours to several days.
Regardless, one thing is certain: you’ll be looking forward to taking a hot shower before retiring to your bed and calling the day a success. And in order to do that, you’ll need to set up the bathroom for everyday use. Unpack the toiletries and put them in their proper places in the new bathroom. Then, unpack the towels or bathrobes and hang the shower curtains. Unfortunately, even on your first day in your new house, you might need to give your bathroom a quick clean if it seems to be too dirty to disregard.
Finally, unwind in the pool or soak in the tub to round off a long day of moving.
9. Make preparations for a fast meal.
Once you’ve finished with the bedroom and toilet, it’s time to focus on the kitchen because you don’t want to go to bed hungry. It’s no secret that the kitchen is one of the most complicated rooms to prepare and unpack, so you won’t have enough time to unpack and organise all of your kitchen things on the first day.
In general, you’ll have three nice choices for what to eat before bed:
1) eat any homemade sandwiches or ready-to-eat frozen food that you took with you,
2) dine in (pizza, Chinese cuisine, etc.) at a nearby pub, or
3) Go out to dinner at a nearby restaurant to unwind a little and enjoy the end of Moving Day – the most nerve-wracking and stressful day of the whole move.
Before you go to bed, remember to find and unpack the coffee maker; you’ll thank yourself the next morning.
10. Take everything slowly: you won't be able to do anything on the first day.
It’s obvious that knowing what to do right when you move into a new home is beneficial. However, knowing that you won’t be able to complete several things right after the transfer is much more helpful.
Don’t be too hard on yourself and be honest about how much work you can get done in a single day. After all, you just got through a long day of moving, so take things one move at a time. It will take some time for you to get used to your new surroundings.
The most important thing here is to make a good action plan for the coming days and weeks so that you can make the most of each hour. The top 5 things to do when moving into a new home are as follows:
- Clean your new home thoroughly.
- inspect and enhance the home’s overall security.
- Make the new home child and pet-proof.
- As soon as possible, begin unpacking the rest of your boxes.
- If you’ve moved to a new state, you’ll need to register your car.
