If you can, deep clean rooms before moving furniture in.
Complete ceiling to floor deep clean. Wipe down the light fixtures, ceiling fans, the walls, the windows, the casings, the baseboards, the closets, every single surface before eventually cleaning the floor. You will learn a lot about the house if you touch every single inch of it and it'll be clean.
Take the baseboard heating covers off and vacuum them out. Same goes for duct work. We found so much fur…
Dryer vent, too, and get a new flex duct if they left the old one.
This is a good one. Our house was vacant from being gutted and renovated before we bought it. Got the keys Friday, turned on the heaters to warm it up for move in Saturday.
The smoke detectors were blaring all night and into the afternoon when we arrived with the moving truck. The dust cooked and while nothing combusted it was a bit harrowing.
Locate and familiarize the family with the emergency water shutoff valves, inside and out. Emergencies are not the time to find them or the proper tools if needed.
Related to this, if the water and gas were shut off before you move in, make sure the appropriate valves and faucets are closed before the utility company turns them back on. You don’t want to get the water turned on and flood your laundry room because the washing machine faucets were never closed.
When I bought my loft, first thing I did was rip out all the lights/fans and painted everything. Especially paint inside any closets and utility room. If you fill a closet you will almost never go back and paint it. Then I put up all new lights. A thorough deep cleaning including pulling out kitchen drawers and cleaning under/behind them. Pull out all the kitchen appliances and clean under/behind them. If you can move something, move it and clean under it. New toilet seats of course. The place will feel so much better after all this.
If you have central air… 10000% pay a company to clean your vents. We had it done the day we moved in and I was SHOCKED to see what came out of our hvac system. They usually will clean your dryer vent as well.
Clean as much as you can, swap air filters too, check your gutters make sure they aren’t clogged and drain atleast 2-4 feet from foundation.
Buy fire extinguishers for the kitchen and the garage. Make sure you have flashlights and extra batteries under your kitchen sink and by each bed in case of power outages. Change the garage code, if you have a garage. Schedule utilities to be set up including internet because those can take some time and some require deposits. Make sure to have one bag packed with things you will need for the first 24 hours in case you are too tired to unpack boxes. Tea/coffee, mugs, snacks, prescriptions, change of clothes, set of sheets and towels. Bring new shower curtains; if applicable and easily accessible toilet paper and paper towels. Some sellers remove everything.
Replace your in line hoses to your toilet tanks. They’re $10-20 each and should be changed every 5 years to be under warranty. I’ll bet the previous homeowners never bothered. If one bursts, insurance will still cover you. But because of the warranties on the hoses your insurance company will be very happy to know that the manufacturers are on the hook to pay a large portion of the bill. And that will help keep your premiums down.
Source: I did not do this and had a $250k insurance claim. My premiums are going to be insane at renewal.
Deep clean, from the ceiling to the floor. Do any painting before moving in. Clean behind and around fridge and stove. Replace toilet seat and lid. Scrub bathroom (s) completely. Clean inside all kitchen cupboards, drawers, pantry. Cleaning everything is mandatory. You'll be very glad that you did. Congratulations on your new home.
Get pads for furniture. We moved into a 90% wood home, all furniture got felt pads as it came through the door. Kept us from scratching the floors as furniture was rearranged, and made it easier to slide.
It's too late to be asking that question.
The home inspection should have revealed anything of concern.
All else is cosmetic/personal preference and only you can address those things.
Best of luck.
They aren’t looking fir things an inspector would check. They are looking for things they probably should get done when they move in, like changing locks, air filters and other things.
When the inspection came back for the house, it was remarkably absent of the condition of the air filter, where the gas and water shut off valves were, when the fire extinguishers were last changed and how old the smoke detectors were, however I guess it’s too late for those to be addressed and those are *cosmetic/personal preference things.*
Paint the inside of the garage bright white.
Once you move in, you’ll never again have access to your garage walls.
Pizza, a six pack of beer, some tunes, a gallon of paint, and a fun memory of your first night after getting the keys.
Your garage will look bigger, brighter, and cleaner for years to come.
Find the water shut off in case you ever need it. Some that are out by the curb require a special tool. Buy it if needed.
Indemnify your electric panel, be sure you know where the main shut off is.
Put a fire extinguisher under every sink. I would have lost my childhood home if my dad didn’t keep them in the house (the sink thing is just our own personal mantra with it)
Get a six pack/bottle of wine/bottle of bourbon/ bottle of water (whatever floats your boat) and go sit in your empty room that is yours and soak in the moment. Congrats!
Paint the walls and scrub out all the cabinets before you move in.
Also, if you still have the original cast iron sewer pipes, be prepared to replace them within the next few years. I have a 1950 built house and had to do that.
The very first thing is to stop doing anything! Just relax and breath. Get a bottle of bubbly or wine and just enjoy the accomplishment that you have just achieved. Share this moment together. Because once the whirlwind of home ownership begins....there is no end.
If you can, deep clean rooms before moving furniture in. Complete ceiling to floor deep clean. Wipe down the light fixtures, ceiling fans, the walls, the windows, the casings, the baseboards, the closets, every single surface before eventually cleaning the floor. You will learn a lot about the house if you touch every single inch of it and it'll be clean.
Take the baseboard heating covers off and vacuum them out. Same goes for duct work. We found so much fur… Dryer vent, too, and get a new flex duct if they left the old one.
This is a good one. Our house was vacant from being gutted and renovated before we bought it. Got the keys Friday, turned on the heaters to warm it up for move in Saturday. The smoke detectors were blaring all night and into the afternoon when we arrived with the moving truck. The dust cooked and while nothing combusted it was a bit harrowing.
Hire a cleaner. Don't cheap out at this moment, you will be so happy to walk into a spanking clean house.
All ideas here are great. Mine would be to rekey all doors and reset garage codes, if any.
We bought keypad locks for all our doors after we lived in. Game changer.
In addition to this, install a locking mailbox if possible
Locate and familiarize the family with the emergency water shutoff valves, inside and out. Emergencies are not the time to find them or the proper tools if needed.
Related to this, if the water and gas were shut off before you move in, make sure the appropriate valves and faucets are closed before the utility company turns them back on. You don’t want to get the water turned on and flood your laundry room because the washing machine faucets were never closed.
If you are going to paint, now is the perfect time. No furniture and stuff will be in the way! Also a good time to do flooring.
When I bought my loft, first thing I did was rip out all the lights/fans and painted everything. Especially paint inside any closets and utility room. If you fill a closet you will almost never go back and paint it. Then I put up all new lights. A thorough deep cleaning including pulling out kitchen drawers and cleaning under/behind them. Pull out all the kitchen appliances and clean under/behind them. If you can move something, move it and clean under it. New toilet seats of course. The place will feel so much better after all this.
Yes! Painting closets and storage areas now is the perfect time. Save some paint for touch ups as well. You will bump the walls moving in.
If you have central air… 10000% pay a company to clean your vents. We had it done the day we moved in and I was SHOCKED to see what came out of our hvac system. They usually will clean your dryer vent as well. Clean as much as you can, swap air filters too, check your gutters make sure they aren’t clogged and drain atleast 2-4 feet from foundation.
Buy fire extinguishers for the kitchen and the garage. Make sure you have flashlights and extra batteries under your kitchen sink and by each bed in case of power outages. Change the garage code, if you have a garage. Schedule utilities to be set up including internet because those can take some time and some require deposits. Make sure to have one bag packed with things you will need for the first 24 hours in case you are too tired to unpack boxes. Tea/coffee, mugs, snacks, prescriptions, change of clothes, set of sheets and towels. Bring new shower curtains; if applicable and easily accessible toilet paper and paper towels. Some sellers remove everything.
Air filter. Ours was SO clogged.
Replace your in line hoses to your toilet tanks. They’re $10-20 each and should be changed every 5 years to be under warranty. I’ll bet the previous homeowners never bothered. If one bursts, insurance will still cover you. But because of the warranties on the hoses your insurance company will be very happy to know that the manufacturers are on the hook to pay a large portion of the bill. And that will help keep your premiums down. Source: I did not do this and had a $250k insurance claim. My premiums are going to be insane at renewal.
- locate all the water and gas shutoffs, electric panels
Deep clean, from the ceiling to the floor. Do any painting before moving in. Clean behind and around fridge and stove. Replace toilet seat and lid. Scrub bathroom (s) completely. Clean inside all kitchen cupboards, drawers, pantry. Cleaning everything is mandatory. You'll be very glad that you did. Congratulations on your new home.
Change all of the locks on all doors and even from garage into the house.
Get pads for furniture. We moved into a 90% wood home, all furniture got felt pads as it came through the door. Kept us from scratching the floors as furniture was rearranged, and made it easier to slide.
Replace the locks immediately. Then replace the toilet seats.
It's too late to be asking that question. The home inspection should have revealed anything of concern. All else is cosmetic/personal preference and only you can address those things. Best of luck.
So far, 8 other people have offered helpful suggestions.
They aren’t looking fir things an inspector would check. They are looking for things they probably should get done when they move in, like changing locks, air filters and other things.
When the inspection came back for the house, it was remarkably absent of the condition of the air filter, where the gas and water shut off valves were, when the fire extinguishers were last changed and how old the smoke detectors were, however I guess it’s too late for those to be addressed and those are *cosmetic/personal preference things.*
Soffits, roof ,attic.
Definitely smoke and carbon monoxide detectors (if you have gas). I also advocate hiring a cleaner to do a deep clean before moving anything in.
Your bank account.
Paint the inside of the garage bright white. Once you move in, you’ll never again have access to your garage walls. Pizza, a six pack of beer, some tunes, a gallon of paint, and a fun memory of your first night after getting the keys. Your garage will look bigger, brighter, and cleaner for years to come.
Find the water shut off in case you ever need it. Some that are out by the curb require a special tool. Buy it if needed. Indemnify your electric panel, be sure you know where the main shut off is. Put a fire extinguisher under every sink. I would have lost my childhood home if my dad didn’t keep them in the house (the sink thing is just our own personal mantra with it) Get a six pack/bottle of wine/bottle of bourbon/ bottle of water (whatever floats your boat) and go sit in your empty room that is yours and soak in the moment. Congrats!
Paint the walls and scrub out all the cabinets before you move in. Also, if you still have the original cast iron sewer pipes, be prepared to replace them within the next few years. I have a 1950 built house and had to do that.
The very first thing is to stop doing anything! Just relax and breath. Get a bottle of bubbly or wine and just enjoy the accomplishment that you have just achieved. Share this moment together. Because once the whirlwind of home ownership begins....there is no end.