What to Do When You Arrive at Your New Home

Organising your home move doesn’t end with leaving your old home, unfortunately.

It includes the arrival at your new home, and this is easily overlooked in your planning but is an important part of the home moving process.

The removal men have meticulously packed and loaded the removal van and all is good in the world.

You are on your way to your new home and new life.

So far, so good.

But what are the first things you should do when moving into a new home? What should be on your moving day checklist – arriving at your new home section? What should you do when the removal van arrives at your new home? What do you do after you move?

Read on, all these questions are about to be answered for you.

You may also like to read: How to Survive Moving Day. In this guide, we offer more tips on how to make moving day as stress-free and easy as possible.

Important Things to Do When You Arrive at Your New Home

Safety and comfort should be your priorities when you first arrive in your new home, and here is a comprehensive list of things to do.

#1 Bring good luck to your new home

• Enter your new home by the main entrance, and the first time you leave, exit by the same door.

This is an old superstition that is said to ensure you settle happily into your new home.

It cannot do any harm to follow this simple tradition even if you don’t believe in such things.

You may also like to read: How to Bring Good Luck and Positive Energy to a New Home. In this guide, we have collated traditions from all over the world to bring good luck to your new home and rid it of negative energy.

#2 Walk through your new home

• Check for damage to the property and fixtures of your new home.

• Remember to look over sheds and garages for damage.

• Check that everything that has been agreed that should still be in the house, is there. If not report it to your landlord or estate agent.

• Ensure nothing has been left that should not have been by the previous occupants.

• Make sure the instruction manuals are present, especially for things like boilers, cookers, washing machines, and alarm systems.

• Take the utility meter readings.

• Test that the water, gas, and electricity are connected and working.

• Locate water stop cocks, gas supply shut-off valves, and fuse boxes.

• Turn on the water boiler, you will appreciate a hot bath or shower later.

• Check pipes for any water leaks.

• Test each room light so that you can replace any bulbs that don’t work before it gets dark.

You may also like to read: Essential Tools For Moving Day. Usually, there are a hundred little jobs that need attending to when you look around your new home and some will need immediate attention. In this guide, we suggest a basic tool kit that is worth having handy on moving day.

#3 Clean and set up the most important rooms

• Clean the most important rooms like the bedrooms and bathroom, the rest can wait until tomorrow if you are short of time.

• Set up the bedrooms and make the beds.

• Make sure the bathrooms have toilet paper, towels, and soap.

• If your pets are with you, set up a feeding area for them, and show them where their water and food bowls are.

You may also like to read: How to Deep Clean When Moving Home. It is very rare to arrive at a new home and it be as clean as you would like. In this guide, we share tips on how to deep clean a home and also include some recipes for eco-friendly natural cleaning products.

#4 Unpack your open first box

The things you packed in your moving day essentials box are just that, things you need easy access to on moving day.

Unpack the box or have it somewhere that is easily accessible so you can easily grab what you need from it.

#5 Safety and security

• Physically check that the perimeter fences and gates are secure and that your pets or children cannot escape.

• Change the locks of every external door, and each padlock on every outbuilding, you have no idea who has the old keys.

• Reset the security alarm code.

• Replace all the batteries in smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.

• Renew the batteries for any security PIR detectors that have them.

• Carry out a check to make sure all the windows and doors close securely.

• Test that external security lighting works and replace any bulbs that are blown.

• Put up the curtains in the rooms where your moving boxes will be, especially on the ground floor. Packed boxes are ready to go for any burglars.

You may also like to read: Top Tips for Securing Your New Home. You may be moving into an unfamiliar area and you certainly do not know who has keys to your new home so securing your new home on the first night should be a priority, this guide tells you all you need to know about making your new home safe.

• Create and test a fire escape plan and make sure the whole family knows it.

• Place fire blankets and extinguishers in the kitchen and each floor level at a minimum.

• Childproof every room that youngsters will have access to.

• Put a first aid kit where everyone knows where it is. Unpacking with sharp scissors or knives, coupled with stress and excitement, can lead to accidents.

You may also like to read: Fire Safety in the Home. In this guide, we show you just how quickly fire spreads and the things you can do to prevent fires, as well as how to create a fire escape plan, and what to do in the event of a fire.

#6 Nice to do things

• Connect the TV, or internet, or have games available so that you can relax this evening.

• Go and say hello to your new neighbours.

• Light a candle on the first evening in your new home. Many cultures around the world believe this will bestow a blessing on the new occupants and ward off any evil spirits. It will be romantic too!

• Relax and get a good night’s sleep.

You may also like to read: Home Moving Etiquette. It costs nothing to be polite and do the right things when moving home. In this guide, we share some tips to ensure that you get off on the right foot with your new neighbours.

All these things to do immediately when you move into a new home are definitely going to seem a bit overwhelming, there’s the removal van being unloaded and 101 things to check, change, and test.

But approach your to-do-list in a methodical way and you will soon tick those tasks off.

The time of day you arrive at your new home or when your removal lorry arrives will affect when certain things get done, and a quick look at the list above may fill you with dread.

But as you walk around your garden, for example, you can tick off 2 or 3 jobs at once: Check the perimeter fences and gates, change the padlocks of out-buildings, check sheds and garages for damage.

Revise the list to suit you, and group them into jobs that can be done together.

Bear in mind that some tasks will be best done before nightfall and some may not even apply to your home move.

What to Do When the Removal Van Arrives at Your New Home

The order of events on your moving day will be determined by the arrival of your removal van at your new home, but these are top tips that will ensure that everything is unloaded as safely and efficiently as possible.

#1 Safety first

• Make sure pets and children are safely out of the way of the unloading team. This will prevent any accidents, and any unnecessary stress for them, or the unloaders.
• Clear the pathway from the unloading area to your home of any debris, leaves, snow, or other tripping hazards so that your unloading team has a safe passageway.
• Remove any tripping hazards in your new home.

You may also like to read: What to Wear on Moving Day. In this guide, we suggest what you should wear for comfort and safety during your home move.

#2 Make unloading easier

• Ensure there is somewhere for the removal van to unload, you should have preplanned this already, but it is worth checking that the space is still clear.
• Move your car off of the driveway or away from the front of your home, it will make access easier for the unloading team.

#3 Ensure the unloaders know what goes where

• Clearly identify each room in the house by putting coloured tape that corresponds to the colours that you labelled your moving boxes with, on the door frame.
• Pin up a floor plan in each room so that the removal team know exactly where to place your furniture. Ensure you are within earshot in case the movers need to clarify the position of a particular piece of furniture.
• Lay floor protectors if it is wet or muddy.
• Do a walk-through of your new home with the unloading team so that they can identify any access problems or ask questions before they start unloading.
• Have garage and shed keys readily available if the unloaders need access to them.
• Be available, but not under the feet of the unloading team, just in case they need to ask you anything.

You may also like to read: How to Label Moving Boxes. It is essential that your moving boxes are properly labelled so that you know which room they must be placed into at your new home and in which order to unpack the boxes. In this guide, we suggest an easy way to label your moving boxes.

#4 Be vigilant

• Have your inventory ready to check off each box to ensure everything is accounted for.
• Physically inspect any furniture for damage after being placed in your new home.
• Randomly check packing boxes to ensure they have not been tampered with.
• Record on the removal company paperwork any damage that has been caused.
• Take notes and photographs for any insurance claim you may have to file.

You may also like to read: Home Moving Insurance – Do I Need It? With the best will in the world, accidents happen, and being underinsured is one of the most common home-moving mistakes. In this guide, we share all you need to know about insuring your home move.

#5 Before the removal team leaves

• Do a final walk-through of your home with the unloading team leader. The idea is that you can ensure and confirm that furniture has been placed where you want it, and that there has been no damage caused to the property during unloading.
• Take a look inside the removal lorry to ensure that nothing has been left inside.
• Ensure all boxes are accounted for.
• Only sign off the removal company paperwork when you are sure everything has been delivered and the paperwork records any issues you may have identified. Never sign a blank sheet of paper.

You may also like to read: How to Complain About Your Removal Company. Very few home moves go wrong, assuming you have chosen a good removal company. But it is worth knowing what to do in the unlikely event that you do need to make a complaint. This guide tells you all you need to know to resolve any moving day issues you may experience.

Of course, this is only your arrival day in your new home.

Unpacking is nearly as time-consuming as the packing was, but the end result of making a new property feel like a home is a satisfying goal.

You may also like to read: Things That Can Go Wrong on Moving Day. In this guide, we look at the things that commonly go wrong on moving day and how you can prevent such things from happening to you.

Things to Do After Moving Into a New Home

There will still be lots to organise and tasks to be done in the coming days.

But work methodically and take your time, accidents and mistakes can easily be made when you are tired, stressed, and rushing about.

Here are a few pointers to essential things to do after moving in:

#1 Get unpacking

Plan your unpacking just as you have planned your packing.

Your unpacking plan will depend upon many factors such as available time, or if you intend to renovate any rooms immediately.

You may also like to read: How Not to Get Overwhelmed Unpacking After a Home Move. In this guide, we suggest ways to motivate yourself for the unpacking marathon and tips for making unpacking so much easier.

#2 Notify people of your change of address

If you have not already done so, the next few days are the time to ensure that everyone knows you have changed your address.

This is important not only so that you ensure you get any important letters but also to help prevent identity theft.

You may also like to read: The Ultimate Change of Address Checklist. Here we have created one of the most comprehensive change of address lists available today which you can modify to suit your needs.

#3 Get familiar with your new area

Take time to get out and explore your new surroundings which will help stave off relocation depression.

The quicker you get familiar with your new area the sooner it will begin to feel like home.

You may also like to read: How to Make a New Place Feel Like Home. In this guide, we share tips to make settling into your new home and community so much easier.

#4 Look after yourself

Take the time to look after yourself and de-stress after all the mixed emotions that have been running through you over the last few weeks.

Moving home is hard physically, but even harder emotionally, and sometimes it can take a while to adjust to a new home, new area, and possibly a new job.

It is really important to keep an eye on your, your family, and your pets’ health over the first few weeks whilst everybody adjusts to their new surroundings and new life.

You may also like to read: How to De-Stress after the Stress of Moving Day. In this guide, we share some tips to help you relax after all the emotions you have experienced in the last few weeks.

Relocation depression can be a very real problem, not only for adults but the whole family, including your pets.

Making new friends, and getting to know a few locals, as well as the local area will really help.

Be sure to visit our home moving blog which is packed with tips on every aspect of moving home, setting up a new home, getting to know a new area, and dealing with all the emotions you will feel in the coming weeks.

And a final note. This is just one day out of your life, enjoy the moving experience for all its ups and downs.

Any bad moments will soon pass and be long forgotten, but the years of happiness that you have to look forward to in your new home will make it all worthwhile.