The New Home To-Do List | Journey Home Lending

Have you recently completed the home-buying process? Or are you still in the middle of it? Perhaps you are just getting started. No matter where you are, if a move is in your future, there is a lot of planning and organizing ahead of you.

Keeping up with everything can be a little overwhelming. Creating a few different to-do lists and breaking things down to a step-by-step process can help prevent forgetting or missing anything, and it can help you feel a little less stressed about everything that lies ahead of you.

Pre-Move To-Do List

Ahead of moving into a new house, there are a lot of loose ends to tie up and a lot of new things you need to prepare for. Regardless of where you are at in the home-buying or moving process, creating a list that only includes those things that need to be done before your move can help keep you focused. Moving is exciting, and it can be easy to want to jump ahead to those things that will help you settle in faster.

Keep your pre-move and post-move lists separate to ensure everything is handled at the right time, and consider adding a few of these common to-dos:

1. Decide how you are going to move. Will you be hiring movers or booking a U-haul? If you have move dates picked, go ahead and schedule any hired laborers or equipment you will be renting.

2. Give notice to your landlord, roommates or utility company at your current home. If you are renter, check your lease agreement for requirements on breaking the agreement to ensure you won’t have any surprise costs. If you own the home you are moving from, schedule a date to have utilities shut off or transferred to limit the amount of double bills as much as possible.

3. Forward your mail. Once you have your new address, go online and schedule your mail to be forwarded. Some subscription mailings cannot be forwarded, so you will need to call and change your address with them directly. It is always helpful to do this early to avoid missing anything.

Post-Move To-Do List

Once you have gotten into your home, unpacking and settling in will take the main focus, but there are a few other things you will want to tackle right away.

1. Finish your pre-move to-do list. While the above is a really brief sampling, some things you put on your to-do list ahead of moving might overlap with actually getting in your new home. If this list included any maintenance on your new home, tackle that before unpacking boxes to avoid putting projects on the back burner as you get settled.

2. Locate electrical shut-offs and water shut-offs. You might have noted some of the inner workings of the home on one of your walkthroughs during the buying process, but now that you are in the home, you need to quickly be able to take action in the event of an emergency. Check your smoke detectors, too, after you move in to make sure they are working.

3. Take some rides around the neighborhood. If the whole town is new to you, drive around town and get familiar with your surroundings. Note where the hospital, grocery stores and pharmacies are, and find something that your family likes for entertainment. Get to know your new home so you can become comfortable quickly.

Creating lists can be a great way to stay organized, but don’t let yourself become bogged down in them. If two lists start to become overwhelming, break it into three or even four. Be willing to step away from the lists altogether when you need a break. Make it work for you so that you can get through the process and maybe even enjoy it at the same time.

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