For many people, moving is a very emotional event. You’re torn between feeling sad that you have to leave your old neighborhood and being glad that you have a new home. Understandably, it’s easy to forget to do certain things when you’re caught up in those feelings. This article helps you with that by giving you a list of things you should do before and after you move into your new home.

Things you should do before you move into your new home

Get contacts from your real estate agent

If you’re moving into a new neighborhood, you want to get contacts that you can trust. Some individual service providers have a habit of overcharging newcomers because the newcomers don’t know the going rate.  And since you don’t know anyone who can actually give you an accurate quote, you risk overpaying.

You can avoid all this by asking your agent for contacts in your new area. You can get links to everyone, from contractors to interior decorators. You might even be able to get the contacts of other real estate agents that specialize in your particular neighborhood.

Forward your mail

You’re just moving; you’re not falling off the face of the earth. Before you leave your current home, you need to arrange to have your mail sent to your new address. If you have magazine subscriptions or other regular mail, inform the companies of your change in address. Try to think of the kind of letters you usually get and find out if you’re leaving anyone out.e

You should also leave your forwarding address with the new occupants. This way, they can notify you if you get any new mail. The process can also be an excellent opportunity to review your mail subscriptions and find out which ones you should cancel.

Cancel the insurance plan

If you’re like many smart homeowners, you have an insurance plan for your house. If you’re going to move, you should speak to your insurance agent about canceling the plan on your existing home and transferring it to your new home. You may have to pay a different premium because of the differences between your two homes.

You may also want to review the insurance plan, depending on the needs of your new neighborhood. If you had theft insurance, you might not need it if you’re moving to a highly secured community. And, if you don’t have an insurance plan on your current home, you should consider getting one for your new home.

Organize your moving boxes

You may think it’s easy to pack for a move until you have to unpack in your new home. You’ll start to realize it’s not so straightforward when you can’t find the cutlery, and the books are mixed in with the cooking spices. Taking the time to pack and organize your moving boxes is one of the best things you can do for your future self. The saying “A stitch in time saves nine” was made for people who don’t take time to organize their moving boxes. It’s also a good idea to get in touch with United Van Lines, who can help you pack everything efficiently.

For items that you can’t quite figure out what category to put them in, you can create a new box and label it miscellaneous. You can then make a list of all the items that you have in your miscellaneous box. This way, you don’t have to empty the box to find out if the dog whistle is in there. Realsimple has fantastic tips on organizing your boxes for a move.

Plan your changes

Even if you’re the most conservative homeowner on the planet, you’re bound to have one or two changes in mind. Maybe you want to get more modern light switches, or you want to add a medallion to your light fixtures. Your change may be even more grand, like an equinox covered roof.

But regardless of the changes you have in mind, you can expect to spend some money. The bigger your plans, the bigger your budget needs to be. And that’s why you need to plan. Unless, of course, you have no intention of actually carrying out your plans. While we’re on the subject of Equinox louvered roofs, you can visit this link: https://www.royalcovers.com/equinox-louvered-roof-pergola/ for the best deals

Clean your old house

Before you move out of your old home, you should do a thorough cleaning. It’s bad mannerism to leave the house in a mess just because you think it’s no longer your problem. You know how difficult it is to clean up a mess that you made. Now imagine having to clean up a mess that someone else has made. No new occupant should have to go through something like that.

Your other option is to hire a cleaning crew to take care of everything after you move. The bottom line is that you should try to leave the house cleaner than you met it when you moved in.

Things you need to after you move into your new home

Change your locks

If you’re like most homeowners, then you’ve probably changed your locks already. Even though it’s your home, you have no way of knowing who else had the keys before you moved in. If you’re concerned about the security of your home, changing your locks is not even an option. It should be one of the things you just do, in a new home, alongside unpacking and learning where all the switches are.

While you’re changing our locks, you can also take your home security a step further by installing a home alarm system. Getting a new system will give you an excellent opportunity to use those contacts you got from your agent.

Locate all the primary switches

The switches, in this case, refers to the main fuse box, the propane and oil shut off valve’s switch, and the main water supply shut off. You need to be able to get to these switches at a moment’s notice in case of emergencies. A potential gas leak is no time to start searching for the main shut off valve. Likewise, it’s surprisingly difficult to locate the fuse box in an emergency, unless you know where to look.

While there may not be emergencies associated with the main waters supply, knowing where it is can still come in handy. For example, you may have a leaking pipe and need to cut off the water supply to the house.

Take some pictures

The whole essence of taking pictures is to have something beautiful to remember. And since empty rooms and echoing hallways aren’t exactly glamorous, you might not want to take pictures. But, the fact that the rooms are empty is actually a good reason to take pictures. You can make them into a before and after collage to remember how different the house has become.

Pictures can also help you envision what you want to do with your space. Do you want some wallpapers? Or a new coat of paint on the wall? Or maybe you want to knock the wall down altogether. You can use a marker to illustrate the picture and see how your changes will look.

Decide that you’re going to wait to paint

Painting the house is always more comfortable when you’re still unpacked. All your things are still in one place, and you won’t have to move anything. Plus, a new coat of paint can make it much easier to tailor the space to your taste.

However, you should hold off on painting the new house for a little while. If you don’t paint immediately, you can get a sense of what the whole place will look like with your furniture in it. You don’t want to lay on a new coat of paint only to realize that the old one was better.

Throw a party

Nothing says, “I’m your new neighbor”, like a house warming party. House warming parties have a lot of benefits, both for you and your neighbors. For one thing, a party allows you to get to know your neighbors. It can take weeks, and even months, to fully understand the people living in your area. This is especially true if you live in a populated neighborhood. But with a  party, you can invite everyone and link up.

A party also gives you a goal and a deadline. There are no more excuses for why your boxes are still unpacked seven months after you’ve moved into your new apartment. Once you invite people, you become committed to the process.

Do a quick maintenance sweep

During your maintenance sweep, you should look for things like cracks, leaking faucets, and areas that need insulation. If you had your home inspected, then you probably have some of these items on the report already. That’s an excellent place to start. You can also use the contacts you got form your agent to hire the best contractors and get the best deals.

You should still check for some of the items that might not be on the list, like leaky faucets and pipes, for example. You should also consider other tasks, like changing your light bulbs and checking your smoke detectors. Mainly, you should check for anything that might be faulty. You don’t want it breaking down a few months into your stay.