First 24 Hours In Your New Home

It can be hard when you’re surrounded by unpacked boxes to remember that you’re at the outset of a brand new, fresh start. It’s an exciting and uplifting time, but our feelings of joy can be smothered by exhaustion and worry. However, you can enhance the first few days in your new home considerably by just making sure you do a few, careful things – things that are easier to do right from the start than later on. Here are some of our ideas for making the most of the first 24 hours in your new residence.

1. Although it’s highly likely your new place was given a good clean before you moved in, now’s the time to spot any overlooked areas and give them some attention. Why not give all the most germ-catching areas (door-knobs, loo-seats, light switches) another disinfecting wipe? Also, take this chance to clean in areas that will soon be covered by furniture and therefore much harder to reach.

2. It’s your first night here and if there’s one thing you deserve after a move, it’s peaceful sleep. So make the bed sooner rather than later, so you don’t find yourself doing it when you’re barely upright and nearly done-in from all the hard work. Just knowing it’s there, waiting for you, will be a comfort.

3. If you didn’t use a professional unpacking service and you can’t face doing everything right now, just set yourself the task of moving each box to its correct room. Then the biggest slog is over and you can rest easy.

4. Just unpack what you generally need in the course of a normal day – bedding, clothes, toiletries, some cooking utensils, fresh towels and so on. Having what you need at hand will make unpacking the rest a hell of a lot easier.

5. In the first day, introduce yourself to at least one set of neighbours. You may be feeling more anti-social than ever before, but say hello in passing and establish a basic rapport.

6. Document everything that needs to be documented – if there are issues or faults with any of the room that will need to be taken up with your agent, now’s the time to note it, photograph it, document it.