Last Updated on January 4, 2024
Congrats on your new house!!! How exciting – the newest chapter of your life! Now you have a place to gather friends and family and create heartwarming memories for years to come. A place to kick back and put up your feet to recharge after a long exhausting day at work. But before you collapse in your comfy chair, first you must unpack and organize your house (after celebrating the move of course!). And to help make your move a bit easier, today I’m sharing my Printable Move-In Priority To-Do Checklist.
My hope is that this checklist gets your thorough the overwhelming, tired phase of settling to your new home faster, and with less headaches.
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Priorities and Safety!
Before we dive into the checklist, there are 2 things I want to note:
Priority Tasks
I want to stress the “PRIORITY” in this Move-in Priority To-Do Checklist. This list doesn’t include ALL the tasks you need do when you move into a new house. There a soooo many things to tackle in a new house. This list is specific to only the IMMEDIATE tasks. My goal is two fold:
- Give you the essential chores to get you in the door before unpacking any boxes.
- And do it in a way to avoid being overwhelmed from the move-in process
Safety
Half of these move-in priority chores are essential safety issues. I’m a bit of a safety girl (spending over 20+ years in the risk management industry will do that to a person).
I whole-heartedly believe that your TOP priority for moving into your new house should be making your home safe for you and your family.
Printable Move-In Priority To-Do Checklist
Use this checklist as a tool to systematically tackle the essential tasks of moving into a new home.
Like my Move-in Cleaning Checklist I’ll admit my Move-in Priority To-Do Checklist isn’t not overly complicated. It’s a plain document. There are no fancy images. No snazzy color.
But do you really need a fancy-smancy list to move into you home? Nope.
What do you really need? A simple yet effective checklist that gets the job done without feeling overwhelmed.
Move-in Priority To-Do Checklist Tasks
1. Security is “Key” ?
Sorry, pun intended. I couldn’t resist. Protect your new home, family and valuables with new locks and deadbolts. It isn’t a huge expense to have a locksmith change out locks.
Or get crazy and even consider a keyless upgrade with smart locks to guard your home.
If your new home comes with a security system, be sure to change all the passwords. You never know who the previous owners gave their passwords to.
Feeling safe in your new home means different things to different people. So depending on your level of comfort, you may also want to consider replacing or installing locks on your windows as well or installing a security system.
2. Hide an Extra Key
Once you have changed out your locks, be sure to hide an extra key. A new move is overwhelming and tiring. Or at least it was for me! I almost packed our 6-week old daughter in a moving box I was so distracted and tired… whoopsy….
And in all the chaos, there is a high probability of locking yourself out of your new house with no phone or keys. Whoopsy yet again….
If you aren’t comfortable with hiding a key outside yet, give an extra key to a family member or friend who can come bail you out.
3. Test Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors
Sticking with a Safety First motto, test your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. Sure, these are probably tested by your home inspectors during the home purchasing process. But batteries can die in between your inspection and move-in day. And carbon monoxide is the 3rd most fatal hazard in homes, behind falls and poisonings.
Take 2 minutes and check your detectors.
4. Buy a Fire Extinguisher and First Aid Kit
US Fire Departments responded to an average for 353,100 home fires per year. It’s the 4th most fatal hazard in homes.
Invest in a good fire extinguisher and store it in a location that makes sense.
[Once you have settled into your new home, you might want to consider checking out these 5 Resources to Develop a Fire Escape Plan with your family.]
In addition, have a fully stocked first aid kit readily on hand. As you move into your home, cleaning, and doing repairs, you are apt to have small injuries. Don’t stain your new carpets with blood because you can’t remember where you packed the Band-Aids…
5. Locate Utilities
Knowing where your home’s utilities are and how to turn them off can save your house. And your family.
Find the entry points and shutoff valves for all your utilities. You don’t need to necessarily touch them. Just know where they are in case of emergency.
Water Main
Every house has a main water shutoff valve installed when it was built. These shutoff valves are commonly located in your basement or crawlspace. Or, if your home is slab-on-grade, then likely located near the water heater or under a sink.
Gas Main
This one is a bit more tricky so I’m going to refer you to the shutoff valve description in The Family Handyman. Apparently there are two different shutoff valves: a) street-side gas shutoff valve that the gas companies only should touch and b) house-side gas shutoff valve that you can touch.
Electrical Panel
Searching for your electrical panel at night after the power has unexpectedly gone out isn’t exactly the best time. So look for your electrical panel – a metal box – either during the day or when the lights are on. Your electrical panel is located on a wall, usually in the basement or inside a closet.
[Once you have gotten settled into you home, be sure to go back and label your fuses or circuit breakers. I’ve had a ton of readers tell me that my Electrical Panel Directory Template made labeling their panels quick and easy.]
Sump Pump
While not technically a utility, I’m lumping finding and testing your sump pumps under this category.
Sump pumps remove any excess water that enters your basement or crawlspaces. These pumps prove essential during heavy rainstorms to protect your home from expensive water damage.
Find and test your sump pump. It’s quick and easy, and only takes a few minutes following these 3 steps.
6. Buy New Toilet Seats
While you should give everything in your new house a good scrubbing, some things you might just want to replace. Call it removing the “Yuck” factor from your old house.
And a new toilet seat is one of those “yucks”.
Buying new toilet seats are fairly inexpensive. Plus removing the old toilet seat gives you the ability to deep clean under the nuts and bolts and remove all the bacteria and grossness of its past occupants.
Your tuish will thank you….
7. Replace HVAC Filters
A new home is a new start for you and your family. Give your heating and cooling systems also a new start by installing new filters.
Changing out filters can help improve the performance of your furnace and air conditioner. Plus, it alleviates allergens. Be sure to mark down the date you replace the filter, either directly on the filter or in your Homeowner Journal.
Once you have settled into your home, hire a professional to thoroughly inspect, clean and tune-up the systems.
8. Inspect Attic, Basement and Crawlspace
Take a few minutes to check out these less visited areas of your house. This is the opportune time to finally see all the corners and cervices now that the house is completely empty of the previous owner’s belongings.
Look for issues that may have been missed during your past walk throughs. For example, evidence of water damage, leaks, mold, or even the presence of bugs and other little critters. When we moved into our home, we quickly noticed evidence of a larger-sized rodent who had taken up residence in our basement. It was getting inside through a hole in our bulkhead door. Safe to say, we quickly closed it up.
9. Start Homeowner Journal
Homeownership comes with a lot of responsibility and challenges. And my personal favorite – paperwork. NOT! Start off strong in organizing how you want to manage your house by starting a Homeowner Journal.
This is where you organize and store essential and pertinent information about your home. Think of it as your home’s “user manual”. This journal focuses solely on your home and its day-to-day workings.
10. Create Lower Priority To-Do List
If you are like me, the minute you enter your new home your mind will start racing with ideas, chores, must-dos, etc….. Bring a notebook (or electronic app) with you to jot it all down.
This Move-In Priority To-Do Checklist hits the essential chores when moving into a new home. But there’s so much more to do.
Creating this master to-do list will help you collect all your ideas without feeling overwhelmed.
In a day or two after moving day, sit down and prioritize the list.
Top priority are any remaining safety concerns (such as child and pet-proofing) and essential deep cleaning (such as cleaning carpets) that needs to be done before moving boxes are unpacked.
Second priority are chores or purchases required to get the house up and fully running. These tasks need to be done while unpacking or done over the next few weeks.
Anything left on that list, such renovations and other home improvement projects, realistically I’d ignore for now. Document these in your Homeowner’s Journal and wait until you are done unpacking (or a few months) to revisit.
11. Meet Neighbors
Finally, take a moment to meet the people who live around you. I know in this digital society it seems less important to connect in person BUT there are several benefits to getting to know your neighbors.
One is extra home protection. Let’s face it, humans are nosey by nature. And they are all curious about their new neighbor. The new neighbor who will probably receive several deliveries with high-ticket items to decorate their new home. Maybe some new furniture. A new widescreen tv. And all those deliveries could catch the eye of a would-be thief.
Meet your new neighbors and they might be more apt to alert you if they notice a potential thief lurking about while you are at Target buying more cleaning products.
Second, sometimes it’s nice to know there is someone you turn to in case of emergency. Or need something that’s buried deep in a moving box. Like a shovel after an unexpected 2-foot blizzard during moving week.
If you’re an introvert, I understand this may be taking the initiative to meet new people could be filled with anxiety. If so, start off slow. Smile and wave when you see them. If they are friendly, they will pick up your intention, and the relationship will move from there.
What’s Next?
Once you have tackled this Priority To-Do Checklist, be sure to move on to the highly recommended Creating Your Home Maintenance Plan for Your New Home! Protect your home and investment with this 4-step strategy to create a home maintenance plan that will identify, prioritize, and budget your to-do list so that you can create a happy and comfy home ASAP!
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