Moving house is a psychological experience as well as a physical experience. We are creatures of comfort and we get used to our surroundings. It might take us a couple or even a few extra months to get situated but eventually, you’ll adapt to your new environment. A house has its own character because of so many different factors. For one, just the design itself will be unique. The different sizes of rooms, the shape of the ceiling, the layout and the overall design of the exterior will shape our view of where and how we live. It’s incredible when you think about it because when we drive past other people’s home they mean nothing to us. They’re just large and tall buildings that don’t have any personal value to us. Yet when we move into a new home we realise just how important it is to be comfortable in our personal corner of the world. So if you have just moved into your new home, it’s the very first day, what do you or should you expect to happen?
Smelling is believing
When you first walk in, you’ll be confronted with a smell. It won’t be yours, it will be of the previous owners. The entire home will have a distinct smell and because it’s a foreign smell and something you’re not used to, it will feel uncomfortable. It’s natural to feel this way, because our brains are not familiar with it. Our brain is trying to figure out whether or not the space you are in is friendly or dangerous. So even if it’s not a bad smell, we do tend to not like it and want to immediately set about getting rid of it. Your own family’s smell will eventually replace it but here’s how to speed things up.
Maximum air circulation and flow is going to be the concept you grasp. Open up every single window, door and flap in the house. Hopefully you have moved in during the day so you’ll have some time for the wind to enter into your home before the sun sets. Next what you should do is vacuum the entire place if it hasn’t been already. A lot of the smell hides in carpets so cleaning it will suck out the foreign odor.
Get out your magnifying glass
Hopefully the previous owners were honest and upfront about any damage to the home. Homes are quite complex and you don’t realise this until you have started to look for defects or damage. Using this buying property guide, you can see how getting out your hawk eye will allow you to see if the home has been passed off to you in the same condition you agreed. For example, the defect liability period will give you time to quickly inspect inside and outside your home. Use this time very wisely as it will eventually run out. The countdown begins when you are given your vacant possession notice which means the property has been emptied and the deadline for the passing over of the ownership has arrived. You will legally be the owner of the home when this has been done, so you don’t have time to waste.
Inspect everywhere you possibly can. This includes the attic, basement, garden and garage. Check the strength of the beams around the home, the quality of the piping for water, the wiring and floor. The general period of time you have to make a complaint with the developer is going to be around 12-24 months. Even the little things like a leaning door, a cracked window, the garden pathway stone is chipped or perhaps a piece of the ceiling is sagging, has to be notified. Write down what you see and take video or photographic evidence of the damage before reporting.
Bedroom and kitchen
The quickest thing you can do to make your new home familiar, is to get back into the normal swing of things. The first thing you should do is put all your clothes in your bedroom wardrobe. No doubt you have plenty of suitcases and not all of them will be unpacked in the first day. But make it a priority for your clothes to fill up your wardrobe so you can dress how you want to. You’ll feel more comfortable when dressing for work, coming home and putting on your leisure clothes as well as being able to change clothes after showering in the morning. It brings back the normal swing of things in your daily routine.
The other thing you should do is make the kitchen yours but making it your goal to fill all the cupboards and cabinets with your cutlery. Things like spoons, forks, bowls, plates, boxes, sauce pans and more should all be in their rightful place. It allows you to eat normally instead of eating with plastic forks and spoons and from paper plates. It also helps the children to get back to normal again, by being able to make their snacks and food using all your kitchen appliances and tools. It might be a good idea to make a home cooked meal the first night you move in also. You’re going to be very busy but cooking a stew, soup or even just grilled cheese using your own cutting knives, cutting boards and utensils makes a big difference.
A new home won’t feel like your home for a couple of weeks or even more. But if you do these things it will soon become normal and your everyday routine shall fall right back into place. Getting rid of the ‘used home’ smell is the first thing you can do to make it feel like home again. Open up all the doors and windows and wrap up warm while the air circulates around the rooms. Clean the carpet to get rid of the previous owner’s odor especially. You can then start to fill up the bedroom wardrobes and kitchen so you have a fresh selection of clothes and cutlery to eat your first home cooked meal.