Learn new home must-haves to include on your list. These must-haves for new homeowners include more than sturdy walls and a solid foundation, there are other cool things every house should have.
Convenience is everything when it comes to finding your dream home. The cosmetic things can wait.
Having reliable utilities means more than beautiful hardwood or tile floors.
Finding a home with good bones — an okay home with the potential to turn into a great one — is like hitting the lotto.
It’s great news if you’re smart with your money. Otherwise, you’ll be throwing away what you’ve found.
How We Created Our Dream Home
Searching for the right home might’ve taken my husband and I longer than imagined, but it was worth it.
After having to turn down a budget-friendly house due to community regulations, I felt lost in the search for a forever home.
More so, confused as to why it was taking longer than I had expected.
Knowing where to buy was important for my husband and me, and finding the right location took research and lots of scouting in certain areas.
Once the location was set, all that was needed was the right price.
Checking Realtor.com multiple times a day led me to find potential options for my family. The prices were higher than the budget in mind, but my heart was set on a certain layout.
One that would provide my family the space needed to entertain, create, and — most importantly — live.
Being able to envision a life in a house that isn’t yours can be tough. However, with imagination and some ideas, you can make anything come to life.
That’s how it felt walking through the doors of the house I call home today.
After watching the price of the house decrease on the real estate app, I knew there was a potential of landing it.
In less than two months, the offer was made and accepted. Before summer 2017, the house became our first home.
Tears of joy run down my face when looking back at those moments.
The exterior of the house needed lots of TLC. From landscaping projects to organization, the pink house I originally fell in love with became my inspiration to create memories with my family.
Although every spare time we had became a day of home improvement projects, it was worth it in the home ownership journey.
With every project, the house has been turned into a forever home. No matter how simple the projects might be, every touch makes the house more inviting.
Showing the house a little loving here and there has made me appreciative of the moments we create as a family.
With time, it’s become easier to juggle working on the house and spending time enjoying it together.
New House Checklist
Thinking about features you’d like to see in your new home is key. Focusing on your needs vs your wants will help you make the most out of the space you plan to call home.
Whether it’s a nice-size backyard for your pup(s) or a chef-style kitchen, there are a variety of features that will help make your new space feel like your dream home.
According to HGTV, there are 17 things every home must have. These features include:
- A guest bedroom;
- Multiple bathrooms;
- Nice views;
- Walk-in closets;
- A space that flows; and
- Room for entertaining
Creating an idea of the things to buy for a new house checklist is interesting. A lot of the items you think you’ll need right away can wait.
More so when you’re on a budget.
At times, sellers leave behind useful items. However, that’s not always the case
Getting rid of the pieces left from previous owners is key, granted it’s nothing that would be of use to you.
Doing a quick inventory of what you already have available to you is important. This will help you know what else is needed for the new place.
Always consider gifts that family and friends have offered to send to you and your family. Sometimes there are pricey items that will come in handy.
If you’re looking to do a registry for an upcoming housewarming event, then you’ll want to keep some ideas in mind.
Here’s a list of new home must-haves gifts that will be of use to you:
- Durable flashlights;
- Eco-friendly cleaning supplies;
- Smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors;
- Reliable tool kit;
- Sense of security;
- Fire extinguisher; and
- New locks on doors
Other nice-to-have items include a Welcome mat, batteries, and lightbulbs. You can include camera doorbells as well.
Before spending your first night in your home, you’ll want to change the locks on your doors. Securing your home should be top of mind once you’ve moved into your place.
Showerheads are also nice additions to your bathroom list because it helps with the water pressure in your showers. Things can build up on showerheads if not properly maintained.
As for gift ideas from family and friends, plants or gardening essentials are a wonderful idea. This helps you create the backyard oasis you’ve always wanted.
Through simple home decor, you can turn your yard into a romantic patio.
New Home Must-Haves Products
Families have trusted numerous household brands over the years. It should come as no surprise when you see which names make the consumer’s list of favorite brands.
Many of these brands are well-known and are often used to describe the actual product — regardless if the packaging uses its name or not.
These most-loved brands include:
- Bounty;
- Kleenex;
- Dawn;
- Energizer;
- Windex;
- Lysol; and
- Sony
Dawn recently introduced the Dawn Platinum Powerwash Dish Spray Soap which can be used for multiple purposes throughout the home.
One of my favorite uses for it is to clean kitchen appliances, cabinets, surfaces, and pots and pans. It does a wonderful job removing tough grease.
You can always create your own cleaning supplies with essential oils.
To avoid using paper towels when you clean, you can opt for microfleece cleaning towels. These are great for collecting dust and function well with liquid cleaners.
At least once a month, I’ll dip one of the microfleece towels in soapy water and clean the walls and ceiling fans.
You can throw them into the washer and dryer, or wash it in the sink.
My husband likes to use the microfleece cleaning towels to wash the exterior of the car and clean its interior as well.
New House Checklist For Pre-Move Essentials
Moving into a new space can be exciting. Knowing what it takes to move into it can become overwhelming.
Prior to moving your belongings into a new place, you’ll need to check that the house is indeed in living conditions.
Making the following new home tasks a priority will make the transition a breeze.
- Transfer your utilities ASAP
- Make an appointment to connect the TV and Internet
- Be sure to update your address
- Gather important paperwork
- Make note of local businesses
- Plan time off to settle in
- Set up time for cleaning and organizing your things
- Think about quick home improvement projects
Post-Move Basic Necessities For A House
As you plan your move, you’ll need to add a list of bare necessities for your home. This will depend on different locations of your home.
The kitchen will need cleaning supplies and cooking essentials. Kitchen appliances must be up-to-date and working.
The state of your appliances should’ve been inspected prior to closing on your home.
The bathroom will require a plunger, towels, cleaning supplies, and toiletries. Bathroom decor such as shower curtains and rugs are also a must-have when moving into a new house.
You can hold off on rugs by placing a small washcloth for drying yourself after a bath.
Each bedroom will need clean bedsheets, pillows, blankets, lighting, and a mattress.
Comfort is everything in the bedroom, and you don’t want to jeopardize that as you play your home shopping list.
Throw pillows aren’t necessary, but it does make the room look more inviting. It’s up to you whether or not you’d like to incorporate these touches to your space.
Living room must-haves include a multifunctional couch. This can be a sectional piece or not, it just needs to be able to place well throughout your living room space.
A coffee table is a nice touch for opening up the space. Adding a table to your living room will offer you an area to place home decor pieces and TV remotes as well.
People like to add magazines and candles to coffee tables just to make the room look more lived in.
It’s your choice how you’d like to decorate your home. Everyone has their own thoughts on how they’d like to set up their space. It’s important to add personal touches here and there to make your house feel like a home.
Other things to consider when you’re settling into your new place is locating the circuit breaker, testing smoke detectors, and such.
Setting up a “locked out” plan is something people don’t think of when moving into a home, but it’s a must. Although getting locked out of your house might not happen right away, it’s a good idea to plan for the possibility of it happening.
Checking the HVAC system is a task that should be completed within the first month of living in your home. This will ensure that your heating and cooling units are working properly.
Finally, set up a schedule for every week, month, and couple of months on how you will maintain your home.
This can be indoor and outdoor tasks that will help keep your home looking its best. An example of how to maintain your space every so often is by creating a schedule for when to care for the landscaping.
You can do so every two to three weeks, like most landscaping companies do when servicing homes.
Another idea is to change the A/C filter once a month to prevent issues with the HVAC system.