Homeowners, What You Need to Know

To ensure that your home is safe, secure, and efficient there are a few things that you should do once you've familiarized yourself with your new place.

1. Change your locks. You never know who the previous dwellers may have given a spare too. This is also a good time to install edge guards to provide extra safety
2. Familiarize yourself with your home. Locate your water and gas shut off valves, check water heater settings, and locate your breaker box. If an emergency arises, you'll be happy you know where they are.
3. Set up your WiFi , find out if you need boosters in any areas of your home. Create new passwords and perform a security check. You can also use this time to start thinking about any smart home features you'd like to install.
4. Create your "drop zone". Even the most organized person can become lost in all the chaos that comes with unpacking. Create an area to leave important things like phones, chargers, keys, and wallets.
5. Clean all those hard to reach areas like the backs of cupboards and closets. Make note of any repairs needed.
6. Look for leaks. Closely examine all your piping and faucets. What might appear as condensation may be the beginning of a much larger problem.
7. Change your toilet seat. This is not just for sanitary reasons. Swapping over to an easy-clean removable toilet seat saves a lot of cleaning time later on.
8. If possible, before you move in, deep clean all the floors. Polish the hardwood and steam any carpets. This is much easier before you add your belongings. If you don't happen to have time between moving from your old home to your new one pick the worst of the floors and leave that room empty so that it can be tackled.
9. Examine and deep clean your closets. Fill any holes and address any other repairs needed. This is also a good time to start planning your closet storage solutions. Install any shelving or organizers ahead of time to save yourself the closet clean out later.
10. Head into the attic. Look for any places that you can see daylight coming through. This is highly unlikely but its always a good idea to look. Check on the current insulation, it may be time to beef it up. This is a relatively quick and easy job that will save on energy costs and keep your home more temperate year-round.
11. Change all smoke and Co2 detector batteries. Install a fire extinguisher on each floor of the home as well as in garages and other outbuildings. Create your emergency plan as well. Establish two exits from each room and make sure every family member knows how to get out of the home in the case of a fire, and where your family meeting spot will be.
12. Child or pet-proof as needed. A lock can easily be installed on any cupboards containing cleaning supplies.
13. Figure out the garbage and recycling schedule. Find out where you'll need to leave your containers and what kinds of bins or bags you need to use. This is a great excuse to meet your neighbors.