It is a joy to move to a new place; however, getting the house ready before you start filling it with your stuff will save you a lot of effort. Cleaning the house, doing the necessary repairs, making it safe for you to live in and organizing everything while the rooms are still empty gives you the opportunity to do things much easier and faster. You won’t have to move furniture around the boxes that are piled up everywhere.
Inspect The Property.
Before relocating your items to the new house, you have to examine all parts of the house in order to determine its state. You have to pay special attention to such components as walls, ceilings, floors, windows, doors, cabinets, and other items that might need repairing. In case you are going to rent the house, taking pictures of the items which are already damaged can prove to be helpful.
All equipment should work well before you move to the house. This refers to such devices as lights, electricity outlets, faucets, toilets, heating and cooling systems, and any other appliances installed there. This is necessary in order to find out problem spots that would be difficult to fix when the room is filled with furniture and boxes.
Clean The Rooms.
It is much easier to clean an empty house than a house that has furniture and boxes inside. First of all, you will need to vacuum and sweep the floors, clean the surfaces, cabinets, and drawers; besides, you have to clean all the areas that will be difficult to clean after you have moved in. Kitchens and bathrooms deserve special attention, because these areas usually become dusty, oily, and even with the traces left by the previous occupants. Thus, you will have a chance to start with a fresh sheet.
Do not forget those spots which are frequently touched like doorknobs, light switches, banisters, and cabinet pulls. It is equally important to clean windows and floors when they are accessible. In case your house needs extensive cleaning, hiring professionals before your move will save you time and effort. By doing all these things before you move, you will be able to arrange your things rather than clean them.
Plan Furniture Placement.
Measurements of rooms, entry points, stairways, and other areas need to be made prior to the arrival of your movers. Whether big pieces of furniture can fit through these entrances can be a time-consuming process, which can be avoided. Also, you will know where to put your bigger items before boxes pile up all around your house. It can be useful to create a rough floor plan, showing where your furniture will stand.
Think about the purpose of the room and what is going to happen there. Think about the ways people will move around in the room, the lighting, availability of power sources, and the position of windows and doors. While working with movers Toronto, having clear instructions where to put the biggest items may make the unloading faster. Well-planned furniture layout can help you avoid unnecessary furniture rearrangement.
Complete Necessary Repairs.
An empty house gives an opportunity to handle all kinds of painting, renovations, flooring or other changes. For example, painting a room in absence of furniture makes it possible to avoid covering and moving all the heavy stuff around. It needs to be noted that fixing broken floorings or fixing loose fixtures will be much easier in absence of furniture.
But some kinds of repairs cannot be made spontaneously; they require the help of professionals. Electrical, plumbing, heating, cooling or structural issues need to be resolved before inhabiting the house. A professional office moving company, for example, may have different scheduling requirements than residential movers, so keeping each part of the transition organized can reduce conflicts.
Check Safety Features.
Security should be one of the things to take care of before moving into the house with the rest of your family. Smoke detectors should be checked for proper functioning and replacement of the batteries in case they need to be replaced. Proper functionality of door knobs, locks, windows and other points of entry should be verified. Handrails and fall prevention features should be inspected if the property includes stairways.
It will also be helpful to know the location of the shut-off valves for water, main electricity control board and other important utility control boards before moving in. This will help in saving some precious time in case of emergencies. Proper access to exits should be ensured and no boxes and furniture items should be put in any place where they might block the way.
Prepare Essential Supplies.
Put aside those things that will be needed right after your arrival, instead of packing everything for long-term storage. Basic cleaning supplies, toiletries, towels, chargers, basic kitchen supplies, medicines, important papers, and a set of clothes should stay accessible. These basic supplies can make your first night easier, especially if it will take some time for you to unpack.
You also need to make sure there are some supplies in the house for the first phase of the moving process. Such supplies may include light bulbs, batteries, garbage bags, basic tools, and some cleaning supplies that can come in handy in case of any necessity. It would be wise to put all these supplies into one box marked with a label so that it would not get lost among other boxes.
Making sure that your new house is ready for occupancy means that you will be able to take care of all the necessary things when everything is still within reach. Checking the house, making sure that it is clean, repaired, safe, and arranging for furniture placement and the supplies that you may need can help you prepare for the move-in process.
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