Just moved in and wondering what to do first? The first things to do after moving into a new house are the tasks that make it safer, easier to manage, and less stressful right away. Before you settle in for your first night, take care of the essentials that help protect your home, prevent avoidable problems, and make the first week run more smoothly.
Do first on day one: prioritize security, safety, and anything that helps you respond to an urgent problem quickly. That usually means changing the locks, checking detectors, locating shutoffs, and getting a basic understanding of the home’s layout and systems.
Handle in the first week: take care of organization and follow-up tasks that still matter, but usually do not need to happen the same day. That includes confirming your property boundaries, updating mailing details everywhere, documenting key home information, and getting to know your neighbors.
As the new homeowner, you have no way of knowing how many others have keys to your new home. The previous owner may have made copies for their housekeeper, their parents, the babysitter, a neighbor, or anyone else. Even if those people mean well, you still want to know exactly who can access the home.
One of the first things you should do once you move into your home in Seattle or Denver is have a locksmith come in and change all the locks. While you are doing it, confirm that every exterior door is covered, including side doors, back doors, and any doors between the garage and the house. This is a simple first-day task that gives you immediate control over home access.
Before you spend your first night in the house, do a quick safety pass through the property. Test the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, make sure they are easy to locate, and confirm that everyone in the household knows where they are.
You should also locate any fire extinguishers already in the home or place your own in easy-to-access spots. While you are walking the house, identify the main water shut-off valve, electrical panel, and any other emergency shutoffs you may need in a hurry. The goal is not to memorize every detail at once, but to make sure you can respond quickly if something goes wrong.
If the contract you entered into with the previous owner did not involve a survey, you might want to get a hold of paperwork that will show you what your property’s boundaries are. Check in with town hall to see if there are documents on file that lay out the boundaries for the land you just purchased.
If not, consider having a land surveyor come out to mark the boundaries around your new Colorado or Oregon home. This matters most before you make changes outside, such as planting trees or flowers, erecting a fence, setting up a swing set, installing a pool, or building a shed.
It’s not unheard of for neighbors adjacent to one another to quarrel over encroachment issues, whether they were intentional or not. It’s always best to know where your property ends and where the neighbor’s begins before you start any project that could affect the lot lines.
While it’s customary for sellers to leave homes in “broom-swept condition” before vacating the premises, you’ll still want to clean the place before you settle in. A deeper clean helps you start fresh and lets you inspect the home more closely while rooms, floors, and surfaces are still easy to access.
In fact, you may want to do this even before you move all your furniture and belongings in, which will make the clean-up process a lot easier. As you clean, pay attention to areas that are easy to miss later, such as inside cabinets, closets, appliances, baseboards, and bathroom fixtures. If you don’t have the time or desire to do that job yourself, you can always hire a professional team of cleaners to do it for you.
There are plenty of people and businesses that will need your new updated address. If you haven’t already, set up a change of address with your post office before you even move in. Then, start notifying others of your new address, including your friends, family members, doctor, bank, loan providers and creditors, subscription services, utility companies, IRS, and anyone else who you have regular mail correspondence with.
As you work through this task, confirm which accounts were updated successfully and which still need follow-up. It can help to do the time-sensitive items first so bills, insurance documents, and other important mail do not continue going to the old address.
Pencil in a day to go around and meet your new neighbors. Don’t wait too long to do this; the longer you wait, the more awkward it becomes. In theory, they should be introducing themselves to you, but these days you could be waiting a long time for an apple pie to show up at your door.
Just wait for the weekend and give a light knock on the doors on your street. Or else, go for a walk or hang out on your front porch and wait for people to walk by. Your neighbors will appreciate the gesture and you might just meet a new friend. It is also practical: neighbors can often help you learn small but useful details about the area, routines on the street, or past property quirks that are good to know early.
Do you know where the main water valve is in your Portland or Boise home if there’s ever a burst pipe? How about the electrical panel if a breaker goes out? This is where having a map of the components of your home can help.
A house map is just a general layout of where all the important fixtures are. The map should include the furnace, all outdoor spigots, the main water shut-off valve, the septic tank lid cover (if applicable) and the circuit box.
Finally, invest in some fire extinguishers and mark their locations on the map, too. Have it laminated and put it someplace where all the family members can access it.
While you are making your house map, create one simple place to store the details you will need again later. Record appliance model numbers, air-filter sizes, garage door opener information, alarm or smart-home logins, utility account details, and any maintenance records the previous owner left behind.
This saves time when you need replacement parts, routine service, or account access, and it reduces the frustration of hunting for information during a repair or emergency. Whether you keep it in a binder, a notes app, or a shared household document, the key is to make sure the information is easy to find.
Once you take care of these things after moving into your Washington or Idaho home, you will feel better knowing that you’ve handled the most important early chores. Then you can settle in and enjoy your new home with fewer loose ends hanging over you.
Sammamish Mortgage can help. We serve clients across Washington, Idaho, Colorado, Oregon, and California. Since 1992, we’ve been providing several mortgage programs and products with flexible qualification criteria to borrowers across the Pacific Northwest. Visit our website to get an instant rate quote or to use our online mortgage calculator. Or, reach out to us if you are ready to get pre-approved for a mortgage.
Start with the tasks that make the home safer and easier to manage right away. The first priorities are usually changing the locks, testing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, locating the main water shutoff and electrical panel, and making sure basic safety items are in place before the first night.
Yes. Once you own the home, it is smart to change or rekey the locks as soon as possible because you may not know how many copies of the old keys exist or who still has them. Include all exterior doors and any door between the garage and the house.
Test the smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, confirm everyone knows where they are, and make sure fire extinguishers are easy to access. It is also important to locate the main water shutoff valve, electrical panel, and any other emergency shutoffs so you can respond quickly if a problem comes up.
Walk through the home soon after moving in and identify the main water shutoff valve, the electrical panel, and other emergency controls. Once you find them, make a simple house map or household reference so everyone can locate them quickly during a repair or emergency.
Focus first on security, safety, and basic organization. Good early steps include changing the locks, checking detectors, finding shutoff points, deep cleaning before fully settling in, updating your mailing address, documenting important home details, and getting familiar with the property and neighborhood.
Not always, but it can be helpful if you do not already have clear boundary information from the sale documents or local records. A survey matters most before you install a fence, plant trees, add a shed, set up a play area, or make other outdoor changes that could affect property lines.
Set up mail forwarding with the post office, then update your address with your bank, lenders, creditors, doctors, subscription services, utility providers, the IRS, and anyone else who regularly sends important mail. It helps to confirm which accounts were updated successfully so time-sensitive mail does not keep going to the old address.
Yes, if possible. Cleaning before furniture and boxes fill the rooms makes it easier to reach floors, cabinets, closets, appliances, baseboards, and bathrooms. It also gives you a better chance to inspect the home closely while surfaces are still easy to access.
Keep a simple record of appliance model numbers, air-filter sizes, garage door opener details, alarm or smart-home logins, utility account information, and any maintenance records left by the previous owner. Storing those details in one easy-to-find place can save time during repairs, routine maintenance, or emergencies.
A commonly overlooked step is updating and confirming your mailing address everywhere that matters. New homeowners also often forget to document key home information, locate emergency shutoffs, or verify property boundaries before starting outdoor projects.
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