Congrats on the new digs!
Buying a house in 2019 is a huge deal. The housing market in this day and age is not exactly a welcoming place to be, so kudos to anyone who is able to make the jump from renter to homeowner.
This calls for a celebration, does it not?
Not so fast. Before you celebrate, you need to move all your stuff, figure out what you need to buy, then start saving up for all of that new stuff. Oh, and if you’re a first-time owner, you have a lawn now so you have to mow it.
You always see people celebrating their graduations, new jobs, engagements, break-ups(?), new cars, etc. on social media, so you should be allowed to celebrate your new house before all the real-life stuff sets in.
We’re here to give you some guidance on how and when to celebrate moving into a new house.
First Thing’s First: Moving Into A New House
We don’t mean to be downers. It’s just that there are boxes everywhere and the moving guys haven’t even been paid yet. Pay up, then you can do some classic “new home” things.
Sell Your Old House
Ideally, if you’re coming from another house this has already been accomplished, but not always. As we mentioned earlier, the current housing market makes it difficult to find buyers but it is possible. Discover more here.
Get a Picture For Your Socials
Alright, since you’re so excited you should probably commemorate this moment somehow. Grab your family and take a picture!
Set up your phone on a timer, stop your partner or spouse from moving boxes around, call over the kids or dog, and get that perfect picture.
The main thing here is to make sure you do it in front of the house. You’ll have time to get interior pictures later.
After that, it’s time to post it to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Everything. And don’t forget to come up with a good caption. Check out our blog for some tips on how to come up with the right status update.
Have a Family Only Celebration
Now that you’ve made all of your social media followers jealous, you should probably move some boxes around. You’ve had a pretty big day though, so you may not be in the mood to work too hard.
That’s alright. On the first night, it’s okay to kick back and soak in the open space that is your new home. You might as well enjoy it before you start unpacking and there’s stuff everywhere.
Let the kids or dog run around and play in the openness. You can even set up a tent and some sleeping bags and make an indoor camping trip of it all. Unless of course, you’re the type to set up the bed right away. We don’t blame you.
Don’t try to cook a meal. Just relax, order some takeout and have some drinks with the family. If any extended family or friends helped you with the big move then treat them to the pizza and beer experience as well. It’s customary.
Start Planning
Once you’re a little tipsy, you can start planning what to do next. It’s probably going to be unpacking boxes and building furniture, but sometimes its fun to think about what you might need to purchase once that’s all done.
Pull out your laptop and go on the Ikea website and become the interior designer you were always meant to be. Not too drunk though, remember you have to unpack tomorrow.
Don’t Have Too Much Fun, There’s Still Work To Do
Before you have your friends and new neighbors over for a housewarming party, you should probably make sure the place is up to your standard of living.
Unpack
Like we said earlier, in the first few days you’ll be unpacking boxes and rebuilding furniture. Motivation to get all of this done quickly is usually a problem, but you don’t want to end up with boxes in your storage for years to come.
Once all that’s done you can take a step back and think about what you still need. If you’re moving from an apartment or your parents’ place, it could be a lot!
Paint
Does anyone like doing this? The only good part of painting is, of course, when it’s over.
Do a walkthrough after you’ve unpacked some things, carry around your little paint selection guide, then head to the paint store and get this over with ASAP.
Make Sure It Works
If there’s a handyman or woman in your family, have them go through everything in the house to make sure it all works.
Find the electrical panel, make sure that the sump pump works, test all your alarms, install house alarms. There’s a lot to do when you move in, and you’ll probably forget some stuff. Here are some recommendations on what to tackle first.
Alright, that’s enough work. Let’s have some fun.
Party Time, Excellent!
Good job. You got all of that monotonous work over with. Now it actually is time to celebrate. The whole point of buying this place was to have your friends over, wasn’t it?
Housewarming
The first people that you should show off to are the ones that you already know. Invite your family and friends over for dinner and drinks. Definitely invite anyone that helped you move so they can marvel at your progress.
Supply the food and beverages if you have the means. If not have a potluck and BYOB. You should probably make use of your new kitchen and cook something yourself anyways.
Meet the Neighborhood
After you have all the people you love over, it’s time to meet some new ones. You have to live next to these people now, so try and make a good impression.
There’s no shame in doing exactly what you did with the housewarming, but if it’s nice out maybe consider a BBQ to keep it casual. If you’re the drinking type, make sure that you have alcohol at this one, cause you’re going to be talking a lot.
Relaxation Time
There it is. You’ve accomplished all of the necessary tasks for moving into a new house. Hopefully, you won’t ever have to move again because we know, it’s tiring.
For now, it’s probably time to kick back and post lots of pictures of your new house. Let us give you a hand with getting the most out of your posts.
Oh, and don’t forget to mow the lawn.
