Make Your New House Feel Like a Home

Moving into a new home can be an exciting adventure and an overwhelming experience at the same time. We know that staring at a bunch of boxes is no fun, which is why we recommend these tips that will make you feel less overwhelmed and ready to make your new house a home. These strategies are guaranteed to help you settle in quickly and happily to kick the stress of moving to the curb.

Start With a Clean Slate

Only when moving do you realize how much “stuff” you own. Most likely, a good portion of that stuff doesn’t really need to go with you, but you may not have time to sort through it before moving. If you haven’t had the chance to decide what you want to keep, donate or sell, consider putting those items that might be on the chopping block in self-storage rather than bringing them into your new home. This will keep you from filling your house with clutter while giving you some time to sort it all out later. A clutter-free and organized home will also encourage positivity and reduce tension.

For everything else, move in with a plan to get it all organized from the start. Before unpacking, make sure you have storage and organizing tools for all those little items that can become a jumble. Grab a few cost-friendly white plastic bins for as little as $6 at Target. Organizing as you unpack gives you a clean slate for a calm and clutter-free home.

Check Off Your Maintenance To-Do List

Even if you have a head full of home projects you plan to do, you can’t do it all at once, so start with the most basic maintenance tasks. The number one thing you should do is change the locks so you don’t have to worry about spare keys floating around. Then familiarize yourself with your home’s safety features like finding the breaker box and water shutoff valves and checking smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. Start getting to know your neighborhood, too. Finding a new grocery store, coffee shop and checking out the area restaurants will help you feel like the new area is where you belong.

Settle In With the Comforts of Home

Unpacking is another one of those things you can’t expect to do all at once. Before you move, pack an essentials box with a few days worth of clothes, toiletries and other daily necessities so you don’t have to worry about finding them. Then you can focus on unpacking the comforts of home right away. Go ahead and pull out the most important things that feel, sound and smell like home such as bedding, blankets and a favorite candle.

Don’t forget the visuals that make a house feel like home, too. Good Housekeeping recommends unpacking photos and art, but simply lean them against the wall for the time being. That way, you can enjoy them while determining where you want them to go.

Get Your Quick and Inexpensive Decorating Fix

The other surefire way to make you house feel like home is to start on some decorating projects soon after you move. One idea is to paint an accent wall or use a stencil for a wallpaper effect. This is an easy and low-cost project that makes a bold statement. You don’t have to commit to painting the whole house right away, and your statement wall may even serve as inspiration for decorating the rest of your space. Another idea is to repurpose old objects to make them work in your new home and feel like new, such as this idea from DIY Cozy Home for creating gold flower pots.

The general idea is to get a quick and inexpensive start. There’s no need to have an entire decorating scheme mapped out before making your house look and feel like home. Even if all of the moving to-dos feel overwhelming at first, take a step back, take a deep breath, and use these strategies to attack the challenge with purpose.

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About the author:

Natalie Jones enjoys writing about home buying and hopes to inspire homeowners of all stages to enjoy the perks of homeownership. She created homeownerbliss.info to help soon-to-be homeowners in making their decision during house-hunting. Natalie also loves spending time with her husband working on DIY projects for their home.

Photo credit: Pixabay