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No matter how much you love your home, you might have to move to a new place at some point. While your new location could be better than your previous home, the problem is always fitting in and feeling at home. Most people face challenges making the new house feel like a home and sometimes need interior designers to help with this. But that is not completely necessary. What can one do to feel at home once they move into a new place? Let’s find out!
Step One: Set Up Your Bedroom
The first few weeks after moving somewhere new are always very tiresome. Therefore, having one quiet room where you can permanently retire at the end of the day is essential. It would be best to prepare your bedroom first after moving into your new place. Open the box with your beddings, clean the bedroom, tidy up the bed, and set your lamps and nightstands.
It is also great to have a mirror on the wall, some decorations or art in the bedroom. Suppose you have some from your old place, even better. Remember, during these first weeks, it is tempting to shift from one task to another and from room to room. However, try to resist the temptation and focus on making your bedroom a comfortable place first.
Step Two: Clean the House
Most landlords have bond-back cleaning services. They ensure that houses are thoroughly cleaned after one has moved out. They may guarantee that the house will be clean when you move in. However, you must know that the process of moving in brings more dust, grime, and dirt to the house.
It may also happen that the home you are moving into was renovated or remodelled just before you moved in. This may lead to a lot of dust forming on the surfaces and the walls. Therefore, it is best to thoroughly clean your house from top to bottom before settling in. It does not necessarily have to be spring cleaning, simple cleaning such as dusting or vacuuming will suffice before bringing in the furniture. You can also get a professional moving and cleaning service to handle this for you since the whole process of moving may have already taken a toll on you.
Step Three: Organise Your House From the Start
Organise the rooms, including any interior designs, as soon as possible. Whether you decide to organise the house yourself or hire a professional house organiser, do it from the beginning, as soon as you move in. To begin with, it is best to start with the closets, the cabinets, the drawers, the garage, the storage space, etc.
These places need special attention since you will use them more regularly than in other areas. So, instead of throwing things everywhere in the rooms, how about you get everything arranged where you would love to have them? Remember, you do not have to rush; just take things one at a time.
Step Four: Get Rid of the Emptiness
Your new house is highly likely to feel strange, not home-like, with all the emptiness and no furniture in it. Again, it does not necessarily have to be the entire layout of the house that you try to fill. However, it would help if you first brought in the couches, tables, chairs, recliners, ottomans, etc.
You do not have to organise them as perfectly as you would wish but ensure that you place them where you want them. However, there is no actual reason to fret if you do not feel like bringing in the bigger furniture yet. You can bring in a few more miniature pieces of furniture like the fold-out chairs. As long as you will not have to sit on the floor while having dinner, you are good to go.
Step Five: Get the Moving Boxes Out of Your Way
To feel at home, you really do not want the sight of your moving boxes scattered everywhere. These will keep reminding you that this is not your home yet; you have just moved in. You may want to get rid of them as soon as possible. This does not mean you need to get rid of the moving boxes permanently. For instance, you can simply hide them or put them away in the inner rooms. Please resist the temptation of using them as temporary furniture at all costs.
Similarly, strive to keep them away from the regularly used rooms such as the kitchen, the living room, etc. Their presence would only suggest to you or rather remind you of your new shift to that place, making it feel less like home.
It’s not like you can instantly forget that you are moving to a new place, but the constant visual reminder that you are doing so could be a significant obstruction to feeling at home.
Step Six: Define Your Home
Do you know what defines a home? Family. This is the natural element that defines a home. It is thus essential that you get reacquainted with your family in any way possible once you move in. Whereas physical connection and interaction are best, this is not the only way. You can quickly bring in family vibes by unpacking your family photos.
Do not rush into unpacking your beautiful art pieces or pictures first. Just find the boxes that contain your family photos and bring out all the images. After that, place the photos in all the places you desire. It is great to focus on strategic locations such as the living room, the kitchen, the bedroom, and other areas your family would use regularly.
Many people worry about nailing the walls for fear of having to fill the holes if they have to move the photos around later on. However, this should not make you panic. If you are still undecided on how or where to fix your family photos around the house, you could use removable picture-hanging hooks or strips for the time being.
Step Seven: Rekindle Childhood Home Memories
The house you grew up in is often the perfect epitome of a home for most of us. This experience always feels authentic, and it is impossible to recreate it. However, it can be manifested in various ways, for instance, through fine furniture, pictures, utensils, or even books. It is now time that you display some of these items in your new house.
Place them at strategic points where you can see them often. They give a special kind of warmth and comfort. Rest assured of genuine feelings of home with such home improvement pieces in your sight.
Step Eight: Display Your Art
Do you ever wonder why your friends hang their art immediately after they move to a new house? Art has several benefits, especially if you are moving to a new place, so the sooner you hang them, the better. Research shows that the sight of art is enough to reduce stress, anxiety and bring in a lot of excitement.
Hanging art is one of the best home design ideas and could also be a great way to manifest your personality and interests in your new place. These are all the things that will give you instant happiness in your new house. The moment happiness sets in, rest assured of an incredible feeling of home.
Step Nine: Adopt a Pet
There is simply no better way to feel at home than to feel love. Similarly, there is no easier way to feel loved than to have a pet. Most pets are so loyal and show a lot of love when they receive the same. Did you know that having animals around makes us human beings healthier and happier? The presence of pets helps to reduce blood pressure, stress and helps us build a connection of love.
Pets bring a sense of comfort and belonging when they meet you as you come back home. They will make you feel the joy of your presence being acknowledged and appreciated. Even though it could cost you a lot of time and responsibility to take care of pets, their perks are beyond comparison. Therefore, if you have the time and resources and really want your new place to feel like home, it would help to get a pet.
Step Ten: Focus on Entertainment
Now is the time to set up your entertainment! First, ensure that your electrical wiring is perfect. Then, set up the internet in the house. In this modern-day, the internet, social media, and music are taking over. Many people focus and find joy in these things more than other spheres such as food or physical sport.
So, is your WIFI turned on? How about your TV? Do you have your music system set up correctly with a well-organised playlist? Organising a movie night could also go a long way in giving you the feeling of home. Similarly, if you are an avid gaming enthusiast and love burning the midnight oil playing computer games, you would probably feel more at home when you join your gaming world. All these are the reasons why you should consider setting up your entertainment as soon as possible.
Step Eleven: Organise a Casual Dinner
How often do you use your new kitchen? It is very likely to postpone preparing a decent meal for the first few weeks when you move to a new house. However, once you feel that you have at least settled, it is time to get into the kitchen and prepare a mouth-watering meal. How about inviting a few friends over? This is not a housewarming party, and you do not have to invite all of your friends.
However, it would help to have a few friends over to socialise and dine together. The meal does not have to be perfect or completely homemade. You could buy a couple of snacks from the shop, canned food, etc. The essence is that you connect with a few friends by sharing food, which is a great way to make your house feel like home.
Step Twelve: Now, Create Your Library
Does your new house have a study room? If yes, great! If it doesn’t, then how about creating one? Make some bookshelves and unpack the boxes containing your books, magazines, journals, newspapers, etc. While you unpack the boxes, brainstorm on how you would like to organise your small library.
Then fill your shelves with books according to the system that you decide. Reading a good book while you take a cup of tea during your resting time is a great way to feel at home.
Step Thirteen: Sleep on Your Bed!
The moving process is very stressful and tiresome, not to mention the activities afterwards. You have to unpack, dust the house, organise everything and rarely find time to rest. However, rest is vital, and sleeping is the best way to do that. Sleep relaxes your body, reduces stress, and freshens you up.
After a tiring move day, it is very tempting to just lay a blanket on the floor and retire for the night. However, you should have already prepared your bed and be ready to sleep on it. After all, where did you feel calm and comfortable in your last house? You may not know, but nothing could be more comforting and welcoming than your bed. Imagine the comfort of your pillow and the peace in your bed. You definitely do not want to miss that. So, no matter how tired you are, unpack that mattress and blanket. Enjoy the comfort of your bed!
Do Not Waste Time Settling In
Feeling at home after moving into your new place depends on how well you prepare yourself. Feeling at home means peace, excitement, comfort, love, and a sense of family. Strive to find these as soon as you move into your new place. Getting your place spotless after moving in is essential to make your house feel like a home.
To save time, you can get a professional mover to help with the cleaning and unpacking process. As you can see, the steps in this article are simple approaches and will not take much of your time. They are convenient and available to everyone no matter where you are moving.
These steps are not exhaustive, of course. You can always get creative, brainstorm on what makes you feel at home, and incorporate it into your daily routine at your new place as soon as you get there.
