Congratulations! You’ve just taken possession of your new house. What’s next? Presenting the “you’ve just move into your new house, are exhausted and have no idea what to do now checklist”.

1. Did you get a Home Inspection?

Then you know what things need to be dealt with immediately. We suggest you start there and even make plans before you move in to line up the right tradespeople to get the job done quickly. You are already living in chaos when you first move in, might as well add to it!

2. Shut offs

Gas, water, electrical. There are main shut-offs for all of these. The main for the electricity is easy to find on your panel but the others might take some hunting for.

3. HVAC TLC

Your Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning system will be put to use pretty quickly. Check the tags for when the last maintenance was performed on your furnace and if it’s been more than a year, schedule a check-up. If you have forced-air, consider getting your ducts cleaned out for a fresh start. Especially if the previous owner had a pet. If you have radiant hot water heating, learn how to bleed your rads before turning the system on.

4. Roof

Unless your roof is new(ish) your home inspector likely found a few spots that needed maintenance. Sure, your shingles could be warrantied for twenty years, but that doesn’t mean you forget about your roof until then. Get someone up there to have a look and see what needs attention.

5. Gutters

While we’re on the roof, have your eavestroughs cleaned out. You should be doing this at least twice a year: in the autumn when the leaves fall and in the spring after all those fluffy things fall off the trees.

6. Drains

Not the ones in your sinks, but the ones in your basement. If you have a floor drain take a jug of water and pour it down to see if it’s open and clear. If you have a sump pump make sure it works and get it onto a back-up generator if it isn’t already.

7. Vents

Your house likely vents outside in a few places such as your bathroom fan, range hood and dryer. Check to see if the flaps on those vents are moving freely and address any that are stuck. Clean out the filters on your range hood and take the cover off the bathroom fan and give it a wash.

8. Dryer

We hope your new home came with a pretty new washer and dryer. Alas, any dryer that’s been used has collected lint. Beyond cleaning out the lint trap, check the dryer duct out to the vent for lint as well.

9. Appliances

Sure, your fridge looks clean, but pull it away from the wall and vacuum out the coils. Self-defrosting freezers have a drip pan that you should locate and whip out. Now it is clean. If you have a freezer that relies on you to defrost it (the nerve!) you probably want to get on that.

10. Termites

If your home came with a termite warranty from a previous treatment put it in your calendar now when the pest control company is due back to inspect.

11. Tarion Warranty

If your home is shiny and new (or less than 7 years old) and came with a Tarion warranty you have some check-ups to go before that warranty runs out. Pour yourself a beverage and put those dates in your calendar as you read through the package the previous owners left for you. They did leave it, right?

12. Detector Inspector

Check your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. Nuf said.

13. Change your locks

At the very least, look for a possible hide-a-key on your property. But really, change the locks. Fun tip: Research the brand of lock you have and call the hardware store. Some locksets can be re-keyed so you don’t need to replace them.

14. Start a Home Improvement File

As soon as you pay anyone for any service or perform any improvements, keep the record of it in one place. This is helpful if you need to find a receipt or remember the last time you did something, but it’s also extremely useful when you sell the property.