How to Feel Settled Into a New Home After Moving

When you move into a new house, it can be hard to feel comfortable there at first. The house might feel like it still belongs to someone else or that it just is not home to you. There are some things that you can do to feel more settled and comfortable in your new home.

Fill the Home With a Scent that You Love

If there was a certain scent that you always used in your last home, you might find a way to fill your new home with that scent. If you love using an essential oil diffuser, you might get one of those started up in your new home while you are still unpacking. The smell of a house can make the place homey or not, and you have the power to fill your new house with any scent you like.

Set the Home Up With Comforts and Conveniences

If you have to get out of your car to open the garage at your new house, you are not going to feel settled there. You should purchase garage door openers and get your garage set up so that the door will open for you at a push of a button. You should also set your home up with other conveniences that you are used to, such as smart speakers, a dishwasher, and a refrigerator that is easy to use.

Give Yourself Time in the New Home

If you want to feel comfortable in a space, you need to spend time there. It can be hard to have time at home when you have just moved, but you should try to limit your plans so that you can spend time just being in your new house and getting to know it. Spend time relaxing in the new place and figuring out which rooms you like to spend time in the most.

Get to Know Your New Neighbors and Neighborhood

When you do feel the need to get out of the house, spend your time walking your neighborhood and getting to know all that the area offers. Talk with your new neighbors and get to know them. Try to make connections in the new area where you are living. You will feel more at home when you know those living around you.

Moving can be stressful and tiring. With a little time, though, you can get settled into your new home and love living there.

How To Improve Your Lawn Before Selling Your Home

Your lawn can be just as much of an asset when it comes to selling your home as any other room in the house. What you present to the world on the exterior is the first impression that people will have, and you’re going to want it to be as positive as possible. Putting in the time and knowing how to improve your lawn before selling your home can raise the value and intrigue more potential buyers into giving your house a chance.

The Grass is Your Top Priority

Most likely, more than trees, bushes, or flowers, your lawn is going to be covered in grass. Because there is so much of it on display, you need to make sure that you’re implementing the right techniques to take care of it. You’ll want to avoid any dead patches, over-cutting, or uneven length.

Best Ways To Maintain Grass

Watering

Whether early in the morning or late at night, you need to water your grass. The timing is important because if you do it in the middle of the day when the sun is still out, it’ll cause the water to evaporate rather than having it absorbed by the grass.

Cutting

Always check to see if your mower blades are dull. If you do start cutting with worn-out blades, it can cause the grass to tear apart instead of getting a clean and even slice. Also, try not to cut it too short; never cut more than a third of the grass’s length in one mowing session.

Invest in Landscape Lights

Showing off the natural beauty of your lawn will only highlight the positives to potential buyers. Allowing your yard to be obscured by darkness won’t add anything to the value of your home if it’s not presented properly. Among other benefits to landscape lighting, it generates greater visual interest in your home to fascinate potential buyers.

Cut Down On Traffic Across Your Lawn

From pets to guests, anyone walking over your lawn can cause damage to it that is difficult to heal; this can result in patches of dead grass or areas that are noticeably trampled. It won’t matter if you invest the time and money into taking care of your lawn if people are literally walking all over your hard work. Limit the people on your property to maintain the pristine look buyers are interested in.

Treat It Like a Piece of Art

Your lawn is a delicate environment that can be susceptible to damage—damage which may not be easily fixed. Knowing how to improve your lawn before selling your home is one thing, but maintaining it is another. It’s up to you to make sure the beauty of your yard makes it to the closing sale.

Plumbing Problems That Only Professionals Should Handle

A lot of us like to consider ourselves pretty handy. Our homes are ours, and if there’s a problem with them, we think we can handle fixing it ourselves. In a lot of cases, this is true. However, some home problems require a more experienced hand. Plumbing problems are one such case. Your home’s plumbing is a delicate system. So, you should be wary of messing with it. Here are some plumbing problems that only professionals should handle. Knowing about them will help you figure out when to call for help.

Leaky Pipes

A leaky pipe can seem like something you could repair yourself. But if you attempt to fix it, you’ll realize how much effort it takes to go deep into your walls to fix it. Depending on your pipes, you may even need to weld the pipe closed again, which is dangerous. You’ll also have to deal with possible mold spots that are hazardous to your health if you don’t take proper precautions.

Water Heater Problems

Water heaters are extremely fickle by nature. If you have any issue with your water heater, know that it’s a plumbing problem that only a professional should handle. An attempt to fix a water heater can end poorly in a multitude of ways. Save yourself the hassle and possible hospital bills and find some good help instead.

Burst Pipes

A burst pipe is even direr than a leaky one. Pipe bursts can lead to significant flooding and property damage unless you deal with them quickly. As a result, they aren’t problems you should play around with. If you find a ruptured pipe in your home, call an emergency plumber immediately. They’ll be able to deal with the problem and help you prevent another burst in the future.

Sewer Line Clogs

Sewer line clogs are some of the least pleasant plumbing problems to deal with and aren’t the kinds of clogs you’ll be able to undo with a little bit of drain clearing fluid. If all the drains in your house clear slowly, you may have a problem with your sewer line. Because this is much deeper than your normal pipes, a professional plumber specialized in clearing drains will be your best bet to deal with this issue.

Low Water Pressure

Having low water pressure is definitely annoying, but there are so many possibilities that could cause low pressure. To pinpoint the real problem, you’ll need to have a keen eye come in and figure it out. These problems will require a more serious solution than most DIYers can provide. Therefore, you’ll want to get in contact with a plumber no matter what.

Preparing Your Child for a Move

Moving is a major life event and it is often stress-inducing. You are about to change your home, your street, sometimes even a town or a country. All of this can make you feel all sorts of things and it’s easy to get overwhelmed. If you, as an adult, go through a lot, you can only imagine how a child perceives this massive change. However, every big transition can be easier overcome if you simply prepare your child properly. Use some of these tips and your child won’t have much trouble adjusting to your life in a new environment. 

Talk to your kid 

One thing you should definitely do is to talk to your kid. Make sure to get the kid involved from the very start. Even when the whole moving thing is just an idea, talk to your kid. Make sure to discuss with him or her the reasons why you’re moving, the new neighborhood, and the kind of future you’re going to have in the new home. 

All of this will make the kid feel involved and he or she won't have the feeling that this is something bad that is happening to them. Instead, they'll have a chance to agree or disagree with you and get to the best possible solution. This will also help them feel more in control of the move and they won’t take it as tragically, no matter how much they don’t want to leave your current home.

Help them sort through their belongings 

When moving, there is a lot of clutter involved. All of a sudden, the place is full of boxes and you need that one thing that is at the bottom of the box, but you don’t know which one. Naturally, you open every single one of them until you find the thing you’re looking for. All this trouble, only for you to start packing things all over again. 

On the other hand, if you encourage your kids to go through their belongings long before the move, you decrease the chances of making such clutter significantly. If you leave sorting things for the last day before the move, you'll be in trouble. On the other hand, having the kid do it before early on in the process will help you sell, donate, and trash everything just in time. Plus, you won’t risk losing anything of your child’s precious belongings. 

Don’t do much redecorating 

Even though you may find it tempting to completely redecorate the kid’s room, that may actually be a bad idea. If you feel like promising your kid a new bed, new curtains, or decorations for the room, you should think twice before actually doing it.

Moving is a huge change on its own. If you add completely new living space for your kid as well to things already confusing situation, you may achieve the opposite of making them settle faster in the new home. However, if you want to buy new things, you can buy them before the move. That way, the kid will already get used to them and associate them with the idea of a home. 

Visit the new home 

To make this change as seamless as possible, you need to make the new home your new normal. One of the ways to do so is to visit often. You should visit the house at least once with your kid before you move there. Make sure to talk of your future there – where you’ll eat, spend time together, or go grocery shopping.

If the new home is within biking distance, what are you waiting for? Grab your bikes and go look around the new neighborhood. If your kid doesn't already have a bike, make sure to change that and look for some kids bikes for sale and get to your future home as soon as possible. This kind of visit, in particular, will make your kid get familiar with the neighborhood and get the feeling he or she belongs there. 

Keep the kid updated about the move 

When moving, a lot of things can change along the way and a lot of unsurprising things can happen. Once you realize that you have a solid plan for the moving day, share it with your kid. This will help demystify the moving day and keep their head clear. If the id only hears about moving experiences from TV shows or from their peers in school, they will be expecting a lot.

Not all of their expectations might be positive. Instead, they might feel like the world is ending and it’s your job to ground them and make them feel better. Make sure to tell them the exact date of the move well before the date arrives. They’ll need some time to adjust to the idea and to come to peace with it. Create a detailed timetable of your activities during that day as well to further help them cope with the transition.

Listen to your kid 

Talking to your kid doesn't just mean inform the kid of all of the decisions you've already made. Instead, it means giving your child an opportunity to speak as well. No matter how important the move is, you should always have time to listen to your kid's wishes and concerns.

You shouldn’t forget that this is a rather stressful period for him or her. The last thing you want to do is add more stress into their life. If you encourage your child to share what he or she is feeling, you’ll be able to solve their concerns easier. Make sure to be empathetic and listen carefully to what they’re saying. 

Establish a routine 

Finally, the thing that will help your kids settle in the new home the most is a well-established routine. All you need to do is create one. This may seem easy, but don’t get fooled. Make sure to think through everything well and establish a routine that will keep the whole household functioning properly. 

Once you arrive at the new home, you'll have a lot of unboxing to do. This may drive the whole family crazy. To avoid that, make sure to keep regular mealtimes and bedtimes. This will bring in a sense of control and it will keep everything run smoothly. Having at least some form of predictability is always good and it helps everyone cope with large changes such as this one. 

Conclusion 

Moving is stressful for the entire family. You have a lot of things to plan and schedule and your kid has to deal with things such as changing school or fear of losing his or her friends. It gets hard on everyone, but with these steps, you’ll be able to maintain a positive atmosphere in the family life and move with no problems whatsoever!