You have finally arrived at moving-in day. Excitement is in the air and the removalists are on their way. You know the day will be successful, especially because you have paved the way for a smooth transition by making sure you did some smart thinking ahead of time.

These seven (7) simple suggestions are a recipe for success for your first night at your new home.

1. Safe and secure

A friend of mine had a very unpleasant experience when they moved houses in Sydney, because the previous occupant thought it was acceptable to walk straight in while the family was busy unpacking.

• * Unless you are moving into a brand-new place, you really don’t know who has lived on the premises or who might have had a set of keys. That is why the first thing you should do is to change all the locks. While it might be an expense, it is worth the peace of mind to know you won’t ever have uninvited guests and to know exactly how many sets of keys there are and who has them.
  

• * Don’t forget to close the garage! An open garage is like a display cabinet of all your stuff if it is visible from the street, so be sure to guard this door like it is the gate to your castle. If the new garage door has a remote or requires a code, you should consider reprogramming the electronics to your own personal ID as soon as you can. It also can’t hurt to get a maintenance check on the door’s mechanics, just to make sure it’s working as it should be.

2. Measure for moving day pleasure

If you have access to floor-pans, blue-prints or photos of the place you are moving in to, do your best to measure the interior spaces. Better yet, if you are lucky enough to have prior access to the property, visit with your tape-measure. This will give you a really good idea of what will fit where and how to manoeuvre your big items into the places you need them to be. Considering the nooks and crannies in many houses in Melbourne - correct measurements help you know what items will fit in with the size and décor of your new home and what needs to possibly be replaced. By doing this far enough in advance, you’ll be able to answer all the questions needed when finding a Melbourne Removalist to do your move.

3. Labels and tables

If packing isn’t stressful and tedious enough, and despite knowing that labelling every box is going to make the move better in every way, it is seems like it will be extra time consuming and fiddly! But it doesn’t need to add to your stress, it should be taking it away! The more time you have, the better you can prepare your “label and table system”.

If you can, create a digital spreadsheet for your move, this can track a whole HEAP of information about your up and coming event, but it can also be a guide to “track your pack”. If you can’t make it in a digital format, a table drawn up on paper in a notebook can work just as well. Now you can visualise your belongings room by room and perhaps colour code each, create “groups” of like items or items that are easy to pack together and give them star ratings for prioritising their packing and unpacking. Once you have done this, you can follow it as a “pack map” as you gather and box your stuff. Use your packing tape to write any rough notes onto, use coloured paper to label the room the box is to go to (as per your map) and create a visual system that is easy to understand at a glance. This will help you direct the removalists to put the boxes in the right place when un-loading.

Try and designate where everything will go before you begin to pack.

4. Perform any preliminary maintenance

Having access to your new property prior to your move-in date can be a valuable and convenient time to make sure that everything is as it should be, get tradespeople in who can get easy access to areas, clean and replace fittings, and perform general maintenance tasks.

Some things you could check before you move your belongings into the new space may be:

• Make sure smoke alarms are installed, test them now and replace the batteries. Now is a great time to assess your fire safety plan and purchase fire extinguishers and first aid kits.

• Scrub the bathroom and replace any fittings or toilet seats that need a freshen up.

• Check the utilities which may include but is not limited to hot water systems, furnaces, plumbing (check for leaks), air-conditioning etc.

• Hire an electrician to check the wiring and replace and switch plates or outlet covers that are old or damaged.

• Check the fixed appliances are in working order and arrange to repair if required.

• Get any yard maintenance attended to or broken fences mended.

5. Deep cleaning and floor steaming

Let’s say you’re looking for Brisbane Removalists to move you into your brand-new house, you might still want to do some cleaning before moving in, particularly if there have been dry conditions and lots of dust

If you are moving into an older home, you may need to pull out all the stops and give it a really thorough scrubbing and scraping. Even new homes may have some nasty aftermath marks and stains that have been left by tradies and contractors. Whether you choose to do the job yourself, or hire a cleaning professional, make sure you seek out all the nooks and crannies where dirt and grime can accumulate as well as scrub all the usual places. The bathroom, toilet and kitchen are likely to need extra special attention and care but other places that you may not think to clean deeply could be the laundry, the windows and walls (check for any mildew), ceilings, exposed beams or children’s play areas.

Regardless of the type of floor coverings in your home it can’t hurt to have them professionally steam cleaned (or polished in some cases) to give them the best chance of surviving moving day and still looking nice on your first night in. It will also make them much easier to maintain into the immediate future.

Cleaning should be the last thing you do before you arrive on moving day.

Likewise, you may need to reverse this process for your old premises when you have removed your belongings.

6. Pest control and outdoor inspection

Sometimes there is a little sticker placed inside a cupboard to tell you when the previous pest control was performed and when the next one could be due, if you are lucky, and if the previous occupant was diligent. If you are moving into a rental, the realtor may insist that it is done before the previous tenant moves out, but if you are buying a previously lived-in premises it’s highly likely that you won’t have this information. It’s just good practice to do this now, inside and outside, before there are items blocking access for the pest control professional and there is time to allow any chemicals to settle or air out before you arrive.

While you’re at it, check outdoor areas for termite action or places where spiders or snakes could nest so you are ready for the season!

7. Transfer your services, get the lights on and the hot water ready

When you get to your new abode, it’s imperative that you have the electricity/gas connected and that you have checked all the lights to make sure they work. Replace any bulbs if you need to.

You will need have the water account redirected to your new address and the hot water turned on for that all-important post move shower.

Other services you can arrange to transfer up-front to make life easier on the flip-side are cable television services such as Foxtel, internet connections and phone or fax lines.

Some things to be aware of for these transitions are:

• * Sometimes you can opt to use the same providers of the previous occupants as there maybe existing infrastructure that can keep connection costs low and connection times short.

• * When you first move in, take a quick photo of your utility metres and keep the readings on hand for when you receive your first bill, this will help you make sure that the bill reflects your usage and you are not charged for any usage from previous account holders at that address.