Just a little update from my previous post … 30 Things To Do Before You Move In To Your First Home … Aside from unpacking a whole lotta boxes, I compiled a brief list chronicling all the things we did in the first week of home ownership.

Please tell me that some of these things sound familiar to you!

 30 Things To Do AFTER You Move In To Your First Home

1. 1. Turn the water heater down. Feel energy savvy.
   2. Install programmable thermostat. Feel uber energy savvy. And handy around the house.
   3. Get that Lowe’s coupon from the Post Office’s Change of Address packet. (You’ll need it.)
   4. Take stock of all the stuff the seller left you and post pics on social media of anything you don’t understand.
      
      Your friends will help you out. And chuckle at your ignorance. It’s OK. Anything for a laugh.
   5. Troubleshoot washer issues. Turn water on. Unplug the washer so it “resets,” then plug it back in.
   6. Buy a bucket and a big sponge.
   7. Wash all the towels and blankets you soaked while troubleshooting the washer.
   8. Watch the washer move 8 inches to the left while it’s on spin. Balance washer. (Buy a wrench.)
   9. Research how to fix a rocking toilet.
   10. Wonder whether your can handle an “easy to moderate” DIY fix.
   11. Sell electric dryer and clean out the gas dryer that came with the house.
   12. Troubleshoot gas dryer. Plug it in. It may run on gas, but it needs electricity, too.
   13. Buy and install new locks.
   14. Call a locksmith.
   15. Call basement waterproofing experts for estimates on this gem:
       
   16. After procrastinating on getting internet and cable set up because the rates are so exorbitant, give in but just have internet installed.
   17. Install blinds. (Buy a drill and a level.)
   18. Check your mailbox every day and wonder whether you properly filled out the mail forwarding form.
   19. Chase down the mail carrier when he drives by your house without a delivery and ask what’s up with your mail.
   20. Buy and install a new mailbox (We weren’t getting mail because we needed a curbside mailbox. We didn’t get the letter saying we needed a new mailbox, because we weren’t getting mail.)
   21. Research who is responsible for clean up when a neighbor’s tree falls on their property but is still dangling precariously over your shed.
   22. Troubleshoot dishwasher. Press every GFI “RESET” button for the kitchen in the breaker box. Google how to get it back to normal.
   23. Ask friends for electrician recommendations.
   24. Give up and go to bed.
   25. In the morning, try to toast your bagel and notice that the toaster is also without power. Go back to the breaker box and find the only GFI you didn’t properly RESET. Gleefully push ALL the dishwasher buttons just to see them light up.
   26. Thank friends for all of their helpful advice and humbly admit that you found the “problem.” Be happy you made them laugh, even if it was at your expense. Again.
   27. Get rid of all the boxes and moving supplies you saved through the years of renting.
   28. Have a yard sale with all of the items that you kept just in case you would need them for your next apartment (I’m looking at you, curtains, dishracks, and lazy susans).
   29. Get a check for selling my used books!
   30. Use the proceeds to buy Home Maintenance for Dummies.

Homeowners: Please tell me that some of this sounds familiar?!

Note: The amazon links are affiliate links. Using them helps me buy my Home Maintenance for Dummies book. 😉