Most Popular Things to Install in Your New Home

When you move into a new home, the entire experience can be quite exciting!

If you’re a first-time homeowner, you might be surprised by some of the items that don’t come with your purchase.

This guide can help you get to know what items might need to get installed so that your house can feel like home immediately.

Top Items You Need for New Homes

1. Blinds or Drapes

Most new homes don’t come with blinds or drapes. If you’re purchasing an existing house, the current owners might remove these installations if they aren’t part of your contract. When you want some privacy indoors, these items must be your initial priority.

2. Cleaning Supplies

Some previous owners leave all of their unused chemicals behind for you to enjoy, whether you like it or not! For most new homes, you’ll need to stock up on the everyday supplies that are necessary to keep a clean house. That means buying toilet bowl cleaner, dish soap, brooms, dustpans, and similar items.

3. Home Security

If your new home comes with a hardwired security system, you’ll need to ensure the account gets transferred to your name. When it doesn’t have any equipment at all, you can choose a DIY product or call someone to wire protective equipment to your structure.

When you’re unsure about how long you’ll stay in the new home, consider buying a contract-free system that you can install yourself. Most companies offer professional monitoring for your equipment once it is up and running.

4. Shower Curtain

Unless you have shower doors already installed, a curtain is necessary in the bathroom to prevent water from going everywhere. The best products offer an anti-bacterial lining with mildew resistance built into the materials.

5. Flashlights

Now that you can call yourself a homeowner, you’re also an electrician, a plumber, and the person responsible for investigating the sounds that go bump in the night. If you have a flashlight or two available, you’ll be able to see what’s happening better.

6. Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Although most states have rules requiring homeowners to have carbon monoxide detectors installed before selling, some exceptions apply. Older homes might be grandfathered into the previous rules where that equipment wasn’t necessary (because it wasn’t invented!). You’ll want to buy at least one for each floor of your house.

It might help purchase a smoke and carbon monoxide combination detector to reduce your equipment installation needs.

7. Batteries and Light Bulbs

You won’t believe how many of these items you’ll go through each year when you own a home. When you get the chance to stock up on light bulbs and batteries, you’ll want to take it!

For the batteries, it helps to have a good mix of all sizes. You’ll use AAA and AA more often than C’s or D’s, so consider buying more of the smaller items. Your smoke detectors likely need 9V batteries, and it’s useful to have the round ones in various sizes for toys, electronics, and miscellaneous needs.

You’ll need to wait until you know for certain what light bulbs are necessary for your home. It might be worthwhile to upgrade to LED options to reduce your overall utility expenses.

8. A Lockbox

Once you own a home, you’ll discover that the important documents that must get kept seem to expand continually. Having a lockbox to store this paperwork safely is an essential purchase. If you purchase a fireproof option with a 2-hour rating for most flames, you can keep most of your valuables safe in the same container.

9. Hangers

You might have boxes filled with hangers to move into your new home. Instead of settling for the cheap plastic ones, now is the perfect time to upgrade to upholstered or wooden options. Although these items cost a little more (about $1 per hanger), your clothing and jackets will maintain their shape better.

10. Ironing Board and an Iron

If you want your apparel to be wrinkle-free for work, you’ll need these tools for your home. When you need the complete setup, a spray starch and a squirt bottle will let your hems look crisp and new. Dripless products work the best in this category, although no technology is 100% foolproof.

What Items Do You Need for Your Home?

Every home has different requirements that you’ll need to review. Some owners discover that they need mirrors in the bathroom because the previous occupants took them. Others find out that they need to bring in a commercial dumpster because tons of trash got left behind.

When you follow this item list and take a realistic approach to your walkthrough, you’ll discover that the homeownership journey requires some supplies every day. It isn’t always easy, but a result is a place that you get to call your own.