Congratulations on your new house! Moving into a new house is always exciting, whether it’s your first home or third. This gives you an opportunity to start fresh and build a life in a new space and maybe even a new neighbourhood, city, or country.
After creating a budget for buying your new Calgary home, you’ll also need to create a budget for the things to put in that house. It all depends on what you have from your first home, or if you’re a first-time home buyer, what your parents and other relatives have given you. It’s always a good idea to budget for these items when you’re budgeting for your home.
As a brand new homeowner, you might like these eight essential things to buy for a new house:
1. New Locks
It’s recommended that you buy new locks when you move into a new home. You can do this by replacing all of the locks or rekeying them, so the old keys no longer work. Some people feel comfortable enough doing this on their own. If not, you can hire a professional locksmith to get the job done for you.
You never know who has one of the keys from the previous homeowner. It’s best to put your mind at ease and properly secure your home with new locks.
2. Curtains or Blinds
Another thing to buy for a new house is curtains or blinds. Choosing which one to install on all of your windows is up to you and the other members of your household. It also depends on the types of windows you have. Some windows look and function better with blinds.
It’s always possible to add curtains on top of blinds if you’re looking to style the room a certain way. Curtains come in all kinds of styles, textures, and colours. For example, to keep your bedroom really dark at night, consider purchasing black-out curtains.
3. Smart Lights
Moving into a new home is a great opportunity to upgrade to smart technology. One area where you can do this is light bulbs. LED lightbulbs use less electricity and last for a really long time. Smart light bulbs allow you to control your lights from your smartphone, providing the ultimate convenience.
There are even different “scenes” you can set your smart lights to. For example, if you’re sitting down to read a book, you can choose the “read” scene. When Halloween rolls around, you can deck your house out in all kinds of fun colours.
4. Kitchen Essentials
Your home probably came with the major appliances like the fridge, stove, and microwave. Now it’s up to you to purchase whatever other small appliances you want for your kitchen. This includes mixers, blenders, and toasters.
Of course, you’ll also need eating utensils, cooking utensils, bowls, plates, and glasses.
5. Lawn Mower
Chances are the house you moved into has a grass lawn in front of the house and in the backyard. For the summertime when the grass starts to grow, you’ll need a lawn mover to cut it. This is one of the larger purchases you’ll need to make for your new home.
If you’re looking to save a few bucks, check different online sites for a used lawn mover. You can find one that works really well for a lot less money.
6. Snow Blower
Depending on where you live, you may need to contend with snow in the wintertime. Unless you want to hire a professional snow removal company, you will need to purchase a snow blower. It’s best to have this before the winter starts so you’re not caught off guard.
Like lawn movers, if you have a smaller budget for this, you can check online sites where you can find a used snow blower. Make sure to also purchase a shovel or two for when there’s less snowfall or to clean up areas like around stairs.
7. Tools
Now that you’re a homeowner, you will inevitably need tools to fix things around the house. Don’t be overwhelmed by this. You don’t need to purchase every tool under the sun. Some essentials include a hammer, screwdrivers, pliers, and a tape measure.
Take a trip to your local hardware store to see what they have. If you don’t know where to start you can always speak with one of the workers there to see what they recommend.
8. Linens
Some other staples that you’ll need in your new home are linens. This includes hand towels, bath towels, bathmats, and dish cloths. It’s possible to really have fun this with and purchase different materials and designs depending on the style of the room it’s going in. The best part is that when you get tired of them, you can easily swap them out.
This list should give you a good starting point to purchase the essentials for your new house.
