How to Settle into a New Home

You've bought a new home--congratulations! After dealing with packing, supervising movers, and going through the torturous mortgage process, you're finally inside and holding the keys. You may not have thought that this next stage will be stressful as well--but chances are it will be.

Not only will you be dealing with unpacking and decorating, you will also have to do things like buy city-approved trashcans for trash pickup; choose whether or not to install an alarm; find your way around a new area; get used to strange new creaks and noises at night; and feel out a new home-to-work commute.

Read on for tips on how to settle into a new home happily--and stress-free.

When you're busy settling into a new house, the piles of boxes can be overwhelming--you can't remember where you packed the skillet, and what happened to the box of towels?

This process can drag out over days or weeks if you procrastinate unpacking your belongings--and cluttered spaces are naturally more inducive to stress.

When you move into a new house, it will be tempting to just plop down and watch some TV. But don't. Make yourself have an unpacking marathon, starting with the most important boxes first (kitchen items and bath items, like shampoo and towels).

Drag non-essential boxes (like those full of knick-knacks) out of the way to unpack last--that way you also won't have a maze of boxes to hit your shins on.

It will be tiring, but you'll thank yourself later if you get the unpacking out of the way first. Then, you won't experience the stress of frantically digging through multiple boxes looking for that skillet.

If you're adverse to change (like myself), then having to navigate in a new part of town can be stressful, as well. Figuring out where the grocery store, the post office, and other essentials are can be daunting even with a GPS.

You can ease into the area with this simple suggestion: take a different way home from work each day. Choose a different side road to go down, or take an alternate highway. In no time, you will figure out how the roads piece together, pinpoint a few restaurants to try, and know how to get everywhere you need to carry out your daily errands.

Or, take your family out for a Sunday ride and just meander around--that's also a great way to explore and to better understand where your new home is in relation to stores, restaurants, etc.

While moving into a new home is exciting, it can be an adjustment to get used to a new space--including new creaks and night noises. If you've upgraded in size or moved into an older house, those noises can be even more unsettling!

One thing that helped me adjust to moving into a larger house (I was used to a very small apartment) was installing an alarm system; that way, I knew any weird noises were most likely not someone breaking in to steal the china (and if it was, the alarm would go off and the police would arrive). Another thing that helps if noises are keeping you up at night is a white noise machine--it will drown all the background noise out and allow you to drift off to sleep.

Of course, there's no remedy for bumping into a new coffee table in the dark--that's just something you to which you will have to adjust.

Settling into a new home can be one of the most exciting, happy times in your life--especially a first home. Keep the stress levels down by unpacking early, exploring your new area to get comfortable with where everything is located, and keeping your cool about new night noises.

Once you get those issues addressed, it will be time for the fun part: decorating, enjoying your new space, and inviting over all of your family and friends to show off the new digs!