Moving into your first home as a newly-wedded couple is exciting. This will be one of the first steps you’re taking as spouses, which means everything is a new experience. It’s even more special if you’ve never gone through the “living together” phase because that means you have yet to find out how to live with one another.
Getting used to each other’s at-home habits can be tricky because you’re still adjusting. You might lose patience over your pet peeves and how they can easily mess up the place you just cleaned. Or it could be the fact that they always forget to put the cap back on the toothpaste and leave the door slightly ajar.
All those quirks and habits may be annoying at first, but soon, they can become the very things that make you love your spouse. So, you have to give each other enough time to adjust and get used to living with you. However, that means reducing the number of problems you already have on your plate.
If you don’t want to deal with problems with the house while you’re working out the creases in your marriage, then you need to double or triple-check everything before you move in. That’s the only way to eliminate the potential bumps in the road. Here are three aspects that you can begin with:
Test the Waters
Your entire household will require clean water because you use it for drinking, washing the dishes, doing the laundry, brushing your teeth, and taking a bath. Without clean water, you won’t be able to do all these chores nor maintain proper hygiene. That’s why you have to ensure that you can get clean water.
But that can be a problem if your water source is an enclosed system, such as a water tank or tower, that hasn’t been cleaned for a while. This is because water systems like that are perfect breeding grounds for bacteria, which can make you and your spouse sick just for ingesting the invisible organisms.
If you’re not sure how long it’s been since the last time that your water source has been checked, it will bode well for you to conduct testing for Legionella bacteria before you move in. This can help you avoid contracting legionnaires’ disease, which has symptoms similar to flu but can be lethal in severe cases.
Look for Sparks
You’ll be using electricity for nearly everything you do inside the house, from powering your household appliances down to your entertainment system and computer. This means that without electricity, you’ll basically be living in a cave. But the difficult thing about electrical wiring is that they loosen over time.
This is because wiring expands when in use and contracts when it’s off. Every time you switch on a light, plug into a wall socket, or use an appliance, the electrical wiring will become hot. And as you turn all these things off—therefore, the loss of heat—the wiring will return to its usual form.
As a result, this will cause the electrical wiring in old houses to loosen up over the years, which can then become a fire hazard. If you want to avoid unknowingly starting an electrical house fire, you should get an electrician to inspect your house’s wiring system and repair or replace any damaged parts before moving in.
Feel the Warmth
You will be heavily dependent on your house’s HVAC system to control the internal temperature. If you live in a region where the weather is very temperamental, there will be days when you’ll be blasting the air conditioner and days when you’ll be relying on the heater for warmth. But you can avoid that if you insulate your house.
This is because most houses have small cracks and gaps between the walls where outside air can enter. And if something from outside can enter, it means that inside air can also escape through the same gaps in your walls. At times, you might experience draftiness, too, unless you do something about it.
By insulating your walls, floors, doors, windows, and roof, you can reduce your reliance on the HVAC system to maintain the temperature inside. This is because you’ll be blocking any gaps where outside air can enter and inside air can leave. Plus, you’ll be creating a barrier between your walls and the natural elements, which means you’ll have a stronger defense against the cold.
The perfect home life is a ruse because there’s no such thing. You can aspire for perfection, or you can set realistic expectations about how your life as a married couple will be. Besides, you don’t have to be perfect because no one will be grading you during your day-to-day activities. So, just enjoy the little things and don’t stress too much about your spouse’s weird habits. You’ll get used to them too.
