1. Make sure that you redirect all your mail to your new home. Keep it active for at least one year and send out "Change of Address Announcements."

2. Have the exterior locks changed. Over the past years, the Seller of your new property has given key access to friends, family and services that they knew. You'll feel much more relaxed if you have all the exterior door locks changed.

3. Have the locksmith make a few extra keys for your locks. Your friends, family and service providers will need key access.

4. Have a professional check your alarm system. Change the code and have it double-checked to make sure that all the contacts are still active and well wired.

5. Make sure your alarm system is as inclusive as you want it. What kind of monitoring are you getting? What references and assurances does you monitoring company offer?

6. Make sure you have the latest carbon monoxide & smoke detectors available. Are they the top-of-the-line? Are they connected to your alarm system? Make sure that you replace all the existing batteries with new ones.

7. Meet your new neighbors. Not only will they be able to give you the lowdown on services and shops in your new neighborhood, they may be able to keep an eye out for your property. Have your heating system checked. Get a good heating contractor to look at your furnace, air conditioning and humidifier.

8. Make sure the heating ducts have been properly balanced. Optimize both the hearing and air conditioning flow through the house and have the contractor show you how to change the flow seasonally.

9. Have your heating and air conditioning ducts cleaned professionally. You can minimize dust and allergy problems as well as house cleaning. Make it a yearly occurence if your home is on a busy street, under renovation or in an area with ongoing construction.

10. Disinfect your dishwasher and clothes washer. It is a great idea as regular cleanliness to run empty loads in each with just hot water and bleach. Recent studies have shown that these appliances can be homes to bacteria.

11. Review yout home and contents insurance. Make sure you add that new ring that you got for your birthday last year, and your new computer. Read your insurance rider and make sire that it is up-to-date.

12. Keep all the documentation and warranties left by the Seller in an easy to find location. Make sure that any existing warranties are extended if possible.

13. Purchase a home warranty. It is now possible to buy a home warranty to cover defects in any home system (not older than 50 years) or appliances (not older than 15 years).

14. Think forward about telecommunications. Rather than ordering second and third phone lines for your home, one DSL line can allow you to accomodate high speed internet access, telephone, facsimile and cellular on one line.

15. If your long term plans include changes to the property, make sure you have planty of lead time. It's much better to apply to the city for boulevard parking or zoning changes before you move in.

16. If possible, hold off major changes till one year after you've lived in the house. As you live in the property that year keep an ongoing list of ideas and needs that would be important in the upcoming renovation.

17. Keep reworking your plans while imagining how the space will actually work for you. Many people overspend just after closing on renovations and furniture that they later regret.

18. If you're planning a new garden or hoping to make additions to your existing one, start with the soil. Preparing the soil can help a garden grow to twice its size each year.

19. Keep your home bright over the winter months with potted Daffodils. If you save the daffodils in their pots afterwards, they can be planted outside and will come up next spring. I prefer daffodils because squirrels don't.