When you are moving into your new home, routine home care and maintenance may seem like a ways off, but there are a few things you should do early on to set yourself up for success in the long term. We spoke to some of our most experienced Customer Care team members—here are their suggestions:

1. Protect surfaces (such as entryways and doors) that could be damaged while moving in.
2. Know the location of utility shutoff valves and controls:
   • Main water shutoff
   • Electrical panels and sub panels
   • Main gas shutoff
3. Keep emergency contact information somewhere that it is quick and easy to access. For example, put the numbers into your phone and/or take a picture of the Emergency Contact List.
4. Have a basic plan of what to do if you need to shelter-in-place or evacuate, including an emergency kit containing essentials like water. 
5. If you have a sump pump, know how the backup power source works.
6. Register your air conditioner. This can extend your warranty coverage beyond the initial period.
7. Register your kitchen and laundry appliances.
8. Put owner’s operations manuals in a safe place.
9. Put together a simple home maintenance kit.
10. Become familiar with routine home maintenance tasks. Make sure you have a backup filter for your air conditioner and/or furnace.