Purchasing your first home can be exciting and stressful, especially when the journey doesn’t end when you are handed the keys to the front door. At that point, you have a new space that needs to look and feel like your home. To make this process smoother, here are five areas you should address up to six months before moving in.

1. Stuff

You may want all new furniture for your new home, but if you are like most people, you have lots of stuff that will inevitably come with you. Before moving in, try to edit, purge and make some hard decisions. If you are merging two households, make your decision of what stays and what goes based on quality, and your combined tastes and style preferences. Otherwise, your garage and even some room(s) in your new home may turn into storage for boxes that will remain unopened for months (if not years).

Make an inventory of what you own, and list what will be gifted, donated, sold or trashed. Having a pre-determined budget will also influence your decisions. For example, you may not like your existing dining table, but buying a new one is out of the question for now. Knowing what you’ll keep will define what you need to purchase, help you eliminate items from your must-purchase list and give you direction for style and colours.

2. Budget

How much should you spend to furnish your home? Many people come to homeownership with pre-determined expectations. The process is easier if you are on your own, but couples need to be open with their expectations and be prepared to compromise. It’s a rare situation when one half of a couple gives the other free rein to make all the decisions. In fact, as is often the case, both people want to be involved in the decision-making process, but have opposite expectations. For example, you may want to splurge on a good couch, but your partner prefers a large-screen TV for a home theatre. Whether you bought the home yourself or you’re part of a couple, it’s best to decide on a budget and then move to the next step: Priorities.

3. Priorities

Think about what you want to purchase first. One of the most common regrets homeowners have is that they overspent and underdelivered, so prioritizing your spending should be at the top of your list. Consider first where you sleep and where you eat — the dining table and chairs, beds and dressers, and a couch. This list will keep you on track and avoid spending more on a TV cabinet and then later realizing your sofa budget is depleted.

4. Style

How do you want your new home to look and feel? Invest some time looking through magazines, online photos, visiting showrooms and even model homes to determine what you like and don’t like. Talk about the whys and why nots to determine your unique decor style. If you are part of a couple, you will have to compromise. For example, you may love colour, while your better half dreams of black and white. Perhaps adding pops of colour against an achromatic palette will satisfy both tastes.

5. Lifestyle

Lifestyle is not the same as style. To define yours requires self-awareness, but it basically refers to the type of home life you want to live within your new home. Before deciding what to buy, ask yourself:

a. Will you watch TV in the living room?
b. Will you entertain friends and family?
c. Do you need a dedicated work area?
d. How do you envision life in this new house?

Enjoy your new home, made easier by taking control of your home furnishing and décor decisions ahead of time.