Moving Into a New House? Here's Some Things to Do

Now that we have finally moved into our new house (thus the lack of posts here recently), I have been busy setting things up to my liking.  Here's many of the things that I've done/am doing to make the house more secure and ready for any eventuality:

• Installed lights (interior and exterior) on a motion detector system.
• Installed a security system (video/audio) on the interior and exterior of the house.
• Installed hidden "hidey holes" between the studs in each room.
• Took the name off our the mailbox and stuck on only the house number.
• Replaced the smoke alarms.
• Installed a carbon monoxide detector.
• Put a new fire extinguisher in the kitchen and one in the garage.
• Creating a safe room (in the master closet).
• Creating an escape from the safe room (through the attic and down the side of the house).
• Make sure there is a way to escape from each bedroom (other than the door).
• Setting up reserve water tanks (this is Las Vegas after all).
• Setting up a solar power system (ditto).
• Bought a new freezer and stocked it.
• Set up a clothes line in the back yard.
• Stocked the over-sized pantry and will set up a secondary food storage area in the garage.
• Determining how to best store extra fuel (the difficulty being that is is regularly 100+ degrees in the summer here).
• Changed all of the locks in the house (interior and exterior).
• Replaced the garage door openers.
• Checked out a number of evacuation routes from the house, out of the neighborhood, and out of the area.
• Drove (and walked) the neighborhood to get a feel for the place.
• Studied alternate food and water sources in the neighborhood (there aren't many).
• Took a concealed carry class so I can get a Nevada CCL (FYI The Gun Store offers this class for free).
• I've been checking out local shooting ranges (indoor, outdoor, as well as recommended places out in the desert to practice).
• Sometime in the future I will take a desert survival course.
• Walked around the neighborhood both during the day and at night in order to check it out.
• Setting up a garden area.
• Made sure the doors, windows, and sliders can all be secured.
• Met a few of the neighbors.

There will be more to do int he future of course but for now, I am already starting to feel a bit more secure in our new home.