Getting credit report in the best shape

Hi there,

I have a pretty poor credit history. I have defaults in the past (one a year ago, one four years ago) and a history of payday loans and missed payments. I got into a lot of debt when I was young and buried my head in the sand for far too long- however eventually I got help and am now debt free. I am much better with money now and haven't missed any payments for at least a year.

In February my husband and I purchased our first home- due to my history, we could only get a sub prime lender with an inflated fixed rate for two years.

The plan is to remortgage once those two years are up to a lower rate with (hopefully) a high street lender. By then my last default will be over two years old and my oldest default will be almost gone from my report. However I want to make sure I'm in the best position possible so is there anything else I can be doing to improve my report?

I have read that taking a credit card and using that for purchases and paying it off on time can help, is this true? I no longer have a credit card as that's what got me in to trouble in the first place (a student with a credit card and no responsibility racking up a bunch of debt that she couldn't afford!) so I am wary of taking one out again- I wouldn't get into debt anymore but it still reminds me of a bad place.

Can anyone confirm if doing this does actually help? Is there anything else I could be doing?

Thank you.