Instruments... Check (yet to find out what to do with that to be honest)
Just scan the sixpack
Airspeed - zero unless there's a howling headwind, sufficient to lift the needle of its bottom stops (generally 30+ knots or so)
Horizon - level
Altimeter - at 0 if QFE set, at airfield elevation if QNH set (+/- 15 feet or so)
CDI - Ball in the middle, CDI level although it does take the CDI a second or so to get level if you just turned onto the runway.
DI - once lined up should match the runway you're taking off from
VS - zero
Most important ones to get right are obviously the Alt and DI. Those require a manual setting. The others, any deviation from what they should read is a mechanical failure.
Furthermore, my home base has a VOR in line with the runway centerline. I set the OBS to the heading of the runway in use (while listening to the ATIS) and once lined up check that the needle is in the center. You could do the same thing with an ILS. And in our case the ATIS is exclusively on that VOR frequency so it's selected in NAV1 anyway.