Nearly $400 billion was spent on home improvements and remodels in 2018 within the United States.
Home remodels can take several months or more to complete and they require a lot of work and planning.
Unfortunately, many people discover along the way that remodeling never comes easy and can make you lose your mind.
Continue reading to discover all of the ways that you can save your sanity during remodel planning and projects!
1. Take a Step Back
How many times have you been struggling with a project only to find that stepping away solved your issue?
Taking a step back from problems and stressful situations during a home remodel project is a great way to keep calm. It is easy to get caught up in minor details. So easy, that we sometimes don’t notice other aspects of the project.
By literally walking away from your planning, you can clear your mind and think of other solutions.
Home remodeling projects require strong problem-solving skills. Luckily, in most situations, you don’t need to solve on the spot. Let a bit of time go by so that you can get your head and emotions in check.
2. Stick With Your Budget
With enough money, you can make any home design dream come true.
However, not everyone has endless amounts of money to throw at home renovation projects. Before starting your project, you should sit down and set a budget that is reasonable and fits with your income.
Surprises will come up throughout the renovation, so it is always good to stay under your budget to have extra money for emergencies. Depending on how you are renovating, you may also want to consider other expenses, like food and hotels.
If you are working on a task that requires the house to be empty overnight, you must not forget hotel fees.
Do whatever you can to remain in your budget. If you find yourself going over, you may be able to make cutbacks in other areas.
3. Capture Your Ideas
One of the best remodel planning tips to use involves your camera phone.
You can easily find and screenshot design ideas on your computer so that you have inspiration along the way. Learning how to screenshot on Mac computers can come in handy during your remodel.
Taking screenshots and pictures of inspirational views can help motivate you when you are feeling discouraged by the job. Although you may not be where you thought you would be, you can look at the photo to push you forward.
Another reason that taking pictures can save your sanity is that you won’t be clueless as to what you want. Before remodeling, you should have a clear plan of what you want so that customizations can be made. Use pictures to create your dream kitchen and guide you along the way.
4. Review the Timeline
While planning your home remodel, you will want to look at the calendar.
Checking the timeframe that you want to work on the house is recommended. This can help make you aware of holidays and events that will be going on during that time. If you have children, you may want to focus your time on the house during the days of the week while they are at school.
You will also have to consider your career and if you will be traveling during that time or under extra stress.
Planning your home remodel during a calm time of the month can help you balance out the rest of your priorities. Just be sure not to remodel too close to major events, setbacks occur and may push the end date back by a couple of days or weeks.
5. Put Things Away
Remodeling projects can quickly become a nightmare if your home isn’t prepared for the changes.
Before jumping too far into projects and planning, you should pack up unused items in the house and get rid of the extra clutter. Too much clutter can make it difficult to visualize your end goal and get the job done.
If you have an extra room or closet space that is empty, you may want to use it. Anything that is in the area of the renovation should be gone through. The more things that you don’t pack up, the more you will have to move throughout the project.
Some people have used storage pods and warehouses to store extra belongings during the remodel. If you decide to rent out extra space, don’t forget to look back at your budget to ensure that it is affordable.
6. Talk to Others
If you just started planning your home remodel, you will want to talk to other people for more ideas and advice.
Friends and family can help give you recommendations of what worked for them and didn’t. Getting advice from other people can help save you time and frustrations. It is better to know too much about a product or service rather than not enough.
Utilize professionals, friends, and the online community to gather ideas and more tips. Most of the time people can give you insight into the difficult parts of the project so that you know where you put your energy towards.
Ask for as many references as you can if you are considering a contractor or company for help. This will make your job a lot less stressful.
7. Think About Your Home Routine
Planning a remodel involves plenty of details and your family routine should be one of them.
If you are living alone or with a partner, you may not be as disrupted by a remodel. Having animals and children can complicate the remodeling process, however. If you are doing the projects yourself, you can easily control your renovation timeline and match it up with your family’s schedule.
Hiring contractors may involve a bit more structure and less flexibility. Most contractors only work on renovations during normal working hours. This means that if you have to go to work, you will have to make special accommodations.
You will also want to consider school routines so that your children won’t be late for classes or disrupted while working on homework.
8. Keep the Home Safe
Renovating a home is typically a work in progress but your children’s safety shouldn’t be.
The entire project you should be paying attention to safety hazards and risks so that you can keep your children and pets safe. If you are working on one room at a time, you can put in safety gates to keep people out while still being able to see them.
You should also make sure that tools and sharp items are put away at the end of every day. You never know if your child will go exploring!
Aside from keeping your kids and pets safe, you should also be thinking about you and the contractors. Don’t forget to turn off the electricity and water when working with pipes and wires!
Ladders are another potential danger zone for the family. More than 30,000 people died from a fall in 2017. Don’t let bad ladder habits add to the list.
9. Designate a Spot for Tools
Although this may not seem like it will save you the sanity, designating a spot for tools will save you time and frustration.
There is nothing worse than being ready to hammer up a wall or drill in a screw but you can’t find your tools. Having a designated spot will help keep you organized and it will give one location for you to go for all of your needs.
In this space, you can set up an empty table to work on, your checklists, and all of the tools you will need. You won’t have to go back and forth between the basement and garage for the items that you need.
Home Remodel Planning That Won’t Drive You Crazy
One of the most difficult and frustrating things to do in your home is remodel planning.
When, and if, the time comes, you can utilize this guide to help maintain your sanity and not be consumed by the projects. There are so many things that can go wrong with home improvement, that you must have a level head to manage them.
By taking pictures, you can find inspiration and look back at them during the times you want to quit. The most important thing is to never give up and step away if you need to.
Be sure to check out our blog for more articles with home remodeling tips so that you don’t have to work harder than necessary!