A home renovation can be both exciting and daunting. While it’s nice to get to the part where you choose colors or fixtures, there are several things to do before that. First, you must prepare your home and ensure that construction work could go smoothly as your family life continues. So, if you have a home renovation planned soon, you could research sites like HomeIdeas.com for tips, information, and any helpful ideas.
Meanwhile, here are some things you can do to prep your home for that major renovation.
Prepare A List Of Your Belongings
Regardless of how small or how extensive the renovation will be, it’s essential to have a list of your belongings for the following reasons:
Insurance. It’s not simple to monitor all your valuable possessions, so take this chance to make a list of your things and their values.
Easy clearing out. It’s the proper time to clean up and check for things you’d like to let go before renovation begins. When decluttering, it would be helpful to divide items into three groups: donate, sell, and keep. Things that you won’t use after the renovation should already be let go before work on your home starts.
Find a storage solution. Anything you plan to keep must be stored while renovation work is going on. For small items, your basement or spare room may do just fine for storage. However, seasonal or large items may be sent to a storage container rental or a storage unit, where you can keep it safe and out of the way.
Orient Your Household About The Temporary Routine
Everyone in the household needs to be alerted of the possible lifestyle changes they may have to follow temporarily. For example, you can have one table setting for each person in the house for the duration of the renovation process, and instruct each user to clean their own area after each use. Have the coffee maker ready if you can’t skip your caffeine fix every day, but store the food processor if you don’t plan to use it often during this period. You may also have to consider limiting your bathing products to fit in one shower caddy, especially if you need to borrow bathtubs and showers during the renovation period.
Improve Your Security System
Expect your home to be filled with different kinds of people during the renovation. You’ll also be busy with your matters, and it won’t be easy to keep track of everything. Thus, it’s best to put your mind at ease with additional security elements, as follows:
Invest in a sturdy safe to place your important documents.
Install a video doorbell to check deliveries while you’re not at home.
Use smart locks that can be easily reprogrammed to allow contractors access for a limited time.
Keep Contracts, Receipts, And Ideas Digitally Organized
Set a whole day to map out your organizational structure before construction starts. You may also consider sharing idea boards with your designer and family members on websites such as Pinterest. It’s also a wise idea to scan receipts and contracts using your phone and have a cloud storage system to store them permanently. Consider using shared calendars and spreadsheets to have important information available for people who need them anytime.
Put Together A Safe And Practical Appliance Plan
Keeping your appliances away for any duration is probably one of the most inconvenient parts of a renovation. You may have to consider some tentative options, such as using a mini-fridge or a countertop oven for daily necessities. Ensure that any appliance requiring ventilation should be appropriately stored before they’re used again.
Consider Your Daily Routine
Inform the contractor about your daily schedule and schedule a start and end time for them. This way, your family’s schedule won’t be disturbed as much as possible. You wouldn’t want to have people going around your house while you’re still in your sleepwear.
Think About The Kids And Pets
If you have kids and pets, you must ensure to keep the place safe for them during the renovation period. Consider installing safety gates, electrical covers, and store sharp tools where kids and pets can’t reach them. Ensure to keep the kids and your pets away while work is going on around the house.
Set Up A Control Area
Before work starts, it’s best to designate one part of the house as a control area. This place is where you’ll place manuals, tools, materials, or checklists. By doing this, you’ll avoid frustration when you or the builders can’t find the material they need for a job.
Final Thoughts
The success of a home renovation will largely depend on how you prepare everything before work officially starts. For a major home renovation, there are numerous things to plan. It can be tiresome, but it’s doable. In preparing your home for a renovation, you need to have a master list of your belongings, orient your household about the pending but temporary changes in your daily life, improve your security system, organize documents digitally, have a safe appliance plan, a control area around the home, and have the kids and pets secured during the work.
