Renovating your home is a huge project. It’s expensive and also incredibly stressful, regardless of whether you’re doing it yourself or are hiring someone to do the hard work for you.
The majority of this stress is going to come from the fact that your house is going to be turned upside down. But there is no avoiding the dust and dirt that will be everywhere—even the most skilled of craftsmen can’t do his job without causing some mess!
This stress can be alleviated a little bit by moving out for the duration of the renovation. But, depending on the size of the project, this could be weeks, months or even years—and for many, moving somewhere else for this amount of time just isn’t possible.
However, if you are about to start renovating your home and are planning to live in it at the same time—don’t panic! There are ways to stay tidy and organised that will make your life a lot easier.
Plan well in advance
The earlier you start planning, the easier it will be to stay on top of the clutter. You need plenty of time to work out where everything is going to go, so split your belongings between those that are essential and non-essential, moving your non-essential items into storage…
Take advantage of storage
Once you have your pile of ‘non-essential’ items, you need to remove these from your home, providing you with a lot more space. This could be larger items such as the sofa, the artwork off the walls and so on. Take a look at companies that provide storage for the home: you will still be able to access items as and when you wish, adding or taking away anything you need to, but everything will be safe, secure and—most importantly—dust free!
Moveable storage solutions are perfect
Moveable storage is perfect as you can easily transport belongings from room to room as each one is being worked on. Think rolling clothes racks, a chest of drawers on wheels, or clear rolling stacker boxes, for example.
Clear boxes are particularly good for protecting your belongings from the dirt that will inevitably arise from the project, but at the same time making it easy for you to see what is in each one so you don’t have to spend hours searching every time you need something.
Labels are very important!
Label everything—nothing will make you more stressed than not being able to find items you need!
Set up a temporary kitchen
One of the most frustrating rooms to not be able to access is the kitchen. So set up a temporary kitchen that you can easily move around the house as jobs are started and completed. Include a mini portable fridge for the essentials, the kettle for cups of tea and the microwave so you don’t have to eat out every night.
Stay as tidy and organised as you can and living at home during a renovation won’t be as stressful as you are probably expecting it to be.
