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Tips to Deal with the Stress of Home improvement
from: SelfHomeImprovement.comAs might be expected, home improvement projects, especially large ones, can produce a fair amount of stress for the entire family. Either you're carrying out the project yourself or you've had to hire contractors or other help, purchase building materials, and most likely, still live among the chaos. There are ways, however to minimize the stress associated with home improvement projects and keep everybody healthy and happy.
Get and Stay Organized
Organization is the key to not only successfully carrying out your home improvement project, but to keeping your head as well. Even in the grandest of home renovation projects, organization will make all the difference in the world. If you are the one doing the home improvement, make sure you have everything you need before you even get started. Make a list of the specific tools and supplies you will need and arrange to buy, rent, or borrow them before you start the job. If you're painting, check the weather and make sure you will be able to paint in a well ventilated area. If you're painting your bedroom, you may want to make arrangements ahead of time to sleep elsewhere. Nothing will frustrate you more than losing sleep to paint fumes as you toss and turn all night.
Home Improvement and Hired Help
If you've hired a contractor or other help to do your home improvement project, make sure you are on the same page as the workers and have a signed contract. If you've hired a contractor, be sure and check his or her license, which you can do online. Make sure all negotiations are complete before work commences. For example, who is purchasing the building materials needed to complete the job? Will you purchase them yourself or is that left up to the contractor or worker? Has there been a date set for completion and have payment arrangements been worked out? What will happen if the work is not done by the completion date? Will you get a discount? The answer to these and other questions will help you to keep your sanity throughout the project.
Plan Wisely
The timing of your home improvement project can have a lot to do with how high or low your stress level is during the project. While you wouldn't plan a home improvement project the week before you go on vacation, if you are having an extensive project done, whether you are doing it yourself or hiring someone else to do it, look at your calendar for the entire time your project will take and add a few weeks just to make sure.
For example, if your project is slated to take 6 weeks to complete, plan on it taking 9 or 10 so that you won't have something important scheduled at the same time. If you're expecting guests in a month, don't try to squeeze a 6 week project into a month because more often than not, the project will take longer than expected to complete and you will worry yourself sick over it. Rather, just wait until you have a clear calendar for the duration of the project plus a few weeks for good measure.
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