How to prepare your home for renovation

It’s time to make your home beautiful again by upgrading it. Well, it’s a big step to take – renovations take a lot of money, time, and energy. But they are indeed worth it. Giving your home a new look will be like starting a new life chapter. Furthermore, you can make your home more practical and space-efficient, which will make your life a lot easier.

However, renovation is not something you wake up and start doing. It takes preparation, even though the idea seems a lot simpler. In reality, there are several things to sort out before you start tearing down walls. You need to prepare mentally, sort out the finances, make plans with contractors, and finally, prepare your home for renovation. This guide will introduce you to all the tasks you need to do to ensure this renovation goes smoothly and with a limited amount of chaos.

Set your mindset to renovation mode

It’s essential to be clear about what you expect from this renovation. Your mindset about the whole process will decide how much stress you’ll go through. And if you can minimize those levels – be sure to do that. Going into the renovation mode will help you be more realistic about this project and deal with all the mess and stress that might go your way. Accept that your home will be messy for some time, and you could get overwhelmed by trying to balance this project and your daily tasks. But there are things you can do to make it work – task organization, hiring a trustworthy team to help you, planning your meals in advance, etc. Finally, if you prepare your home for renovation, everything will be smooth and over before you know it.

Clear up the space

When it comes to renovation of any size, dust and dirt are an inevitable part of the process. Don’t underestimate this part, as dust will go everywhere around your home. Removing as many things as possible should be your priority before the renovation starts. Depending on the size of your project, you might have to remove items from more than just one room. If you have a place on another floor, it’s best to pack and put away your things there – far away from all the mess. Renting a storage unit is an ideal solution for this – it makes renovation so much easier. Clearing up the space and putting away your items will not only protect your item from dust. It will also clear up the room and make it easier to move around and do all the work.

Invest in furniture covers

There are items you won’t be able to put away for different reasons. That’s why it’s essential to cover them and ensure minimum dust reaches those pieces. Some people say they’ll clean anyway, and they skip this step. Dust will indeed go everywhere, but covering your sofas, beds, dressers, etc., will save you a lot of time afterward. Covering as many items as possible and protecting them with plastic will ensure the cleaning session lasts far less than expected after the renovation is over.

Divide the areas with plastic

If the renovation is being done in one or two rooms, make sure this space is divided from the rest of the house. One of the ways to prepare your home for renovation is to use plastic to separate the area. Tape it from the ground to the ceiling for maximum protection. Some plastic dividers come with a zipper in the middle, allowing people to enter or leave a room. A professional contractor should do a good job with this, but you should always double-check and see if your home is fully protected.

Make a path for the contractors to prepare your home for renovation

Depending on the location of your renovations, contractors might have to go through your home to reach the entrance, bathroom, etc. To minimize the mess, you can use cardboard and heavy-duty tape to make a path through your home. You’ll keep your valuable hardwood floors cleaner but also protected from scratches, moisture, etc.

Don’t let the dust pile up

It’s true that you’ll have to clean the whole house after the project is done. However, daily vacuuming and dusting will make that process a lot easier. You don’t need to perform detailed cleaning each day, but sweeping and causal vacuuming will do the work.

Have shoes for the construction area

If you go barefoot or in your socks in your home, make sure you have a pair of slippers or shoes reserved for entering the construction area only. It will minimize the spread of dust around the house and make the cleaning process faster and simpler.

Take pictures

Taking photos before the process of renovation starts can be quite useful once the project is all finished. You will preserve the memory of the way your home looked before, but also be able to compare the differences.

Spread the word

Renovations can get messy, but they can get noisy, too. It’s fair to let your neighbours know about the project. Inform them about the renovation timeline, and apologize for any noise or parking issues in advance.

Organize daily necessities

Kitchen or bathroom renovation will make some daily necessities inaccessible. So, make sure you plan to access them in advance. You might need baskets to prepare essential kitchen items or toiletries in case you’re renovating a bathroom.

Finally, give yourself enough time to prepare your home for renovation. You should do these preparation steps properly to ensure fast clean-up afterwards and a smooth and fast renovation process.