Getting the home of your dreams may feel rewarding and fulfilling, but it will take so much hard work and resilience. Doing major upgrades in the home can take a toll on your household’s finances—not to mention your physical and emotional resources. If your home is finally getting a major upgrade, here are some tips for preparing your entire family and household for the change.
Part with clutter and belongings you don’t need
This may be one of the hardest parts of preparing your household for a big renovation. Still, it’s also one of the most important, especially if you and your family tend to be sentimental and keep things you’ve had for years, if not decades. Here are some practical tips for finally parting with belongings you don’t need so you can have a fresh start in your newly renovated home:
- Find a system that works for you. One example is going from room to room and assigning people to those specific rooms. You can assign the younger kids to handle rooms that don’t have as much clutter, like the living room, and you can assign the bigger kids to handle the rooms that have more stuff that needs sorting through.
- At this point in your preparations, boxes with labels are your friend. If organizing is not one of your family’s strongest suits, now is the time to start learning.
- Categorize your items into three: Keep, sell, donate. Let people be in charge of their own items—it will teach your kids how to be responsible for the things they accumulate.
- Research reliable storage companies in your area, especially if you have bigger items you no longer need but want to keep, like furniture pieces.
- Make an audit or inventory of all your belongings. It will help you keep track of the most valued assets inside your home.
- The most important thing is to get everything out before the renovation so that you can see your new space in its purest state when you move back in.
List down your family’s needs, lifestyle, and trajectory
While your architect, interior designer, and contractor are ultimately tasked with making the final blueprints and designs, you will still benefit greatly from giving them as much information as you can about your family and your vision for the home. Here are some tips for communicating what you truly want to see after the renovations:
- List down everything you think they need to know, from family culture, eating habits, and work and school schedules to hobbies and interests. The architects and interior designers might suggest some excellent designs and features that might not occur to you as a layman.
- Think about how your family has changed and how the space can accommodate that, as well as how the space will change and expand as your family evolves. For example, if your kids are moving out to college soon, think about how the home can serve you and your spouse better and if it’s time to get rid of the playground in the yard. On the flip side, if you and your spouse are still young and see yourself having more kids, how can the space be more kid-friendly? If you don’t see the house as your forever home, what upgrades can you incorporate to increase its value should you decide to sell it one day?
The whole point is to have a home that’s flexible enough to accommodate your family’s current and future needs, so make sure to inform your designers about not just where your family is at the moment but where you see it going in the years to come.
Prioritize outdoor living spaces
Experts say that this pandemic will not be the last. Should the worst happen, your home needs to be a safe and secure haven for you and your family. One of the best investments you can make is to create an outdoor living space that will allow you and your family to breathe some fresh air if lockdowns and quarantines are imposed again. Talk to your architect about what type of outdoor living space will work for the space of your yard and your specific lifestyle and needs.
If you want your home to serve you and your family for a long time, don’t be afraid to let go of the past. You should look forward to the future and the changes it brings. Unclutter, strategize, and envision—and it will be a smoother transition for you and your family.
