Tips help families cope with summer remodeling projects

Despite the rain, cold and snow Colorado has endured this spring, summer will soon be upon us and with it comes a long list of home-improvement jobs. According to Associatedcontent.com, summer home-improvement work shouldn’t trap families in their own homes, devoid of fun and overflowing with tension.

Follow these 10 survival tips to manage the stress of remodeling:

• De-clutter: Begin by discarding as much of your clutter that you can, so you have as few belongings to work around as possible while you remodel.

• Use licensed contractors: Using licensed contractors will help keep your family safe from dishonest and even criminal element in the remodeling industry and not undermine fair compensation for workers.

• Plan and budget: A detailed work plan and budget regardless of whether you’re doing the work yourself or contracting it out. Minimize changes that would add cost and time to finish it beyond Labor Day.

• Schedule: If working with a contractor, specify the days and times for work. If doing the work yourself, give your family time off to remain sane and determine what you have to do to meet your completion date.

• Minimize the dust and debris: Don’t leave yourself too much of a mess to clean up when the project is finished by hanging plastic over doorways and store or cover objects needing protection.

• Sleep and eat: Interference with your regular routine can make it difficult to manage stress, so set up a temporary kitchen to make easy meals such as salads and sandwiches, or eat healthy take-out food. And don’t forget to get a good eight hours of sleep every night.

• Put your kids to work: For do-it-yourselfers with children home from school, allow your children to help with age-appropriate and safe tasks, providing valuable training and giving them a sense of accomplishment and contribution.

• Dispense of pets temporarily: Pets don’t take to change well, so take advantage of pet day care or call in favors of neighbors or relatives to get them out of the way while you’re working.

• Expect delays: Don’t expect everything to get done on schedule.

• Manage the stress: Minimize other commitments while your family is dealing with any major remodeling; remain patient with each other and workers coming to your home; and schedule fun activities to make up for the disruptions to your regular routine.