How to Handle a Lengthy Renovation

Homeowners embarking on home renovation projects understand that a certain measure of upheaval is to be expected, but some may not fully anticipate the impact that renovations have on daily life. The following are some tips for making it through a lengthy renovation.

• Discuss the timeline with contractors. It may be easier to make a plan for how much life will be disrupted if you have an idea of how long the renovation will be (if everything goes according to plan). Sit down with contractors and have them spell out the minutiae of the project so you’ll be able to anticipate what’s going on day-to-day.

• Start at the right time. Some contractors may say they can fit your project into their schedules in between other jobs. While this may seem convenient and timely, your work may be put on hold if there are delays with the other job or jobs. Instead, it may be better to hold off until the contractors can devote the bulk of their attention to your renovation.

• Recreate commonly used spaces elsewhere. A kitchen or a bathroom remodel often requires giving up spaces that are used throughout a typical day. Unless you have a spare full bathroom or kitchen, you’ll need to make due. Set a microwave, tabletop electric burner and a coffee pot on a folding table in the garage or utility room. Rent or purchase a small refrigerator where you can store a few necessities. Ask your contractor to set up a makeshift outdoor shower so you have a place to get clean when the bathroom is under construction.

• Pack up and cover. Remodeling one room may cause a trickle down effect on other areas. Dust from drywall sanding can infiltrate many rooms in the home. Pack and label boxes with items not immediately needed and store them in another area. Cover most things so a film of dust won’t form on them.

• Adjust your schedule. Sleeping in will be a thing of the past for the duration of the renovation, as may be working from a home office. Try to get out of the work zone as much as possible for new scenery and respites from the noises and smells.

• Ease up on cleaning standards. It’s challenging to keep a home clean during a renovation. Relax standards and expect a mess for some time. Explain to guests what they’ll find if they drop by.

Renovations can disrupt life, but often are well worth the sacrifices homeowners must make to see them through to completion.

Prior to financing home improvement projects, homeowners typically consider a host of variables, including how significant a return they’re likely to get on their investment. Though potential ROI is not the determining factor for most homeowners, the cost of home renovation projects is so significant that ROI certainly merits consideration.

According to Remodeling magazine’s “2022 Cost vs. Value Report,” a garage door replacement recouped the highest percentage of homeowners’ initial investment in 2022. The average cost of such a project was $4,041 in 2022, and homeowners recouped roughly 93 percent of that investment at resale.

By Deana Landers www.morningcoffeebeans.com

Standing at the sink with suds dripping down onto their bare feet was a fun way to wash dishes for my children when they were little. I would pull a chair up to the sink for them to stand in, fill the sink with warm, sudsy water, and provide little things they could wash to entertain themselves.

While I did the rest of the housework, bubbles and giggles were everywhere. And, yes, I had to clean that up too.

However, as they got older the game became a chore, and their enthusiasm disappeared. My husband helped around the house a lot, but he hated to do the dishes, so that was one chore he avoided altogether.

One day I asked my son, who was about ten years old, to wash the dishes. He balked at the request. When I insisted, he said he didn’t have to do the dishes because it was a woman’s job. I asked him why he thought it was a woman’s job. He said, “Dad doesn’t do the dishes, so it must be a woman’s job.”

Later I approached my husband about this unpleasant incident, and he said, “Well, I guess it’s time for me to start helping with the dishes.”

That night after supper, he put on one of my aprons and started doing the dishes. My husband invited him to join him. After that, our son had no problem taking his turn with the other kids.

This was one of those moments that made a statement to our son. Yes, men wash dishes, and helping is one way Dad demonstrates his love and partnership with Mom.

Opportunities like this occur all the time in the home. Helping and loving each other does not go unno - ticed in the eyes of children who are learning to develop their relationships.

This Valentine’s Day, husbands and wives will do many sweet things to show their love for each other, but what children see daily in the home will lay the foundation of love in their lives.

When we love our spouses, our children see that and learn to love naturally without much effort. When our marriages are under tremendous stress, and we do everything we can to preserve them, our children learn not to give up on the essential things of life.

Even when marriages fail, we can still teach our children lessons of love.

The first time I visited my mother-in-law after marriage, I witnessed her demonstrating mature, unselfish love.

After greeting us with hugs and good food, she asked my husband if he had been to visit his dad. They divorced when he was a teenager.

He told her he had not seen him in a while and didn’t know when he would. Then, without hesitation, his mother reminded him how important it was to spend time with his dad.

I was surprised because the anger and resentment between divorced parents often produce bitter statements instead of encouraging ones. Even as I sensed a faint pain in her voice, she told her son that just because they were divorced didn’t mean he should neglect his dad.

In the years to follow, she was consistent in that behavior. I never heard her say bad things about my father-in-law.

There is a perfect love that parents can teach and demonstrate to their children in all situations, good and bad. Many couples include the following words in their marriage vows.

Love is patient; love is kind; it doesn’t envy; it doesn’t boast; it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, hopes, and always perseveres. Love never fails.