Adding new space to your home can be a pretty big decision, but it’s also exciting. After all the dust has settled, you’ll soon be enjoying that expanded kitchen, new home office, bathroom addition, or rec room.
Whatever your home addition is, it will go a long way toward improving your quality of life and changing the look and feel of your home. Cleaning clutter is a great way to prepare for your upcoming home addition. What better time to get rid of things that you no longer need or that are taking up unnecessary space in your home?
Why Declutter Before Your Home Addition?
Clutter cleaning is a great idea at any time, but there are good reasons to roll up your sleeves and start clearing your rooms and closets before a home addition project begins.
First, your contractor will likely ask you to remove everything from the spaces being renovated. This is the perfect excuse for clearing out clutter in that space and throughout the house.
Next, when your project gets underway, teams of workers will be moving in and out of your house for the duration. The less clutter they have to navigate, the easier time they’ll have. Removing clutter can speed up their work and lower their chances of inadvertently breaking or damaging something that was in the way.
Finally, if you plan to tough it out and stay in your home during the remodel, you’ll most likely have to live in a smaller section of the house. The less cluttered your space is, the easier it will be to tolerate your temporary living arrangements.
With this in mind, we’ve developed a few important tips for clearing and cleaning your space before your home renovation begins.
Streamline the Renovation Process
As you await your home addition, take some time to consider your current belongings and home furnishings. Draw floor plans with the new addition included so you can see what layout works best for your family’s needs. Take inventory of what you have and cross-reference it with what you’d like to have in that new space.
Perhaps you would prefer some brand new furnishings to accentuate the exciting new setting. Maybe you have a few heirloom-style pieces you simply can’t let go. Whatever the case, give some careful thought to how you will design and decorate the room, what furniture you need, and how you’d like to tie it all together, whether by color, theme, or mood.
Practical Decluttering Strategies
Once you know what you want to put in the new space, it’s time to begin cleaning clutter. Cleaning out your entire house can feel overwhelming, especially in the midst of planning a big home addition project. But don’t worry; our tips for clearing out clutter will make this project doable — and maybe even fun!
Start with a Sorting System
Put on your favorite playlist or podcast, and begin in the soon-to-be renovated space. Pull everything out of drawers, cabinets, and closets so you can visualize exactly what you own.
Create four categories for your things:
- Keep
- Sell
- Give away
- Trash
You can either put out bins for each category or move items into piles on the floor. Make a clear decision on every single item in the room. Ask yourself: “Is this item serving me?” If the answer is no, then don’t keep it. Be brutal. If you haven’t used an item in over a year, that’s a good indication that it doesn’t play a useful role in your life.
Pace Yourself
You don’t need to complete your decluttering project in a single day. In fact, putting that on yourself may prevent you from starting in the first place. Instead, pace yourself. If your time is limited, declutter one room a week. Another strategy is to set a timer for one hour or even 30 minutes and do the most you can in your time. Little by little, you’ll clear out your house.
Consider Temporary or Permanent Storage
Clearing out renovation space can be difficult, especially if you are struggling to find places to put everything. For example, if you are having your kitchen expanded, you’ll need a place to put your dishware, pots and pans, cooking bowls, and utensils. Rather than crowding them into your existing space, consider renting a storage unit on a temporary basis.
Price Self Storage offers month-to-month leases, which are ideal for homeowners going through a major renovation project. You may even find that a storage unit can help you in your larger decluttering process. If you can’t bear to get rid of little-used possessions or family keepsakes, long-term storage could help put your mind at ease while keeping your house clean.
Protect Your Belongings
A custom home addition often creates dust and debris that can go airborne, raising the risk of dirtying or damaging your adjacent furniture and belongings. Depending on the layout of the area being expanded, your house may or may not be protected by compression-fit temporary walls or other dust barrier systems designed to minimize the mess.
When possible, you should move important possessions and keepsakes out of the home to keep them safe during the renovation process. If you don’t have an attic, shed, or other separate area to store your things, consider renting a personal storage unit. Remote storage keeps your things clean and protected from breakage for the duration of the renovations or until you have a chance to redecorate your home. To find out what type of storage unit could work best for you, take a look at our storage options at Price Self Storage.
Embrace the Temporary Chaos
Remember that construction and remodeling can turn your home upside down in a big way. You’ll have people working in your house for quite some time, not to mention the dust, the mess, and the need to avoid certain spaces where work is being done. You may find that everyday items get lost more easily in the shuffle, and everyday tasks become more of a hassle.
Clutter cleaning can help make this difficult time a little more bearable for you and your family. The less you have to worry about, the better off you will be. So get started on clearing out clutter now so you can just enjoy your new home addition once it’s finally complete.
If you need temporary or long-term storage, contact your nearest Price Self Storage today!
