If you belong to that small group of people who has the luxury of giving their home keys to a contractor and walking away until everything is finished, consider yourself fortunate. However, most of us do not belong to that group. There is a good reason for that – renovating your home all by yourself is considerably cheaper, and hiring a few good contractors too. Yet, what makes this process difficult is not the task itself – it is all the mess you will be moving around to get everything out of the way. So, decluttering before renovating will save you a ton of time and energy, making the whole process a lot more enjoyable. We have prepared seven different reasons to declutter before renovating your home.
1 Make the Renovation Easier
Some reasons to renovate can be that your house is a wreck, or you want to make changes to make room for your growing family. Or you simply want to freshen up the place. One of the main reasons people renovate is to open up space and create more storage. Organizing and decluttering your area before remodeling is essential. Purging out what doesn’t serve a purpose, things that you don’t use any longer, items that you don’t love, and stuff that isn’t sentimental will help you configure the space for what you will keep. Also, clearing your place to get ready for renovation allows you to categorize everything you own, making decision-making easy.
Also, it will be easier to picture exactly what you want to do within your home. Just think about it – if you were to renovate a room filled with stuff from top to bottom, would you be able to do it? I don’t think so. You would make a bigger mess, or even worse, damage your furniture or hurt yourself. So, do yourself a favor and declutter before renovating your home.
1 Make the Renovation Faster
Renovations are a lot faster when they are done in an organized and clutter-free area. Mess scattered everywhere will prolong whatever you want to create. You will spend hours upon hours moving everything around and around. Or, you will spend hours and hours looking for a tool you placed somewhere in that mess. This will cost you time and energy! Keep your emotions at bay and approach the decluttering process with strategy. If you think it will be difficult to achieve or tend to procrastinate, read ‘The Clutter Remedy: A Guide to Getting Organized for Those Who Love Their Stuff’ – a book that will inspire motivation and know-how.
2 Help Your Builders Help You and Declutter Before Renovating Your Home
When your home is undergoing a significant transformation, hire licensed contractors. You will want to interview carpenters, plumbers, electricians, etc. When those people step into your cluttered home, they will charge you to declutter it themselves or walk away if they think it would be too dangerous. Either way, you will not get what your heart desires. So, make sure your home is clutter-free, and get that project started. Also, decluttering will speed up, and the contractors will be quick to finish their job, and you will be able to resume other renovations in no time.
If you have plenty of unique and valuable items on your property that you want to protect, it would be wise to get some help moving things to a safe place. Don’t take risks piling stuff into your garage, where it can get broken. Sign up with and don’t hesitate to look for white glove moving services in LA or Orange County. Getting help with expensive items will alleviate a lot of stress, as you won’t have to think about scratching or damaging the most precious things you own.
3 You Will, Be Able to Live in Your Home While Renovating
As previously mentioned, many of us don’t have the luxury of moving out and hiring a general contractor. We will work with builders, contractors, family members, and tools in most cases while stepping over our own clutter at the same time. Living like this, even for a short period, will be overwhelming. To avoid this, you could find a Professional Organizer to help you find storage space for your precious belongings while renovating if you cannot hire movers or pay for outside storage. A garage, attic, basement, and an empty room in your home with proper space planning will help protect your belongings. Yet going through a Decluttering process is more straightforward than wasting time moving things that no longer meet your criteria or fit nicely in your space. Making sound decisions about what to keep in your life will save you space and help you plan how many cabinets to build and how to recreate the rooms and closets you are dreaming about.
4 You, Will, Get Rid of Pests
It is estimated that every fifth household in the USA is infected with pests. In some cases, those pests are rodents – in others, they are insects. So, if the reason for your renovation is to get rid of pest problems in your home, be sure that you go through your whole home first. Pests thrive in paper boxes where all your family photos are stored. Rats can live on cluttered garage shelves or cabinets, soiling precious stuff, messy closets, and furniture pieces could have droppings in them. Rates, spiders, mites, termites, and crickets can live on floors and walls hidden behind sizeable family heirlooms you haven’t moved in a long time. Getting into your garage where pests and insects could be hiding before renovation will speed things up.
5 Envision Your New Space
If you are having difficulties envisioning how your new home will look after renovation, rest assured that it is because of all the clutter getting in the way of knowing what you want to do. All those furniture pieces, household knick-knacks, and books and papers block your vision! Even the most experienced and talented designer will not envision clearly your new home with all that clutter.
Moreover, the same applies to moving in with someone you love. Of course, you can envision your life with your new partner, yet can you imagine how your space will look, especially when you combine all your stuff together in one place. Also, consider if you want to renovate your home together; going through your own things before planning a design is a great idea.
6 Save Yourself and Your Furniture
One of the most important reasons to declutter before renovating your home is the ability to save yourself and your furniture from potential accidents. Clutter injuries are more than typical – broken bones, cuts, sprained ankles, smashed toes, and fingers. Moreover, while tripping over clutter, you can damage walls, floors, and furniture, especially while renovating. You can avoid all of this by clearing the floor and anything blocking your way to your ideal renovation project. Either donate, sell, or throw away the things you are ready to part ways with.
