With the start of a new year, lots of people are looking at starting DIY projects they’ve putting off through the latter half of 2017. Whether you’re an old hand at home improvements, or looking at your first ever attempt to Do-it-Yourself, short cuts, tips and lifehacks are always welcome to make the task at hand a little less onerous. Today we have just that: some time saving tips to usher you towards DIY success.
Creating a Blank Canvas
One of the things that might put you off DIY is the disruption it causes to the rest of your home, with paint and dust finding their way onto furniture, and precious keepsakes and furnishing at the risk of being broken.
To avoid this, consider putting your most precious items from the affected room into storage before you start a big job. This gives you a blank canvas to work with, and extra room for your equipment, and limits the risk of damage and breakages to other precious possessions. If you look into London storage options, you’ll find plenty to meet your needs.
Reuse and Recycle
Don’t thoughtlessly through away or donate old items. You might be able to salvage useful parts from them to add a distinctive touch to your home!
Try keeping the drawers from an old cabinet you’ve replaced. Fixed to the wall they make a great shelf: deep, customisable, and ideal for storage and display.
Taking a look at furniture before you dispose of it to ask yourself if it could be used creatively elsewhere in the house is a great way to not just save money but also put an individual stamp on your home.
Get Help
Whether it’s a friend or partner, it’s important to have someone on hand to help when you’re doing home improvement work. With over 200,000 people injured while doing some DIY every year, having someone on hand to hold your ladder steady, help carrying heavy objects, and fetch help help if you’re injured isn’t a just a handy tip – it’s a necessity!
Plan Ahead
This is probably the most important tip of all: don’t just plunge into a job without preparation. First sit down, decide what you’re going to do, estimate how long it will take (then add a third!), and make sure you have all the equipment and supplies you need. If you to interrupt a job to go out and buy more paint, and extra timber, that’s a chance for you to get distracted, and avoid finishing.
If you’ve got a plan, and all your necessary supplies in place, then you can begin confident that you will succeed!