During renovations, many homeowners often stress a lot over the new work being done on their homes. However, it is important during this time to think about all the other things in the home to ensure that everything stays safe and protected.
Many items in your home can easily become damaged during renovation work if you aren’t careful, so it’s a good idea to spend some time prepping to keep things safe before the refurbishment starts.
1. Consider your most valuable item — yourself
One of the first things you should decide before the work starts is whether or not you will live at home during the renovation.
Your house can get pretty messy during a renovation, and there can be a lot of fumes and particles flying around in the air — breathing all of that in can be bad for your health. Depending on how extensive the renovations are, it also might be difficult to regulate the temperature in your home with different contractors coming and going all the time.
If you are making major changes that leave the inside of your home exposed to the outdoors, you may not have the option of living in the house. In this case, you may need to consider a temporary place where you can stay. On the other hand, if you do decide to live at your house during renovations, find a way to control the temperature in your home and prevent the spread of fumes and particles as much as possible.
Alternatively, perhaps you can seal off a section of the home where you will stay until the work is done on the rest of the house. You could also look into having a smart thermostat system that can more easily regulate the temperature for you, so you don’t have to worry about the temperature in your home while you are staying elsewhere.
2. Use the garage
As for the other belongings in your home, your garage is always an option so long as it is secure and unaffected by the renovations. The garage is already often a place where homeowners store a lot of their stuff, so you can just add more things temporarily while the house is being worked on.
However, the garage isn’t always a very temperature-controlled area of the home, and it might not be as safe, so this might only be a good temporary storage solution for belongings that aren’t so important or sensitive.
3. Rent a self storage unit
Renting a self storage unit is also an option, especially if you have very valuable or collectible items you want to keep safe during the renovation. Of course, self storage is a great option for a wide range of different items, not just your valuables.
If there is no room to store things out of the way in your home, you can rent a storage unit easily and inexpensively. You can use it for some temporary extra space for things like clothes, toys, items of furniture, books — and much else besides — until they can be moved back into your home.
However, just keep in mind that if you are putting valuable items in self storage, it’s a good idea to have them insured if they aren’t already. While self storage units are generally very safe and secure, you don’t want to take any chances with your most precious items.
4. Use one of the other rooms in your home
If you have room to spare in your home, you can use it as storage space. If you can, pick a room that is as far away from the renovations as possible, so the important or valuable items you temporarily store there will be as safe as possible.
You may even want to choose a room that you can lock. Homes that are undergoing renovations can easily become the target of robbery because they are often less secure with work crews coming and going, exposing the home to the outdoors. If you are planning to keep everything stored in your home, make sure you can keep it all safe.
5. Cover furniture and other important items
For items that cannot easily be moved, such as furniture or pianos, cover them with sheets or tarps for protection. Again, there will likely be a lot of particles floating around in the air during the renovation work, not to mention paint or other chemicals that may be being used, so you’ll want to cover everything that is exposed to this.
Covering items can also hide them from the prying eyes of anybody who might be coming and going during the renovations. Even if you are keeping belongings in the home that aren’t particularly valuable, it’s still a good idea just to cover whatever you can.
While you might have a million things to think about before the renovations start, it’s always best to spend some time planning how you will protect your belongings. Renovating your home is a costly endeavor, so the last thing you want is to have to pay more money to fix or replace items during the project.
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