by Shaynna Blaze
 
Building a new home or renovating is stressful enough with the financial worries and upheaval of your work and family life but being disorganised can bring any great plans undone very quickly.  To many people place a great deal of energy is directed to colour selection the walls, trims, carpet, furniture and where to put the TV.  What should be a time of excitement of putting your dream home together can quickly turn into a logistical nightmare as you are bombarded with questions and making

Pictures courtesy of The LifeStyle Channel - click image for PDF document

endless decisions to builders, plumbers, electricians, painters….. and the list goes on.
 
The success of a renovation is not just about your colour choices and room layouts but your forward planning and organising. A renovation or new build just doesn’t happen when the builders arrive.  You must always be one step ahead.
 
When taking on a large project such as a home renovation, treat it like a job, as a simple diary wont do the trick. Have a large A4 folder as your new best friend and sectioned tabs will be your sanity saver.  Having this sectioned and always on hand means that if you happen to be out at the time of crucial decisions your partner or a nominated person can have clear access to information at any time.
Create individual tabs such as:-
Builder
Electrician
Plumber
Council
Plans
Painter
Within each section have a front page to date conversation with each trade and what decisions were made.  This is where you will have lists of items to purchase and amounts, receipts, invoices and quotes.
 
Create a second half to the book, or if it is a large-scale build have a secondary folder for the creative part of the build.  Too often the creative and business paperwork get crossed over and create confusion.  A clear division between these two need to be made.  A second set of tabs are then needed for each individual room, i.e:-
Kitchen
Bedroom
Lounge etc.
Put plastic pockets in each section for receipts, magazine pictures, brochures and sketches so these are on hand all the time and don’t fall out each time you pick up your book.
 
Professional organiser, MaryAnne Bennie from in8 says, ‘It isn’t always the smartest who get there, but the most organised”.  If you know you can have everything on hand in one folder, your mind will be clear and free to make any decision that is thrown your way.
 
This is your way to project manage your part of the job.  More often than not the builder will project manage (unless you are an owner builder) but it is up to you to keep on top of the process so when the builder needs information or you need to question something, everything is on hand.  The idea is to be in control as much as possible at your end of things so communication with your builder can run as smoothly as possible to allow you to enjoy the process of building and renovating instead of just wishing it was all over.