It makes total sense that you want to make this house into a home as soon as you can, everyone want to feel comfortable the second they move into their house, who wouldn’t? And at the same time, here, there’s a special kind of stress that only comes from living in a house long enough to notice every single thing that could be improved. And yeah, it can feel urgent, even when it’s not.
Especially if once you moved in, there’s been a lot of little annoyances and there all stacking up, be it paint, cracks on the wall, the strange stale smell in the house, well, these all just keep stacking and stacking, but where do you even begin? Like, the last thing you want here is a bunch of half-finished projects that are basically starting to breed in every room. So, how should you ideally prioritize these?
Start by Sorting Projects into Three Buckets
Alright, so a lot of people do this, and it works, but every project falls into one of three buckets: safety, damage prevention, or lifestyle upgrades. If something could hurt someone, cause ongoing damage, or lead to bigger repair bills, it goes to the top. If it’s something that would be nice, but nothing bad happens if it waits, it goes to the bottom. That’s it, it’s really that simple.
Actually, this keeps the decision-making simple when the house starts throwing a dozen problems at once. And it also helps stop that thing where a person spends money on new light fixtures while ignoring the issue that’s actually getting worse behind the scenes.
Always Handle Safety and Damage Prevention First
Safety is obvious, which, yes, includes different things like electrical issues, loose railings, weird gas smells, water near outlets, that kind of thing. The same goes for other things you might not see, like the foundation, so you might need to work with a professional to figure out the best foundation repair method if you’re noticing a lot of issues (like gaps in doors, gaps between floor and baseboard, cracks, etc, because that’s actually a pretty big problem.
But overall, while damage prevention is expensive, it’s still cheaper than dealing with things once it’s too late, like leaks, having slow drainage problems, gutter issues, roof concerns, or anything that lets moisture hang around longer than it should. But you get the point. These always need to come before anything cosmetic, always.
Stop Guessing and Get Clear On What’s Actually Going On
All homes have their quirks, and a lot of homes have their problems, but they’re not the same, so you need clarity. Meaning, that you need to take photos, write notes, actually, you should track what changes and what doesn’t. Ideally, you also need to pay attention to patterns, like issues that get worse after rain, doors that stick only in summer, or a room that always feels damp. This is an example of course, but the last thing you want to do is throw money at the wrong problem, or what wasn’t really a problem at all.
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