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Renovating Your Home With Kids: How To Make It Work 

home remodel project with kids

Fixer-upper homes are around 32% cheaper on average than standard homes (around $307,000 compared to $448,000), resulting in savings of around $155,000, USA Today reports. Fixer-uppers are an increasingly popular choice for budget-conscious buyers, but they do, of course, require plenty of time, work, and money before they’re ready to call home. Renovating a fixer-upper with children can be a challenge, but it’s nothing that can’t be achieved with proactive forethought. 

Introduce your kids to the workers

Your kids will adjust to the renovation easier if you’re able to make it a friendly, happy environment. So, for example, introduce your kids to the workers and have them learn all their names — this will help your children realize there are real people putting in the work every day to transform your home. You kids may also enjoy bringing the workers snacks and drinks, which also put the workers in a good mood, too. 

Focus on the clean-up

Renovating a home generates endless amounts of dust and debris, so be sure to hire a family-friendly contractor that’s willing and able to tidy up after themselves at the end of each working day. Although there may be some leeway if your family won’t be using a particular room while it’s being worked on, communal, in-use areas must be hazard-free when your family’s using them. You can also ask them if they can make efforts to keep dust to a minimum in other parts of your home. And, once the job’s done, you’ll also need to give the place a deep clean to eliminate dirt and dustfall. Pay particular attention to corners, nooks, and crannies where condensed particles accumulate — it’s easy to miss these types of unseen areas. In turn, a thorough deep clean will also improve your home’s air quality, which is essential for creating a safe and healthy home.   

Get your kids involved 

You can make the renovation fun for your children by letting them get involved. For example, let them draw with pens or crayons all over the walls set to be demolished. Older children may even love a chance to smash the wall with a hammer. You can also turn things that may normally be considered as inconveniences into a game — for example, if the kitchen’s currently out-of-bounds, have an indoor picnic in a different room instead. Your renovation can be a unique opportunity to bond as a family with fun activities that distract your kids from the mess and chaos. Moreover, you can also let your kids make a few (non-major) decor decisions, such as, choosing the color of their bedroom walls, and even letting them paint small areas. If you’d rather not completely give them free-reign on color choice, you can narrow it down to three different options, and let your children pick the one they like best. 

Renovating a fixer-upper can be stressful, particularly with children. Fortunately, by taking care to make the experience fun and safe for your kids, you can ensure the process goes as smoothly as possible.