After around four years of living in our home, something we definitely struggle with is motivation. You stop seeing things that need doing, you stop having a sense of urgency and you stop wanting to rip things apart and get stuck in. Basically, you just get complacent.
It’s hard not to get down every now and then when you’re renovating a house – especially if you’re living in it. You live in a constant mess. There’s usually a thick layer of dust on everything you own. Damp patches appear in the rooms you think are already finished and even when you finally manage to complete a project that looks great, it just makes the things that aren’t finished look even worse than before.
But enough of the misery – there are amazing and rewarding things about renovating a house you live in, too. It’s exciting, you never quite know what’s going to happen next and you learn a lot.
When the initial enthusiasm has worn off and your motivation starts to dwindle, it can be difficult to stay focused.
These are our top 6 tips for staying motivated when renovating a house
Focus on the small successes.
What have you achieved so far? Remember what your home used to look like when you moved in. Take a look at old photos and see how far you’ve already come. Try to ignore the mess and half-finished projects and focus on the ones you’re already completed.
Be realistic.
It may not be the most fun thing to do, but sometimes it’s necessary to take a step back and take stock.
If you have realistic expectations, you won’t end up disappointed when things don’t quite work out or move as fast as you’d like. Don’t compare yourself to others and try to put the beautiful images you see on Pinterest and in magazines into perspective.
Remember, you’re only seeing one snapshot of a room or home – you really don’t know what the rest of it behind the camera is like!
Look forward.
Even if your house is a complete mess and, like ours, often resembles a building site more than a home, try to envisage what it’ll be like once you’ve finished.
Look for inspiration, pick up a few magazines and catalogues and create a mood board. Look forward and try to imagine yourself in your new and completely finished space.
Plan.
Working to a plan will keep you focused and give you an overview of the jobs you’ve still got to do – and more importantly – keep track of the jobs you’ve already completed. Use it as a reference and a guide.
Finish those little jobs – we’re definitely guilty of calling projects finished when they could really do with another coat of paint, final sand or some other finishing touch. Finishing jobs may not be as exciting as starting a new project, but give you a huge sense of accomplishment and really make a difference!
There’s nothing quite like the feeling of standing back and looking at a completed project that you’ve done with your own two hands.
Focus on the good – not the bad.
Admittedly this is easier said than done, but it’s vital to keep going.
Why did you buy the property in the first place? What got you excited? Try to think back to why you bought your home in the first place. Do you have amazing period features? Do you have large rooms or a gorgeous garden? Whatever attracted you to the house in the first place is still there!
Take a break.
Inevitably you’ll go through phases where as much as you try, you just can’t motivate yourself.
There’s nothing wrong with that! It’s your home, do what you want! Sometimes getting away from it all can really help you gain perspective and refocus your energy on the things that matter.
What do you do to stay motivated? Do you have any tips to stay motivated when renovating a house?
Pam says
I have an excellent recipe for elephant stew. It freezes well for future meals. Of course one does get tired of the same ole meal every day.
All kidding aside; love this article. We’ve been renovating a Neo-Victorian for nearly six years and everything you’ve said here is spot on. I’m thinking we’re at the point where we need motivation to get motivated. LOL! The one thing that rings true for us is the complacency. It’s quite the hurdle.
Christine says
Haha, I’ll remember that in case I ever fancy trying a new stew! ;)
Motivation can be so difficult – it’s definitely the thing we struggle with must. Glad to hear we’re not the only ones that struggle with it!
Cx
Kagiso Khunou says
I am in a situation where i have been looking for a house to buy in South Africa and i must say its been long and very tyring. I have a specification of the house i want , area, size of yard , etc. It’s been 3 years now and i find it difficult to find what i need and at times respond maybe late to some housee only to find that there is already an approved offer. This article serves a an advisor especially not to rush because of desperation. Here a bond duration is 20 years at about 12.5% interest rate.
Christine says
Finding a new home can be soooo difficult – we really know how you feel, Kagiso!
Keeping my fingers crossed that you find your dream home soon!
Cx
Lottie says
Sometimes as you say you just need a break. You cab get so bogged down in the amount to be done you forget to enjoy it and see how much you’ve achieved! I’ve really struggled with motivation recently. I’m doing it on my own in a new town where I know no one! Let down by trades men for essential tasks and all,I want to do is get my bed in so I can live and actually make some friends here. I can bot talk,to anyone all day or longer doing reno work! So recently I’ve been giving myself a break abd also doing more fun jobs on the house that aren’t really urgent. Stops me feeling sick of dust and constant stuff in my way!!
Christine says
I totally feel for you, Lottie! We’re in a similar situation at the moment – it’s really difficult when everything happens in one go! It may not always feel like it but I promise it gets better and I’m sure it’ll be really rewarding in the long run!
Cx
linda says
good grief… all good plans! I bought a craftsman/ arts and crafts house last year pretty cheap but the first thing I had to do was have the old roof ripped off because there was a hole in it the size of a small kiddie swimming pool. The frustration for me is all the money it takes to fix things I cant really SEE. furnace, water heater, Air conditioning, all new electrical etc. etc. I am getting much closer to being done but now the budget is screaming at me. ugh. After many hours of stripping the old woodwork I have now decided to paint it. talk about wasted hours of work.
Christine says
I couldn’t agree with you more, Linda! It’s amazing how money seems to just disappear when you’re renovating a house. Don’t think of your time stripping wood as wasted – you’ll probably have a much better finish and clearer details because of it.
Cx
Lauren says
Hi Christine
This post, and your most recent one about how to do a house plan is really helpful for us, we completed on our house on Friday, and we have already stripped the wallpaper from one room, and I have started to tackle a heavily painted cast iron Edwardian fireplace (1 of 3!). Prior preparation prevents p*ss poor performance! A good planning session is needed this weekend, especially as our wedding is now less than 2 months away?! Eek!
We look forward to following your blog, and using your previous tutorials for our own home!
Lauren
X
Christine says
Wow, a new house and a wedding within two months – sounds like you have your work cut out! So happy to hear that our tutorials and experiences are some help to you.
Good luck with all of your renovations (& of course your wedding)!
Cx
Danielle Vedmore says
Good tips! I agree with taking photos of the before and after. Ps I just adore your stained glass!
Christine says
Glad you like them & the stained glass, Danielle! So happy we made the decision to have it installed.
Cx
KarenAnita says
Great tips Christine :) Agree with all of them, especially the last one hehe
It’s funny, because we didn’t do a structured plan as such, but we did do a humongous “to-do” list on a spreadsheet when we bought the house with priority orders for each. We actually lost it as quickly as it was created but I found the printout version whilst doing some overdue filing this month and as we went through it, I couldn’t believe that we’d actually done every single thing on the list!
Obviously the house isn’t finished yet, but what a boost to keep us going!
Karen x
Christine says
Wow, I’m really impressed that you finished your list! Impressed and very jealous! ;)
Cx
KarenAnita says
Haha thanks! But let me assure you there is a brand new list now!!
That was more a ‘preliminary’ list based on the RICS report when we bought the house, which deemed it pretty unsafe to live in lol! So thinks like, removing mould, ripping out the bathroom, fixing electrics, getting heating!! You know, small tasks ;) xxx
Magali@TheLittleWhiteHouse says
Excellent tips! I’m so used to have dust everywhere, I barely notice it anymore.
Christine says
Thanks Magali! Isn’t it weird how we don’t even notice things that would have previously annoyed us before we started renovating?
Cx
Alex says
Hey,
I’m in the early stages of what will be a large renovation project. Your tips are really useful and I have already taken a lot of before photos go remind me of how bad things were as I get further down the line.
I have a question about your plan point. Is this plan in the photo genuine? If so would you be able to share the sort of things that you have captured on theplan please? This is probably something I should consider doing as everytime I seem to start a job at the moment I encounter something that means I can’t see it through to completion and instead have to add new jobs to my list!
Christine says
Glad to be of some help, Alex! Yes, the plan is genuine and it is something we try to stick to. It’s something we’d definitely recommend having and really helps to focus on what needs doing when. Well get a post set up and share the ins and outs of how we plan and sort the order projects – always happy to help if we can!
Cx
Lindsay P says
I second that! Look forward to seeing a post about your plan construction.
Christine says
Thanks Lindsey! I’ve already started working on the post about how we plan and schedule things, hope to get it done soon!
Cx
Victoria says
Brilliant tips there Christine!
We are currently trying to sort out and hire someone to do the central heating. All the things I want to do are on hold (and in some cases still in their boxes 1 month later) while we wait to get the work done. Going into the rooms we have painted and enjoying our new found space have really helped. Planning events, such as house-warming or Christmas parties is also a really cool way of giving you motivation to get the stuff you can do done!
Christine says
Thanks Victoria. Love your tip about planning events to motivate you to get things done! You’re totally right, we have guests coming an a few weeks and are trying to finish what feels like a million little projects before they arrive.
Cx