You better watch out! We’ve come up with a Christmas Renovation Checklist to help you renovate over the Christmas holidays.

Looking to fit in a quick renovation over the Christmas Break? Well you will need to be organised as most shops and a lot of trade services take breaks over the holiday period.

1. Do your research earlyChristmas is such a crazy time for everyone so opting to do a renovation means your organisational skills are going to have to be excellent.

    

   You will need to know the layout of the room you are renovating, what products you are using and preferably, you will already have sourced your basins, sinks, fixtures and fittings and have them on hand – ready for installation.

    

   Consumer affairs have put together this handy checklist for home improvements costing less than $5,000 here.

2. Work out a timeline If you know you need to have your shower finished before the end of January, then write down your date and work backwards from that.

    

   If you are handy in Microsoft Excel, then a simple gantt chart with dates of weeks listed and tasks underneath that will suffice.

    

   By having a timeline worked out, you will have a guideline for tradesman, remember that you will need to order certain products to be on site by certain dates and of course, give yourself some peace of mind knowing you have this under control.

3. Organise trades well in advance

   Some tradesman are booked out months in advance to Christmas, others can find it their quitetest time of year. To make sure you don’t miss out on your preferred tradesman, make sure you book them in early.

    

   At Render It Oz, we are usually booked solid to Christmas but every year, something will happen where a client is not ready for us and needs to move their allotted dates so that time opens up for other clients.

    

   We almost always take a ‘waitlist’ and work from that when we have last minute cancellations.

    

   Remember, ask your contractor if he has a waitlist and if you can be placed on it.

4. Don’t make the project too large

   Remember – you might only have a couple of weeks to complete your bathroom renovation or kitchen renovation so don’t make your project huge and have it drag into the new year and beyond.

    

   Think about what is realistic and what can be achieved in the allotted timeline you have planned and work according to that.

5. Get the kids or family involved

   Its not everyones idea of fun but including your kids and family in your small reno project still means you get to spend time together – even if it is knocking down walls or taking rubbish to a skip.

    

   Some kids are pretty enthusiastic about getting their hands dirty, so getting them involved is a great way to get them off the ipad or playstation and get them moving.

    

   Your mum however might not want to become a bobcat moving dirt in wheelbarrows so maybe pop her on tea making duties for you.

6. Remember to rest!

   It’s Christmas! Make sure you give yourself time to have a break too. You’ve likely been working hard all year and this is the time you can have some well deserved downtime.

    

   If your budget allows it, think about jumping on a site like Airtasker and getting someone to do a rubbish run for you or pop an advert on Gumtree to get some labour for the bigger tasks.

    

   Don’t work day and night – like any job, give your self a knock-off time and sit down with your family and friends to chill out before the next day’s tasks begin.

    

   Remember taking on a renovation project over Christmas requires organisation and boundaries. Get everyone involved, don’t take on too much and remember to take time out and enjoy your holiday season too.