Minda's Tips for Making a Home Improvement Project Easier

Although Project Living Room still lacks a new front door ("Hello Lowes?"), it is near enough to completion for me to feel comfortable offering a few tips.

Do have a budget. Take a trip to your home improvement store and get some ideas on how much your project will cost. Add a little padding for unplanned expenses and then stick with it as close as possible.

Do have a plan. Have a firm idea of what you want to do before you start. It's fine to seek inspiration from the home improvement store as you shop but don't let yourself get totally derailed. If you walk out with an extra item every time you walk in the store to buy a necessity you'll go over budget and possibly get bogged down in your project.

Do measure. Everything. There are few things that you buy in a do it yourself project that do not require you to have a reasonable clue about the size of something. If you don't have a tape measure, buy one.

Do save your receipts and learn store return policies. You will buy the wrong things and need to take them back. We bought the wrong grout and the wrong tile glue. Silly us. Or if you're lucky, you'll buy too much rather than too little and be able to take back unused materials. We overestimated our floor space and had to return two boxes of hardwood. Lowe's was great about it.

Do have fun and most importantly, don't fight with your spouse. Hubby and I are quite proud we survived the project without a squabble. Do it yourself projects can be stressful and trying; don't take it out on each other. Have fun!