Whether you’re redecorating a single room or breaking ground on an addition, there’s a nervous excitement as you embark on a new home design project. Your designer has finalized the plans and you’ve selected the team of professionals that is going to get the job done. Now you start thinking about what else needs to happen to make the process efficient, minimize disruptions in your life and ensure you can look back on the project contentedly? Here’s how we recommend you prepare yourself and your home to help ensure a smooth project:

TACKLE PERMITS

The permitting process can be intimidating, time consuming and expensive if you need one for your type of project. Many homeowners choose to have a third party or their contractor take care of it. These days, however, lots of cities and towns have moved the applications and approvals online, making it much more streamlined. With a little bit of education on terminology, plenty of lead time and a healthy dose of organization, you CAN handle it yourself.

TRIM THE EXTRAS

If you have items that you don’t use, don’t value, and/or don’t foresee keeping in your redesigned spaces, now is the time to pare down. Give intact items to your local freecycle organization or donate to a nonprofit. Are you realizing that your wedding dinnerware is just too fussy for your current life? Try to sell it with your local consignment shop or on sites like Ebay, Facebook Marketplace, or The RealReal to earn some extra cash. Haven’t worn those five pairs of low-rise jeans in a few years? Deposit them in one of those clothing recycling bins you see in parking lots. Once your excess is cleared out, you’ll have a better focus on what you love and need moving forward.

SET A CLEAN SLATE

Prior to demolition, everything must be removed from the impacted rooms and it pays to be methodical about how you pack it all up. Protect, box and label breakables; use those mega-size sealable bags and store everything as out of the way as possible. It’s surprising how much dust can make its way under doors, up stairways, and into every little nook, so cover your favorite furniture and keep hand vacuums, dusters and mops at the ready to minimize build-up.

RELOCATE THE ESSENTIALS

Think about your core activities in the spaces you’re updating and figure out how you’ll accomplish them in other rooms or out of the home. If decorating a primary suite, move into a guest room with your favorite pillows and utilize moving boxes for hanging items to keep your most worn clothing accessible. If a kitchen renovation is in the plan, your contractor can set up an alternative kitchen with a minifridge, microwave and portable burner at a minimum so you don’t have to eat takeout for the duration of the project.

With this preparation, you will be ready for demolition day, and the fun of watching your design vision and functional needs come to fruition.