Every home starts to show signs of wear and tear after a few years have passed. You have kids and they’re growing rapidly all the time. You have to deal with them getting bigger and becoming clumsier as they stomp around the house. No matter how many times you tell them not to slam doors and to come down the stairs carefully, they’re still going to make a tip of their rooms and slowly wear the house down, whether they can help it or not. The simple fact of the matter is that they’re probably getting too big for the house.

Of course, there’s a difference between “wear and tear” and a completely rundown home. The paint will start to fade on your walls over time and the occasional household appliance will start to break. However, when you and your family are practically tripping over each other in your cramped little space, then something needs to be done.

Make a list of what needs fixing

Before making any rash decisions, you need to reflect on the aspects of your home that you don’t like. It’s important that you enlist the help of your family with this task because everybody’s input is necessary so as to ensure that each member of the family can live somewhere in which they’re comfortable and happy. It can help to walk around your home and make notes in every single room. List the things which you’d like to fix (that includes both aesthetic aspects of your household and physical things which need to be repaired). Once you have a full list, you can start to cost up each individual task so that you can come to a good total sum for the overall project.

If the house is too far gone and you don’t have the money to fix it up or add on the extensions that you’d need in order for the entire family to be able to live comfortably then it might be time to consider moving on. You could consider hdb flat rental if you’re looking for a cheap option because there are plenty of spacious apartments on the market. Some flats can even be more spacious than certain older houses and other small properties. Of course, the choice you make all depends on your specific family and financial situation. The point is simply that you don’t have to suffer onwards in your current home. Sometimes, it can be cheaper to move house if the family can’t make do with its present living situation.

Still, if moving isn’t an option or you’re determined to restore your family home to its former glory then the following pieces of advice might just help you out.

Declutter

A good place to begin when fixing up a rundown family home is to clean and tidy the place thoroughly. You might find that most of the problems in the house stem from excessive mess left lying around. Task everybody with the goal of getting rid of all the clutter they need longer need. You could sell anything valuable to raise more money for the renovation of the rest of your house; get creative throughout this process if you really want to make your house look as good as possible.

The objective is minimalism. You should be aiming to cut down rooms to the bare essentials so that you can start to cultivate not only a modern and refreshing aesthetic but also create some breathing room. In a family home, no matter how big or small that family may be, things can become cramped very quickly. You might find that the home feels much more spacious once you’ve cleared out all your old junk. Plus, it’ll simply look better.

Fix the kitchen and bathroom

You should focus on improving the kitchen and bathroom if you want your home to really feel restored to its former glory. These two rooms are integral to the house even if they might not be the two you would initially name as the most important. Think about it. The kitchen really holds the house together as a place to both socialize and eat (arguably the two most important things in life).

You should aim to make small changes to the kitchen in order to make a big overall change; something as simple as repainting the kitchen cabinets could make the room feel fresh again. Perhaps adding additional shelving could do a lot to open up the room and make it feel more spacious; if fewer items are left lying around and more of them have a proper storage space then you’ll be able to strive for that minimalistic feel we were talking about in the previous point.

With regards to your bathroom, the goal should be to create a space in which members of the family can feel relaxed, whether they’re cleaning their teeth, having a shower, or perhaps taking some time to have a long soak in the bath. You might feel more inclined to take a long soak in the bath if the bathroom looks nice and inviting. The lighting really has a huge effect on the bathroom, for instance; you could look into getting trendy LED lights along the wall or perhaps opting for cheap candles to go for that warmer and far less harsh glow in the evenings.

Fix the garden

The final thing you should aim to fix is your garden. A family home is incomplete without a good garden. This neglected space could be part of the reason as to why you feel as if the home is smaller than it is. You’ve got an entire outdoor space full of limitless potential here. In a sense, it’s the bonus room of your house; on long summer nights, you could be relaxing out here in this wide open space. You should keep on top of maintaining your garden so that you and your family feel incentivized to spend more time outside. A cozy patio area with cushioned chairs could serve as a second lounge area if indoors becomes too cramped. You could even build a conservatory for additional space if your garden is otherwise going to waste.

My Say

To avoid costly repairs for a family home, it is better to attend to a house maintenance problem at the onset it makes itself visible. In fact, it is best to regularly check the home for possible repair issues even before it becomes a problem.