7 Most Essential Organization Tools For Remodeling Projects

There are two truths that exist when building a new home or remodeling your current home. First, you’ll have to make many decisions, and second, you’ll have to find a way to organize all of those decisions. As a professional who has been building, remodeling, and coaching clients for over twenty years, I love to find easy ways to stay organized. It helps me feel in control and means that I don’t have to try to remember critical information. Here are seven essential organization tools for remodeling that you’ll need for your next project.

Project Specific E-mail

You’ll want to set up a project-specific e-mail that is only used for project-related correspondence and orders. Doing this simple step will help save you so much time when you don’t have to sift through loads of unrelated messages.

Pro Tip: If you have an e-mail that has information that you know you’ll need to reference later, you’ll want to screenshot the e-mail and save it under tip number three below.

Separate Bank Account Or Credit Card

Set up a project-specific bank account and credit card. They will save you so much time tracking down costs and purchases as well as ensure you’re sticking to the budget you set.

Use A Digital File Organizational Tool

Using a cloud tool such as Dropbox, iCloud, or Google drive is one of the best ways to stay organized. For example, when using iCloud, I can access files from my phone. This means that I can pull up documents, photos, specifications, or plans and screenshot them no matter where I am. Then I can easily text or e-mail them to anyone who may need to see them. 

Pro Tip: Click here to download my filing system for a new home project if you’re unsure what that should look like.

Paper File Organization

Buy a project-specific notebook with tabs to divide it into sections such as notes, measurements, passwords to sites you order from, or information that’s relevant to your project.

Project Planner

Use a two-page per-day planner to help you stay organized throughout your day. For example, here is the one I use to write my to-do list, my appointments, the phone calls I need to make that day, and notes about the project for that day. I know this seems obvious, but I have used this planner to take those things to a whole new level.

For example, I track when I need to hear back from someone whom I have either texted, e-mailed, or called. So if on Monday I call a subcontractor and have to leave a voice mail, I will write on my planner on Tuesday at noon that I need to hear back from that sub.

Scanner

Using a scanner, even the built-in scanner on your iPhone, will make it easy to scan and e-mail any handwritten bid, invoice, drawing, or inspiration photo in a magazine to your project-specific e-mail. Then when I sit down to file, everything I need is right there in the e-mail, and I can drag and drop it into the appropriate folder in my iCloud.

Time Management

Schedule 30 minutes at least twice a week to sit down at your laptop and file away all photos you’ve taken, bids you’ve scanned, etc. This will ensure that nothing falls through the cracks, and you’ll always know where to find what you’re looking for

Conclusion

These seven essential organization tools for remodeling, when used together, will help keep you on track. Even just implementing just a couple of these tips will save you time, money, and stress. For more in-depth information on this subject, join my e-mail list below or download one of my home checklist guides today!