What you will learn from this episode: 

• Why organization is so important

• How to organize for projects both large and small

• How organization will save you valuable time, money, and stress

I’ve always been a list maker. I love tabs, color coordinating, it just makes my brain work better.

Whatever method will work for you, you MUST implement organization for any project! 

Organization is something that a lot of people have great intentions to do. They say, “Of course I’m going to keep my project organized!”, but as the days and months go by it doesn’t feel as critical to stay up on, until something goes wrong.

Even while doing a small project, this is still so important to stay on top of. You might think for just one small task you don’t need to worry about this. But so many times, things come up, and next thing you know you have 2+ people on the job. And well, if you’re working with me, my requirement is to have at least a manila folder if you are keeping track of more than 1 person’s information. I should be able to open it up and know exactly what you are doing, and with whom.

I would expect to see, if you have a painter and carpenter coming over, 2 business cards, attached to the inside cover. I would expect to see their estimates, and/or contract, paint sample colors, from either the store or ideally order the larger pieces online, and some sort of a schedule, or calendar.

Every single time you get a phone number, find something you like and want to purchase  for your project, every person that will be working or providing something for you, put that information into your folder!

The bigger the project the more you can break your binder up into sections.

One for the electrician, one for the plumber, one for the painter, and so on. 

Why do you need all of that? Well, if something goes wrong, you have all of your information in one location. I see all too often with people that call me for help and they have stuff everywhere, brochures, paper, samples, things written on napkins, it’s crazy. They have no idea where they are, where they should be and how to get back on track. 

While doing your project you’re going to have questions that come up. Whether it’s regarding sizing, or having something added. Whatever it is, all you have to do is open up your binder, find the section that they are in, and give them that information. If you are scrambling around looking for where you might have put that information, or have to look something up all over again, that could potentially push work back that needs to be done because you couldn’t get the information to them in time. 

Something else you want to have in your binder are all of the contracts that you sign. Having the contract and all of the terms that you agree on is so important. Because, say you hire your contractor in February and  he doesn’t start until April. You’re going to forget all of the terms that you agreed to. Why are these terms so important? Because you want to know what you’re paying for! You want to know what the contractor has agreed to do, and make sure it gets done. Or it could even be the other way around, if you are expecting something and it doesn’t happen, maybe it wasn’t in the terms he agreed to do. You have all of that information there to go back and check.

There are SO many little details when it comes to construction.

The bigger the project, the more details you will have. By having all of your information accessible, your issues can be resolved, questions can be answered, and your project can move along a lot faster. That means not only a lot less stress on you, but it will also save you time and money in the end. And it’s really something easy to do if you make it a priority to maintain throughout the whole length of the project.

Feel free to shoot me an email if you would like some examples of my binders, and how I have them organized!

Like this Episode?

• Be sure to check out Episode #3: 5 Biggest Mistakes I’ve Seen in Renovations

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