How to Maximize 3-Day Weekends for Your Home Projects

Three day weekends don’t come around that often. We get even fewer three day weekends where we don’t need to celebrate a holiday like the Fourth of July or Thanksgiving.

With President’s Day soon upon us, many of us are wondering what we’ll do with out time. Travel, have a party, have a staycation. President’s Day weekend is actually the perfect time to get a home project done that’s been on your list for ages.

We’re not talking about a full bathroom remodel. Maybe you want to convert your guest bedroom into a dual-purpose room or clean out the garage. Whatever your project (or projects) is, President’s Day weekend is the perfect time to knock it out.

Choose Your Project(s)

Consult your list of projects around the house. Maybe you keep the list in your planner or in a program like Evernote. See which projects can feasibly be completed in a long weekend. Maybe you have a few big ones you could knock out if you split each one over three days. Think about how you need to progress through each project to better plan your day.

Your project list might also be dependent on the weather, so check your local weather forecast to see if rain or snow will impede your ability to do a certain project.

Plan Your Weekend

Before the weekend, ideally early in the week, plan how you want the weekend to go. Write down the project(s) you want to finish and the regular tasks you need to complete like cleaning, grocery shopping, or meal prepping.

Next, evaluate each project and break it into smaller steps. Once you’ve done that, you can give each step a time estimate and assign family members to the task. For example, if you want to clean out the basement, you might decide working in sections (one each day of the weekend) is the best course of action. Maybe you start by removing everything from the shelves, sorting them to decide what stays and what goes, wiping down the shelves, and replacing everything.

By the end of your planning session, you should have a schedule for the entire weekend laying out when you’ll get started in the mornings, how long each task will take, and when you’ll do your regularly scheduled chores.

Assemble Everything

If you’re doing a small home improvement project, take the time before the weekend to assemble everything you need. Make sure you have all the necessary tools and supplies to complete your project to avoid needing to run out to the hardware store in the middle of the day.

If you’re simply sorting and organizing, gather the bags and bins you’ll use to organize, throw away, recycle, and donate your items. It’ll save you from running around looking for those things while you’re in the throes of decluttering.

Get to It!

Now that you’ve chosen your projects, planned, and have everything ready to go, you can get started on your projects the moment President’s Day weekend begins.

By following your plan, you’ll avoid getting too overwhelmed and feel accomplished at the end of each day. A schedule also makes it easier to keep you and your family on task.

Don’t forget to focus on the task at hand. Too many people get overwhelmed thinking ahead to the other things they need to do which can distract them and cause them to make mistakes with what they’re doing.

Also, remember to treat yourself at the end of each day. Enjoy a glass of wine, order food in instead of cooking, or soak in the tub. You’ve spent President’s Day weekend working hard to improve your home and all that work deserves a reward.

For more tips on how to organize your home at different parts of the year, check out our blog.