Power Tools Rater: 8 Tips for Finally Finishing Your DIY Projects

8 Tips For Finally Finishing Your DIY Projects Via Remodelaholic.com

Do you have several unfinished DIY projects laying around your home? Or worse still, unfinished rooms that are unusable and waiting for you to get around to them? You’re not alone, since a recent study found that more than half of U.S. homeowners have at least one uncompleted home project.

Unfinished projects can add stress to your daily life, especially when you see the unfinished pieces laying around every single day. Get the monkey off your back by finishing these darn projects once and for all! Try these 8 tips for finally finishing your DIY projects!

1. Get help.

Ask a friend, a significant other, or even your kids to help you finish the project. Some people are always up for a project and would love to help you out. This could be a great excuse to get together with that friend that you’ve been missing lately! If your DIY project is a small one, like sewing a quilt, you could find a friend who also has an unfinished project and ask him/her to bring it over to your home so you can finish it together.

2. Hire it out.

Many DIY projects go uncompleted because homeowners get stuck and don’t know what to do next. Maybe there was an unexpected problem, like weird electrical wiring, that you don’t know how to solve and has halted your project. Sure, you started the project to save money, but sometimes it’s better to throw in the towel and hire a professional to finish the job. Or you could hire someone to do the part that you’re not good at, such as drywalling, so you can do the rest yourself, like the painting and decorating.

3. Swap labor.

If you want to hire something out but you’ve run out of money, consider swapping labor if you have a skill that others want. For instance, you could paint a room in someone’s home and that homeowner could put in tiles in your bathroom. Or you could decorate someone’s kid’s room and they could put in grass in your backyard. Think of what you’re good at and find someone who’s good at what you need… and swap your skills! Read more about the practice of swapping labor!

4. Announce your intentions on social media.

For some motivation to finish your DIY projects, talk about them on your social media accounts. Take pictures of your project and post it on Facebook and Instagram, tweet about it, or blog about it. Once you’ve put it out there, you’ll feel outside pressure to finish up and your followers might ask you about your projects. And when you’re done, sharing your projects will feel so good!

5. Marathon a TV show.

Is there a TV show that you’ve been meaning to watch, like Seinfeld or Friends or Scandal? Make a deal with yourself and turn on the TV (or laptop or iPad) for that show, but only when you’re working on your DIY project!

6. Read horror stories of unfinished DIY projects.

Sometimes there’s nothing more motivating than reading other people’s unfinished projects that have lasted for a decade… or longer! Do you really want that to happen to you and your home? Of course not! Try reading the comments here and this thread.

7. Break down your project into small steps.

You’re busy, just like everyone else. A big project can feel overwhelming if you just can’t put aside a full weekend to focus on it. You don’t have to. Break down your project into achievable steps and tackle one of them at a time. For instance, you could hang up one picture frame per night to finish that gallery wall, or you could paint one drawer at a time to finish your dresser makeover. Sometimes you’ll find that you’re motivated to do more than you planned on once you’ve started, which is always a nice surprise!

8. Give up on it.

Yes, sometimes it’s okay to just give up on something. Maybe you started the project a long time ago and now your tastes have changed. Or maybe you’ve realized that you don’t like the project and want to do something different. Just throw it out or donate it and move on. Then you can start a new DIY project or finally finish another unfinished project that you actually care about. Onward and upward!

For all future DIY projects, it’s important to make sure you budget your time and money and develop a clear, detailed plan towards completion. And don’t start a new project before something big is going to happen, like a move or a vacation.