Summer time fun time!

Ah . . . living in the Chicagoland area is sure a lot of fun. I mean with in a 40 mile radius we have access to great fun. We have Lake Michigan, great museums, zoos, food, country roads, miles of forest and natural habitats, and many awe inspiring places to visit.

The downside  is we only have about 3 months to enjoy all of these amazing  places and to get all of our summer home improvement projects done. Do we stay home all weekend and pull weeds, paint the garage, and powerwash the house or go to Great America????

We have a  few tips to not spend your short few weeks we have left of Summer breaking your back to to strike a balnace between summer chores and summer fun.

1. Break task down to a certain time limit. For example if you want to weed your landscaping. Set a time and stick to it. You be surprised what even 15 min. can do.

2. Buy tools that can help. You can cut down on cost if you look in to used equipment. Sites like Craigslist, yahoo groups and facebook can get you what you need on the cheap. I posted I wanted to buy a screen tent for camping on Facebook and a friend offered to borrow me hers! I save $$$ for a item I need only 1 time.

3. Look for High School kids to help. They might be looking for some quick cash. Some kids might be trying to make money for camp or mission work this can provied a win win situation for everyone.

4. Make a plan so you don't bite off more than you can chew. Stay focused and don't get overwhelmed. Who wants to spend all weekend working on their house!
break it up into manageable task and striking a balance between getting it all done in our short season and having fun!

5. Hire a pro to help you out. Even if it is a few tasks it can help. Set a budget and see what you can get done with that dollar amount! Seek help for things you don't know how to do or you don't like doing. In the long run it my "pay" to pay someone to do the things that you can do yourself.

For example, we had a person call our company Affordable Luxury Painting and Remodeling to do a repair on something they could of taken care of themself, but didn't have a tall enough ladder. They would have rented a ladder, but they had no way to transport it with out renting a truck. They could have gone to Home Depot and rent one of their trucks, but the time and money and energy it would take just seemed exausting so, it was easier and more efficient to hire a pro.

The time is ticking in Chicagoland, but by thinking through all the options, making a realistic plan you can easily make progress on you "summer to-do list" and enjoy the rest of the fun summer activites!