Friday, August 23, 2013

32 Our Project Budget Worksheet and a Freebie!

Budgeting for projects around our house, has become inevitable.  It is what we do, it is what we love.  We are on a quest to turn this builder grade home into a personalized, forever home, and whether that means purchasing some storage or renovating an entire room, it is important to budget for that dream frequently.

Did you see our bathroom reveal last week?  Oh. Em. Gee.  I seriously LOVE that makeover.  It is one of my favorites yet.


And throughout the process, people started asking, how did you budget for this project?

So a few things came to mind that I haven't really gotten into, and it is a process we are always tweaking:

  • We have a home improvement line within our budget, and we build that "account" over time.  If we know a huge project is coming up, we put more to the budget and cut somewhere else.
  • This budget is used for home improvement projects and supplies big and small, and is also meant to act as a reserve if our furnace goes out {yep, that happened this spring}, or our dishwasher dies.
  • We use a budget worksheet for larger projects, to ensure we don't drain our home improvement budget on a single room.
  • Although the bathroom seemed like it was done on a whim {the entire install happened in less than one week}, we actually knew it was coming a few months ago when our toilet died.  So, we have been planning on it and purchased a few of the items over time, vs. all at once.
  • We already had the tools we needed on hand for this particular project, but if we hadn't, those items would be included within the budget as well {paint supplies, sanding blocks, utility knife, etc...}

Because this bathroom was a larger project, with a larger budget and quite a few items to purchase, we whipped out our budget printable.  It is something I put together a short while ago, and a few projects later, we have been loving it.


But of course, I just printed the one above for a pretty example of what it looks like when we get started.  At the end of a project, it looks more like this one I used for the recent bathroom project:


To get started, I list out all of the items we believe we will need for the project.  When it came to renovating the bathroom, we needed quite a few new things since everything was 12 years dated:

Flooring, Molding, Paint for Walls & Vanity, Counter/Sink, Faucet, Mirror, Lighting, Hardware, Shelf, Frames, Toilet, Towel Hooks, Rug, Shower Curtain, Towels, Storage and Accessories.

I also listed any details I already had in mind {this is where I should have measured for our mirror}, and where I planned on finding specific pieces.  I also give myself a limit to try to maintain for each item in order to reach our end all budget.  Knowing bathrooms can be expensive, and that things come up, we added in a miscellaneous cushion line for random supplies we may not have thought of.  In this case, that included the register cover, adhesives and caulks, plumbing parts and outlets/switch plates {replacing the bone color with white}.

I didn't originally give myself a budget for a mirror or storage as I knew I had a mirror {or so I thought} and I could get creative shopping our home for storage.  I later needed to purchase a mirror because the one we had was a few inches too long, however, we had some budget "saves" which we were already seeing on the worksheet, so I knew it would be OK.

Throughout the process, the numbers may change and get crossed out and fixed, but it still works and keeps us on track.  Once the mirror idea switched, that impacted the lighting.  We originally had purchased a single vanity light for over the mirror, but after we found the tall and long mirror, we had to return it and grab two side sconces instead.


As you can see, the paper is folded and wrinkled.  That is because it is used and abused throughout the course of the project, and also tucked within an expandable file I found in the dollar section of Target a few months ago.


The file not only holds the budget printable, it also holds all of the receipts we have used throughout the process, so we can double check our numbers.


I just used some Washi tape and my label maker, to create labels on each section of the expandable file.  The front pocket holds receipts, the next holds the budget printable and the last holds receipts for items that we need to exchange or return.


The expandable file gives us plenty of room to hold everything, yet is small enough to carry with us when we are out shopping for items and supplies.

So that is about it.  Again, we don't use this every time, like if we are recovering a box with fabric, however, for larger projects, it has become our "go to" for keeping us on track.


And of course, I know many of you love a good project or DIY, so I am sharing the printable with you fab friends as well.

{click HERE to download your free Home Project Budget Worksheet}

Now, back to another project {oh yes, we have a new one up our sleeves}.  Happy home projecting and....


32 comments:

  1. This is such a cute idea!

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  2. I love the idea of a budget worksheet. I've just moved into a new home and currently decorating it out so the printout will come in handy. Thank you!

    www.petitestyleonline.com

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  3. Thank you! You're the best! This will help so much! We are in the process of moving into an older home and can really use this. :)

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    1. Congrats on the new old home! Sounds like you will have all sorts of fun projects ahead!

      xo,
      Jen

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  4. Such a good idea to have a worksheet! We are budgeting for projects every month but this will help so much! Thanks Jen!

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  5. This is really helpful, you can't successfully renovate a room or do a project without budgeting for it first, or else you will end up spending all of your money!

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  6. Where did you get that gold washi tape? It's so cute!

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    1. Thanks! Either wishywashi.com or Etsy. :) Can't remember, I love both as Washi sources.

      xo!
      Jen

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  7. Great, thanks! We are about to re-adjust our budget and still have a ton of projects to do so this will be so useful :)

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  8. Perfect timing! We lost our home to a fire in May (our home and 99% of our belongings were a total loss). We just got word that we are finally good to go building the home we want! This is just the inspiration I needed to start creating project budget sheets for the parts of construction that our builder will not be handling. I can also see how I can adapt your printable to help me plan out and shop for everything I have to replace in the next 9 months. Thanks!!!

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    1. It makes me so sad to hear about your home. I couldn't imagine going through that, and I am sending you the biggest of virtual hugs possible. Glad you have the option to rebuild. Lots of love and luck as you take on a new home.

      xo!
      Jen

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  9. That bathroom looks like such a beautiful and cozy space! I also love the printable. It definitely something that I can see myself using in the near future!

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  10. Hey Jen! So I jumped on the labeling boat and got myself the EPSON LableWorks LW-400 that you have! :) So I tried it out and I'm trying to make the words just the right size, spread enough apart, the best font, etc. and I love how you did your labels in this post! Would you mind sharing the settings you used?

    Can't wait to use this budget printable for our major home reno that just started this week! I was trying to figure out how I wanted to keep track so THANK YOU :)

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    1. My favorite font is Mincho. I play with the settings depending on the label I am making. For these, I did 1 line, 1/4.

      Maybe print a few size options one time, to keep on hand, so you know what sizes you like for future projects? Sort of a reference guide?

      xo,
      Jen

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  11. Thank you so much for your printable! It will come in handy when we finish our first floor renovation. I really need to stay on budget and this will definitely help! :)!

    By the way, I absolutely LOVE your organizing ideas!!

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  12. Thank you soooo much for the printable, this bound to make new projects easier to plan :) I love all of your inspiration.

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  13. Thanks a lot for sharing the printable! You made budgeting look so pretty <3
    Also, your bathroom turned out oh so pretty! I love it.

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  14. Amazing and gorgeous bathroom!!!! And thank you SO much for sharing this printable!! Yesterday I decided that I was going to update my craft/ guest room and this is exactly what I need. Thanks again!

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  15. Jen, I love the cute little bathroom décor and remodel. We bought our home a year and a half ago and have tackled the basics on 3 rooms. The budget is a MUST. I love your printable. I will be using this. I just need you to swing on over and decorate for me. :)

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  16. Such a pretty box file! I would be so happy living in a stationary shop filled with files!

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  17. I love your bathroom, Jen! You're so creative. I currently don't have my own home (I live with my mother-in-law) and every day I dream about having my own space so that I can create amazing spaces like you do!

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  18. This is perfect! We just moved into a brand new home and as you can imagine, the DIY possibilities and dreams are endless. This will help us organize our projects to come! Thanks for sharing!!! Your entire blog has also been great inspiration for me to start my own DIY blog-- just finished a post on creating a command center to organize our family chaos! Too bad I didn't have your budget worksheet to help plan that project!

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  19. Thanks so much for the cute printable, Jen! I am terrible at tracking expenses during projects. (probably because I'm afraid to see the bottom line! ;) I know we would work smarter on home improvement projects if we'd keep track, though, so hopefully this pretty printable will be my motivation! Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

    ~Abby =)

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  20. Thank you Jen! We are going to start a whole house remodel next Spring and this will surely come in handy!

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  21. What is the background you are using for your photos? I just love that print.

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    1. Hi M!

      It is just some $1 gift wrap I found at Target. Great colors and print!

      xo,
      Jen

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  22. What a great idea. Budgets are SO important!!

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  23. Perfect. Thank you for sharing! My new apartment needs some love, and obviously (like everyone) I have a small budget! I love that you break it down like this. So helpful for when you have to add up the costs of all the little things like trim and wall art. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed that I quit trying to plan and end up spending way too much money.

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  24. Thanks for sharing this Jen. :0)

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  25. I love this!! Thank you for sharing! I'm working on quite a few projects at my house and this is so helpful!

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  26. We will be starting renovations soon and I am looking for a printable to help me plan out each room such as noting down color schemes, furniture placement, flooring, etc. Do you have such a printable? Thanks!! :)

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