THE HOUSE RENO SURVIVAL KIT

There are a certain things that have been vital when it comes to living through a house reno during winter, and so I thought I’d create this rather niche post, for anyone else embarking on doing house work to refer back to. Mainly because this is the kind of content I wish someone had sent to me.

You may have noticed on my stories, but I have lived in my cashmere beanie’s all winter. Genuinely my kids commented the other day about how I’m never seen without a hat these days. But it’s true what your grandma told you, and keeping your head warm is key. This Uniqlo x Anya Hindmarch is the warmest.

I am LIVING in these M&S thermals. That black polo neck I have on/layered under a top every time you see me on stories? Yep, that’s this M&S Heat Gen Thermal Poloneck. And underneath my jeans/joggers will always be these thermal leggings. I kid you not. These are an essential when living through a house reno.

At night, you will need to socks in bed – when you need a moment of bouji in the bedlam, I would advise wearing these in bed. Side note: they make a great gift for anyone you know going through it.

This Dimplex Heater was leant to me by one of my school mums and we wouldn’t have been able to survive without it. It’s the best thing ever – heating up the room quickly and easily. On the coldest days, we all argue over who gets to sit closest to it. This is probably wha has helped us through this period the most.

Another school mum recommended this Heated Throw to me, and it’s been a worthwhile buy. I basically wrap myself in it and walk around the house. This was actually the main topic of conversation at a girls dinner last Saturday. Everyone went home, ordered one and sent screen shots of their order at 1am. Are we old or what?!

An added extra bit of organisational advice: when it comes to sharing your vision for the room, it’s great to have pictures saved in folders on your phone, but I’ve found it’s better to have those inspo pictures printed out and put into clear plastic wallet folders, divided into rooms. So I have one section with the laundry room inspo (colours, cabinetry and layouts) one for the TV room, one for the primary bedroom and so on. This way it’s easy to hold them up, for people to see them printed in large size and just seems to work better than flicking through on your phone.