Happy little people sanding bookshelves for a playroom remodel
I recently got a great email from one of my sister-in-laws with a black and white confession that she has taken remodelling into her own hands – err sorry… the hands of her children. In a time of budget consciousness one cannot overlook the value of those tiny little people living in your house… once read to and coddled… now sanding and painting!
Interested in getting your own offspring to work? Here’s a couple of handy pieces of advice from the field:
- Bribery Works! Money, Playdates, Computer Time even candy. If you play your cards right, they won’t even see the task as arduous… didn’t Mary Poppins sing something about spoonfuls of sugar?
- Avoid Electrical. Perhaps obvious to you but something I wanted to get in writing… too many cons to get into but electrical projects and kids would not be on my top 10! While I’m on this topic, I’d probably keep plumbing off the list too.
- Lead by example (totally stole this one from child parenting expert Armin Brott).
- Keep ‘em happy and fed … pretty much same rules I use when trying to get my husband and his friends to work.
- You never hurt anyone with sand paper… sanding is an easy one – low mess – great kid job… even better than painting or my own favorite: shellacking!
Getting your kids involved in the project has got to be a big win:win. They feel more involved, you all get to hang out and yes, you, the project guru get a little cheap labor out of the deal!
Great idea, but make sure you’re not dealing with lead paint before you have them sanding and scraping. I’ve seen tv shows where they have kids sanding old wood — and without a mask or respirator. So, word to the wise…here’s more on that:
http://www.oldhouseweb.com/how-to-advice/lead-paint-reducing-your-familys-risk.shtml