As any weekend warrior and DIY builder knows – sometimes the greatest enemy can be time.

While many home renovation projects are quick to finish in a weekend, often that seemingly simple project turns into a much bigger one that has more components and steps than you initially expected. Suddenly, it’s 10 o’clock on Sunday night, you haven’t eaten dinner and you’re no closer to being done than when you started. 

Now you have to decide what to do next: you could wait until the next weekend to start where you left off, or maybe work during the week once you clock out from your day job, but how much is your time really worth?

For finishing off projects you suddenly don’t have time to finish, or to hand off something that you realize is bigger than you can handle, consider hiring a handyman. Many homeowners have a handyman that they trust and use over and over again for little projects. It pays to do research and pick someone you like who you can come back to. You’ll be surprised, especially if you’re always on a busy schedule, how much easier life is if you know you always have a backup plan for finishing household projects.

If you don’t already have a handyman, start looking. Use the samecare, and  guidelines you would for hiring a contractor. Use this list for help: Guide to Hiring Contractors. Once you have the right person for the job on hand, keep his number to call back for seasonal maintenance and other periodic jobs.

The more time you save, the more time you can spend working on other parts of your home, or just relaxing.