Using a 'Staycation' to add Value to Your Home

It seems that many of us are learning how to make lemonade with all the lemons we are getting these days. With the national economy slumping, one of the more innovative ways that people are enjoying life and saving money at the same time is by taking a 'staycation,' which involves vacationing in your own home.

If you need a break from work, but are worried about taking a vacation to simply do nothing, here are a few ideas to help you take a staycation while adding value to your property.

Part of the fun for kids on any kind of vacation is having some extra cash to spend. You have tasks around the house that need to be taken care of, so pay your kids to work for you! The two weekends before the vacation is planned, you can schedule in two days of house and garden projects. Pay them a day rate and commit yourself to having to supervise and work the whole day in order to keep them busy. Don't give them little chores here and there; allow them to work at one whole project so they have a sense of achievement on completion.

There are many small ways to boost the value of your property using unskilled labor. For instance, you can build a garden path, which just involves using a flat spade to lift up the lawn from the area, and then digging in some neat edging before you lay gravel.

Another simple project is building a rock wall to house rock plants, or to plant a tree or two.

A really useful job could be to map out a future vegetable patch and get the kids to help with the digging, weeding and raking. We will all need to grow our own vegetables with the way things are going, so this will be a good security measure for you against rising prices.

You can let them sow turnips, carrots, Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and onions. For a whole weekend chore, you could plan to re-stain the deck, re-paint the white picket fence or decorate the bathroom. Kids of about five upwards can all learn to paint with a roller.

Having spent two weekends of working, they are now ready for a break. Having also spent two weekends of earning money, they are also prepared for a vacation, and this anticipation is part of the fun.

In order to stop the kids from groaning at the suggestion of a staycation, it has to be planned like a real vacation. For instance, draw up a schedule and pencil in the evenings when you will be eating out, ordering take out etc., and make sure that they have input into some of the choices.

The schedule must be drawn up before they start the two weekends of working, to help with the incentive and anticipation. Put in fun stuff like visiting a museum or water park, or going on a family picnic.

Also on the schedule, plan to take in the local sights that maybe you have not yet bothered to check out. Plan a visit to a fireworks show and take a blanket, hot dogs, and drinks. Suggest you all bike together around the local lake, or go to the beach for a trip. If the beach is far, plan to camp there for two nights.

Start your staycation at home to prepare to spend the next two nights in the local campsite (or at the beach); the packing and prep work for this can be fun for kids.

Come back home to re-coup, and spend the next couple of nights at home, followed by one or two nights stopping in a nearby hotel. While you're on the 'at home' period, there must be no cooking except BBQ's; no housework, so do the vacuuming before the vacation starts; and no washing dishes - so buy paper plates.

This type of vacation will require a little preparation from you; shopping will need to be done in advance and ice boxes and camping gear will need to be checked. (Laying the tent out in the yard can be one of the kids' chores.) A good old fashioned 'vacation' can be very therapeutic for your family, and lead to loads of family bonding. As an added bonus, all the work you'll have done around the house will build your home equity, thus adding to your future financial security.

Amerivest is a realty company based in southwest Florida, and specializes in Naples real estate. Search for Grey Oaks homes and view property listings in this highly coveted Naples community by visiting us at NaplesGuru.com.