Renovation Psychology helps domestic harmony as you renovate your home! Restoration, Remodeling, Building, Designing, Moving. True 'Home Improvement'  - Practical tips for your Home Team to tackle and finish your project, all while building lasting family strengths and a great home.  Dr. Debi Warner combines three decades of family practice in psychology with her life-long home renovating experience to bring practical and lighthearted advice – interesting and useful to both men and women.  A great gift – and a needed book.  This book should be on the kitchen table of every Do-It-Yourself family.       
For True Home Improvement

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Welcome Home to the field of Renovation Psychology® Advice For The Home Team Toolbox

Dear Dr. Debi,
I am working pretty hard at work and on the house. But no one seems to notice. The kids are off playing or fighting and my partner only does big projects every few weeks. It just seems I am carrying the load all the time and they come and go. I am developing an attitude and don’t know how to shake it. Any ideas?
Signed, Resentful

Dear Daily Do-er,
It sounds like a busy home with many directions in play at once. Sometimes the chaotic layers for all of the people can be noisy, disjointed, and confusing. We might seek harmony and coordination, but somehow the rest of the world does not play into our agenda. Frustration can breed the kind of bitterness you are finding. But we can step back and look at the whole picture. Yes, see your part but also notice the purposes of the other routines that flow in this home too. It will fit together differently when we see their share in the progress of the home.

First, we need to understand that people have different styles of effort in working toward a goal. Some folks are plodders who put their shoulder to the wheel every day and ...
...
READ More...

 

 

See the Book
More info ~> Unique book Renovation Psychology: Putting the Home Team to Work ~> Learn more!

Sun Media article on Renovation Psychology just published across Canada!  Be sure to write to the author and let her know your story ! 

See Dr Debi on Oprah's website!!!
Dr Debi submitted an entry into the Oprah Network's Star finder contest.  Please be sure to visit the site to view the video and make a comment - How do you find your renovating projects?  What have you learned about home life and yourself?  What helps you get going and get cooperation on your projects?  Or, just say any nice thing you like, please.
Vote for Dr Debi'svideo on Oprah's Tv contest!
Let's get Dr Debi on TV! 
http://myown.oprah.com/audition/index.html?request=video_details&response_id=903&promo_id=1

Dr Debi is in the running -
under
Interior Design or Fashion
Dr. Debi offers encouragement and advice for Home Teams Visit our Press Room
Dr Debi's sandcastle research finds children build their 'inner renovator' early on Dr Debi's sandcastle research on how children develop their 'inner renovator'
The British take on Dr Debi's renovation advice See London Daily Telegraph newspaper -
The British take on Dr Debi's renovation help!
Magazine Image
See article on Dr Debi's advice on page 30 in Jan/Feb issue

See article in This Old House Magazine
See Dr Debi's advice on page 20 in October issue

  Also ~ Dr Debi is interviewed and cited in the new Doubleday book
House Lust by Daniel McGinn
Read about Dr Debi in the new book, House Lust by Daniel McGinn
Read the review in Wall Street Journal

Or, hear McGinn talk about Dr Debi's Renovation Psychology on NPR's Morning Edition


 

Time for Garage clean up?

 
  Renovation Psychology®
Advice for the Home Team Toolbox
Dear Dr. Debi,
That garage of ours is loaded and we can’t imagine how to get a car in there. Kid’s stuff and our own junk go floor to ceiling. We get overwhelmed trying to deal with it. But another winter scraping ice is not so fun either. Any ideas?
Signed, Too Much Junk

Dear Slimming Stuff,
Somehow we all have a place where things just get dumped. It seems expedient at the time when kids and dinner needed attention, but later we discover the accumulation. And facing a chaotic space is daunting indeed. Let’s see what we can do.
One of the first things missing in the massive piles is – attention. These spots absorb things we do not want to think about. Too much stuff in the car, or the house, kids rooms, even the cellar… ends up tossed in the garage. These things are cast away from thought, abandoned to that destiny, blotted from our minds. The first thing to change then is to look at the stuff and consider what it is.
You can start by yourself with some coffee in hand, wander about in there and cast your eyes upon the mayhem. Let your organizing brain tally the categories. Let your cleaning urges note the messes. Let your charitable heart consider the things that could be useful to others. Let your parental manner note the belongings of the family members. You might have construction materials in there too, so your project list may be enlivened as well. It is okay to take notes. Or let the results of those perspectives float in your mind as you come back into the house and consider the accumulation.
Sit a tiny bit to absorb the observations and let your brain start to organize all that it just took in. You don’t have to solve the whole thing, but your attention will begin to structure your approach.
Next, you can inform your partner of your trek into the unknowns of the garage and report your adventure’s results. It is important through all of these steps, even from the start to keep judgmental blaming out of the picture. It will stumble you up and get you nowhere with no cooperation nor forward movement. But if you suspend critical comments and thoughts, you move ahead and welcome help.
So, with your partner in the loop, you can begin to cook up some plans to work on the garage. As these options develop, you can meet with your whole Home Team and discuss the expedition so far and the plans taking shape to remedy the space issues. Likely the younger members of the team will not value this discussion very much. But this is a learning opportunity, a chance for them to comprehend the responsibility they have for their impact on the world around them. Things do not disappear when they cast them off, but are still awaiting their attention and decisions about their fate.
The bicycles outgrown and the broken toys are still theirs and have not disappeared just by placing them in the garage. The kids may be defensive saying that they were told to leave them there. True, but that was when working on another end of the house. Now it is time to finish the process and deal with the down-under of their world. You can reassure them that they are not in trouble, but will be assisted to pay attention to the end side of their possessions.
You can get into the recycling and disposal themes that are so popular with kids with their environmental activism. The garage is the personal level of disposal economics. They can be encouraged to take pride in handling this link in the environmental chain. And it might be a good show and tell topic too.
You can devise several garage forays. The first is to help everyone pay attention to the space and the things in it. It can be fruitful to make a first run in that asks anyone to point to stuff they know can go somewhere. Make notes or move the stuff on the spot. Come back to the home base and praise the Home Team for a good start. It feels good to make even a tiny bit of progress, and the desire to conquer will propel you to move forward even more.
With some refreshments, talk together about what they see as reachable next steps. Kids actually are great at this, since they like to see results and can notice little things that are their size to do. If you can indulge their initiatives at this stage of the process, you will be rewarded. Try to place their work in a safe zone to the side, and their effort and focus will invigorate the adults to tackle some of the larger tasks.
Maybe you move construction materials to an organized rack above the ceiling joists. Maybe you organize the car stuff or the garbage area.
A trip to the dump can be a reward ride for the hard working team. Bring along some hand cleaner and you can stop for ice cream on the way back. Happy Home Team!

And share with friends!

 
     
Send Dr Debi your question - for help for you and others, too!
DrDebi@RenovationPsychology.com

 

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Dr Debi's Renovation Psychology book takes Honorable Mention at London Book Festival
Be sure to read the book
that changes the way you renovate your home
and yourself! 
Great reading and sweet fun. 
A great gift and an inspiring read.
See book...

How about some resources for coping with Winter Light?

Visit www.cet.org for research info, a self-administered diagnostic tool, and links for recommended products

I searched and located a lamp for under $100 - not to guarantee it, but just passing the link along to you
www.lightbulbsdirect.com/page/001/CTGY/VeriluxSAD

   
What is RenovationPsychology?  This area of expertise has been developed to help you and your family gain strength and harmony during the tasks of home renovation and to accomplish your projects using your Home Team's best abilities. 
Dr Debi is a Clinical Psychologist with a lifetime of home renovating in her toolbelt - Let her help you find great joy and improved teamwork in your projects!
Research Project - Dig in! 
Endless Summer R
Sandcastle Research
~
Find your inner renovator! 

How do children express themselves in their sand play?  Does it have anything to do with their later abilities?  What fun times at the beach can do for self esteem, coordination, and perserverence?  Dr Debi Warner of Renovation Psychology will be attending the East Hampton Annual Sandcastle Competition.  She will be collecting information for her research on Sandcastles and their relationship to children's development and adult building skills.  Visit her tent on the beach August 4th!
See the results in detail at the sandcastle project's pages here...

See what Dr Debi learned about how we develop our Inner Renovator!
It's fascinating!  Sandwork and Sand Play

Please email and tell your stories, send pictures of your children's sandcastles and sand play.   We will put some of them up on this website to share.

Enjoy the beach and enjoy the kids!

Happy Home Team,
Dr Debi

Radio
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More info ~> New book Renovation Psychology: Putting the Home Team to Work makes a great gift!
Enjoy your home and your Home Team fully with Dr Debi's unique and delightful book!
Find out more~

And - here are more links for related books to help you with your renovation attitudes and process:

Dr Neil Fiore's book The Now Habit - helps us all turn procrastination into relaxing productive days

Dr Sharon Fried Buchalter's book can help us with our attitudes about handling our children on our team

Judy Umlas' Pwer of Acknowledgment will help you prepare for a positive attitude in teamwork

Life approach to gardening - poetic and practical

Finding out the history of your old house helps you be the detective in your own home!

Honorable Mention at

New York Book Festival has awarded
Renovation Psychology® Putting the Home Team to Work

by Dr Debi Warner, an Honorable Mention in the “How-To” book category.

The New York Book Festival is an important annual event for the city, which is the publishing capital of the world. It is a large and fun event for the public to enjoy the latest and best book releases, held in lovely Central Park on Saturday, June 23rd with book displays, appearances, and readings by many authors, actors, and representatives from the media. Dr Debi Warner, psychologist, radio host, actress, and author of Renovation Psychology®, appeared throughout the day with her book, and provide visitors with stories and advice concerning Home Team issues in their renovation projects.

Advice for the Home Team Toolbox 
Trouble Facing the Money?

Dear Dr. Debi,
You said to sit and talk money together, but all we do is fight. How can we talk money safely?
Signed, Screaming Checkbook

Dear Anxious Over Money,
Fighting is not always as it seems. It may be possible that each of you might be anxious and are acting noisy about it. Maybe you need to learn a new tool. Just like using a miter saw to learn complex cuts, facing money certainly is an important part of your successful project – so it bears some practice to get it right.
So, let’s figure out what the cuts are, and angle ourselves to get ready to approach it square on. First, we need to get agreement on the intention to face the money. We don’t jump in and do it yet, just begin with a statement by both Home Team grown-ups that you will do what you can to safely face it somehow together. This does not mean it is simple, it’s just a place you both wish to head.
So – what is your own issue about the money? Do you have some beliefs about how your partner spends or saves that grieve you? Do you feel bad about your paycheck?
...read more...

Read more columns...click here

Enjoy Dr Debi on the radio!And ~ on the Radio!
from Washington DC METRO area & Northern New England
  We know that home renovation can often be stressful and challenge everyone's patience.  Yet we have found that if we approach it from a fresh point of view, we can actually learn from these experiences and improve our teamwork and harmony in the home.  Projects will go more smoothly and save money, with less strife, and positive results!
What a great book for any home project!
MORE INFO on great book: Renovation Psychology: Putting the Home Team to Work makes a great gift!
Fun ~ Practical ~ Helpful!

Improve your Teamwork!
 Get renovating projects done!
 Get your kids in on the action!
 Enjoy domestic harmony!

We have Great Ideas and cool stuff for you from the field of psychology to help you out!  Practical Help and Suggestions that will save you from many exasperated moments!

Enjoy the fun encouragement of this practical book.
Every Home Team at any stage of life finds helpful perspectives and strategies to handle current and future projects or to recover from any lingering issues from past ones.

For the price of a can of paint - buy the book and build a great Home Team

Find out more~ Book Info

Do you have a favorite book that helps you do your renovation
Send us an email

DrDebi
RenovationPsychology.com
Talk with Dr Debi or email.

Enjoy Learning more about Renovation Psychology® all around our website:


More specific info:  Sandcastles • Book INFO • Caught Us? • Services • Search • About Us • Syndication
Main Web Level:   Home • Sandcastles • Book INFO • Caught Us? • Services • Search • About Us • Syndication
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Contact Dr. Debi
DrDebi@RenovationPsychology.com 
Phone (603) 444-1512
New Hampshire & New York
We hope you make great progress on your home construction and that the process strengthens your family and close relationships.
The advice offered in this website, our workshops, columns, and books is not meant to replace medically necessary psychological care and does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship between Dr. Warner and you or any one reading this material.  We provide our services solely for enlightenment and to provide additional perspectives that can help you find your way through your renovation in a positive and growth enhancing way.  There is no guarantee that using this material will achieve all of your hoped for results.  Change is a dynamic process and rarely comes out exactly as we expected.  But with flexibility and communication on your Home Team, you may find many new opportunities to make the best of things and have a richer experience and relationship than you had thought possible.
The publisher and author reserve the right to change terms and edit content on this website and the book as it suits the emerging technologies and needs of the Home Teams, the author, and the publishing house.

Renovation Psychology brings harmony to the home for true Home Improvement

Website by Renovation Psychology® 
©2000-2010 by Dr. Deborah Warner, of Renovation Psychology® all rights reserved.
Comments about this site may be sent to DrDebi @ RenovationPsychology.com
(Please remove the spaces before and after the @ to send)
Renovation Psychology® Dr Debi® and Logo are registered Trademarks/Service Marks of Renovation Psychology LLC.  All rights reserved.  You may reference our materials liberally, but may not call other products not licensed by Renovation Psychology LLC by these names.

 

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Home Builders & Remodelers Association
of NH
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Women's Rural Enterprise Network
NHPA
New Hampshire Psychological Association
National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology