If there is any upside to the current lockdown, it’s that it is the perfect time to tackle those "to-do" lists around the home that, under normal circumstances, often get pushed aside by the daily grind.
Whether it’s touching up chipped paint, checking smoke detectors, oiling a squeaky door or even sealing gaps to deter rodents, putting your energy into something worthwhile will not only be rewarding, it will make the time pass faster.
Builder Peter Wolfkamp said people often became frustrated when their projects around the home took longer than expected.
"Now we’re looking at a minimum of four weeks [in lockdown], possibly a bit longer. You can plan out your time; start something and finish it."
The "big roadblock" for most people would be not having the necessary materials but it was still the "perfect opportunity" for people to sort out their toolboxes, workshops and sheds, the site foreman for television series The Block NZ added.
Some well-organised tradies had all their gear neatly packed into drawers and trays in the back of their vehicles. Others, including himself from time to time, had to fossick through a spaghetti-like "jumble of tools and materials and gumboots and rakes and extension cords and stepladders" in order to find what they needed.
Tidying up not only had psychological benefits; it meant people could work more efficiently.
"People are constantly saying, ‘Where did I put that scraper?’ or ‘Where’s that sandpaper?’ or ‘Why don’t I have the key that allows me to change the blade on my angle grinder?’ — that sort of thing. Now is the perfect opportunity, if you’ve run out of jobs to do because you don’t have the materials, to focus on the organisational side of things and get yourself sorted."
That meant emptying everything out, giving it a clean and checking it over, he said.
"Do a safety check on all your equipment to check for things like nicks in extension cords or nicks in the cords to your tools and to check that guards are working properly."
It was also a good time to put aside things such as old garden fertilisers or half-empty tubes of silicone so they can be disposed of.
"If you open a can of paint and it has quite a sharp odour to it — if it literally smells off — that paint is past its use-by date. I’d encourage people to make a stack, and when the lockdown is over, to take it to a paint shop that will recycle it properly."
"Pre-winter" checks could involve cleaning out gutters, checking that downpipes were connected and working, trimming vegetation that might be blocking vents in foundations and ensuring that groundwater was directed away from the underside of houses, he said.
"If you have a driveway where water is collected in a channel grate or cesspit, lift the lid and clean it out."
"One of the other great jobs to do would be to check for draughts around the house," he said, adding that fixing a draughty window could be as easy as adjusting the hardware to fasten it properly or sealing the gap with single-sided foam tape from a supermarket.
One of the best things people could do for their houses was to wash them down as the properties would look better and the painted exterior would last longer. Ideally, they would have a house wash solution that they could apply, leave for a while, then scrub or rinse off. But any diluted household cleaner with "a bit of ammonia in it" would work.
"There’s also plenty of work to do in the garden. Leaves are starting to drop and fruit trees can be pruned now in most parts of the country."
Safety was always key but it was particularly important at present not to do anything putting you at risk of injury.
"The reality of New Zealanders doing DIY is that ACC pays out about $70 million a year in claims just for falls around the house. The classic one is you’re out with a rickety old ladder that you’ve had in the shed for 100 years, you reach out or you’re getting up high to do the eaves, you either slip or the ladder gives way, and you fall and injure yourself. That’s bad enough in normal times but in these times, that would mean an ambulance needs to be dispatched to your house, you’re taking up space in a hospital or medical centre and you’re interacting with a whole lot of people who would prefer that you stayed in your ‘bubble’.
"So if you’re going to do anything that involves working at heights, using equipment that you’re unfamiliar with or doing something with water that will cause areas to be slippery, you need to be really sure that what you’re doing is not likely to lead to an injury," he said.
