All home improvement plans include some level of planning. Even if the project is a small one, you've still got to plan it out.

Home improvements can and will get a life of their own. It starts with a simple easy to develop plan and grows legs right from the beginning. That's natural; I see it all the time. I also think that is a big draw that keeps people working at do-it-yourself projects.

The fact that you can change even the small stuff without bringing the general contractor and all his workers to a stop is very inviting. Changing a bathroom or kitchen renovation day by day is pretty common. Rooms do look different after you remove everything from them and leave them bare. A bare room is much easier to plan around than one on paper or filled with furniture and cupboards.

If you are halfway through a kitchen remodel and it just doesn't look like you thought it would then add some changes, go ahead - it's easy to do before the finishing begins. Maybe there is room for another cabinet or perhaps you forgot the one over the fridge. Is the lighting going to be good enough?

Even with walkthrough kitchen planning software it never gives you the final look. That is left up to you and your own eyes. Bathrooms and kitchens are the rooms that get the most changes. But basements and laundry rooms can also get altered after the work starts. They too often have some cabinets or counter tops.

When planning these other rooms it's easy to forget important things like shelves to put the laundry soap or a small counter top to put the laundry basket. If there is room why not. Cupboards either floor level or mounted on the wall can help a lot with keeping these rooms tidy.

Every house needs more storage, that's a given. So another good idea is to recycle the old kitchen cabinets to the basement or laundry room. They will be a welcome addition and serve they're life right past the planned retirement. The garage is another great retirement home for old kitchen cabinets.

If you find yourself starting to re-think your kitchen plan after you bought and own some cabinets then perhaps moving them to the basement and starting over is an option. You can tell everyone that that was the plan all along. If this happened with a contractor involved then you can see how quickly his bill would grow.

Perhaps the most common way home renovation plans get a kick in the pants is a visit to the home improvement store. It happened to me yesterday. It went like this: I had a plan to add a row of accent tiles around a shower I was working on. The original plan was for just one row along the back wall.

After I looked at it I could see that it wasn't good enough, I would need more to complete the accent on both side walls too. So while I was at the store I looked at what was available. I found what I needed but to my dismay there weren't enough tiles to do what I wanted.

I walked around for a while looking at other options when I glanced into a shopping cart that a woman was pushing past me. I could see that she was the shopper that had taken the remainder accent tiles I was looking for. I said out loud, "you got the last ones". And pointed to the tiles in her cart. She Smiled and said "yes."

But much to my surprise added that I could help myself to the few I needed to finish what I had planned. I asked if she was okay with that and she added that she was buying extra anyway. I guess she was planning on perhaps a few alterations as her tile project evolved.

I hope that she reads this and she will know that her kindness saved my tub surround tile job and the added accent tiles made a big difference. I wish her luck with her project and applaud her planning.