How To Survive A Home Renovation And Overcome The Mess!

Are you planning a home renovation? If so, you may be wary of the struggles ahead. And not just of the costs and work involved but of the process itself and the MESS. In fact, most people dread remodeling their homes because of the mess it will inevitably create! But I put together 6 top tips that will teach you how to survive a home renovation and overcome the mess!

1. Mentally Prepare Yourself

Preparing yourself mentally is KEY to survive a home renovation! Being mentally prepared before a renovation project is a huge factor in whether I stay calm or lose my mind!

As long as I know what I’m getting into beforehand, I can take on whatever comes my way.

That way I’m not caught off guard when something takes longer than expected or when something inevitably goes wrong.

So expect the worst and hope for the best! But most of all, I mentally prepare for the MESS!

And I will be talking a lot about the mess because it’s the number one issue when living through a renovation! DUST IS INEVITABLE! You might find yourself in the middle of a dust storm!

Dust comes with the territory, no matter what project you are taking on. And even after you clean the dust, it will reappear again! Just like magic!

You also need to prepare yourself mentally for any sacrifices you might need to make in your daily lives.

For example, you might have to sleep in another room if your bedroom(s) are being renovated.

Or you might have to wash dishes from your bathroom sink if your kitchen is demolished (which I suggest you only wash very light items because my bathroom sink did crack one time when doing heavy dishes)!

You might not be able to watch TV because the power is shut off! And if you have kids, this could be a real struggle!

Pro Tip: Think of ways to enjoy yourselves even without the daily luxuries that we take for granted! Play games, read a book, or go for a walk!

Just remember that all of this is temporary. And keep in mind the reward at the end of it all, a beautiful new space!

2. Have Everything Picked Out And Ready To Go

This is not the time to be picking out your color schemes and designs!

EVERYTHING needs to be picked out and ordered so that nothing will slow you down once you start the renovation.

Even if you are doing a big project like a kitchen renovation, you need to have everything planned out and in place. From the cabinets and countertops to the backsplash and door handles.

Not to mention appliances, light fixtures, flooring, paint color, etc.

Having everything not only picked out but purchased and delivered will make your life so much easier! And your renovation project will be done so much faster!

3. Renovate One Room At A Time

My number one tip on how to survive a home renovation is to renovate one room at a time!

If you have to live in your home, you need to be able to “take refuge” in other rooms or areas of your home that are not being renovated.

For example, if you are renovating the living room and/or kitchen, you want to be able to “take refuge” in the bedrooms.

If you are renovating the bedrooms, you need to be able to have the furniture and beds in the living area!

And of course, you need to renovate one bathroom at a time, in order to have at least one bathroom in working order!

Renovating one room at a time will allow you to actually LIVE IN the home through the renovation process!

4. Keep The “Spaces Of Refuge” Clean and Organized

If you are a clean freak like me, a renovation project might take its toll on your OCD. Because there’s just not much that you can do about it! But you can do something about the “spaces of refuge” mentioned in tip #3.

It defeats the purpose if you have a livable space in the home, but it’s cluttered and messy too! So keep these areas clean and organized and you will have a little retreat to escape to!

While enjoying your clean and clutter-free space you may even forget about the “construction zone” in the other room!

Obviously, if your renovation project requires that you move furniture from one room to another then you may have some clutter.

But you can still keep those areas clean and organized even if it’s cluttering up your livable spaces. Just call it an ORGANIZED MESS!

5. Keep The Mess To A Minimum

Keeping the mess to a minimum in your renovation area is also important. Now you might be asking yourself, HOW IN THE WORLD DO I DO THAT?! Well, I have some suggestions for you that have worked for me through the years and I swear by them!

*As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This comes at no extra cost to you!*

How To Minimize The Mess In Your Renovation Project

• Cover any furniture that stays in the room with a plastic cover. Fabric covers have pores, so if anything spills on them it could penetrate the fabric and end up damaging your furniture.
• Close all doors in rooms, regardless if they are being renovated or not! This will keep dust from going in or coming out! You can also seal them with plastic or place a towel under the doors for really dusty projects.
• Lay down protective floor covers such as drop cloths or Kraft paper rolls throughout the house to create walkways and keep your floors clean!
• Vacuum dust as it’s coming out! This is not always possible, but it’s very helpful for work involving cutting/sawing things like sheetrock in your ceiling or pieces of wood. While one person is doing the cutting the other can stand by with a heavy-duty vacuum holding the nozzle right up to it so the dust goes directly into the vacuum. Dust will inevitably get out but it will be substantially less!
• Keep the dust from circulating! Turn off the AC unit in the home! Since there is no air circulating in the home, it prevents dust from circulating as well! Make sure not to turn the air conditioning back on until most of the dust is vacuumed and up. This is especially helpful for big messes such as demolition or sanding.
• Use a fan to move the dust out! Again, make sure the AC unit is off. Then place a box fan on an open window or door to let the dust flow away! Make sure the air is blowing out and just keep it running as long as you need! This works best if the windows and doors are near the renovation area and if it’s a small, enclosed space, like a bathroom. But you’d be surprised what a difference this makes!

Preparing My Living Area For A Skim Coat Renovation

Keep in mind that some jobs are messier than others. And even with these preventative measures, there will still be a lot of dust and debris.

I recently had my textured walls skim coated and I followed every single step mentioned above. From preparing for the mess to letting out the dust from the sanded walls.

Had I not done those things it could have been so much worse! In order to survive your home renovation project, you NEED to follow these tips! IT WILL minimize the mess and help you in the long run!

6. Clean Up After Every Work Day

Keeping your house clean, even IN the construction area is essential! Once the job is done for the day it is essential to clean up whatever you can. I feel 10 times better after I dust off the furniture, vacuum, and mop the floors after a messy construction day!

If the work is ongoing it might become tedious to do this every day but believe me it is worth it! Not only will it keep your work area clean and ready for the next day but it will keep the rest of your home from getting dust and debris as well!

Pin This For Later!

So there you have it! My top 6 tips on how to survive a home renovation! I hope you learned something and feel confident in your upcoming renovation project. I’d be happy to answer any questions you might have in the comments below! And if you liked this post be sure to hit that share button!