How to live through a house project and not lose your mind

As some of you may have seen on Instagram, we just finished a small remodel in our living room.  We had a large blank wall with a fireplace on one side and a TV niche on the other.

We’ve known for a while that we wanted to remodel this space to be able to center the tv on the wall.  One day, I came home and my better half had started what would become a three month project.

With remodeling projects come dust, tools, debris, and impatience.  It’s hard for me as the organizer to live and let live with a big mess for moths at a time.  But, I have learned in over a decade of remodeling to be blind to some of it and hide the rest.

For the last three months, our garage has basically looked like this.

Our living room has looked like this.

And the pile of sawdust that we had to step over every day looked like this.

And cleaning it up totally every single day is impossible. Like brushing your teeth while eating oreos, as they say.  So you learn how to let it go.

Tip #1

Keep it all in one area even if that area takes up half your living space. Try not to have saws in one room and hammers in another.

Tip #2

Sweep, dust, and vacuum as often as possible. Remodeling is messy, and you don’t want to breathe sawdust and drywall dust all the time.  Even if it will get messy again tomorrow, make it clean tonight.

Tip #3

Work fast. Some remodeling projects take forever, but the quicker you can get it done, the quicker you can get back to your normal life.

Tip #4

Remember that it will look awesome in the end. In the midst of all the chaos, try to picture the beauty that will come after.