Renovating is hard, yo! It is gruelling. It's costly. It can be the most exciting thing for a family, and the most challenging thing for a family. It is week five of the One Room Challenge, a fun blog challenge put on by Calling It Home. I am participating as a linking participant- go see what everyone else is doing here. In a nutshell, in six short weeks we are challenged to complete a space- and I am tackling not one, but two kitchens for lovely neighbours who have hired me to create unique spaces for their unique families.

Tackling two spaces in six short weeks has been a bit of a hustle. And I am not entirely sure if we are going to make it! But I can promise that the results are going to be incroyable.

Here's a quick peek- I only have shots of House One because it had just been that kind of a week [lol]

As you can see House One is sooooo close. There are a few things that are still to be tweaked- but we are so close.

If you're renovating, and feeling like you just can't survive- here are a few things I have told clients over the years:

1. Picture yourself in the house when the dust has settled

A strategy I use both in business and in life when I am feeling overwhelmed is to picture myself when the dust has settled. When I am really overwhelmed, I will sometimes play imaginary "fast forward" on my life, and picture myself when the chaos is over, all the mess is cleared, and I am standing in a finished, beautiful space. I find it's a helpful strategy to get yourself out of frustration, overwhelm and things you cannot control [whether it's trades finishing up work or yet another mess to clean up by your toddler].

2. Make a punch out list

It might be a daunting task, but get out a piece of paper, or your phone, and make a big fat list of all the things left to do. The act of doing it will quell some anxiety, and then you can create a strategy for grouping activities together, delegating some or deleting some.