Kitchen remodels are one of the most popular renovation projects that homeowners take on. This is for two reasons. The first is that kitchens are becoming a popular space for entertaining, so they’re needing to be bigger and be filled with the most contemporary fixtures and appliances.

The second reasons kitchen remodels are so popular is because a great kitchen will add thousands of dollars to the resale value of your home. But remodeling a kitchen is also one of the biggest pains because you use your kitchen every day for the most important things you do in your home.

You cook there, you eat there, and your kids may even do their homework there. To cut back on your stress, and keep your sanity during your kitchen remodel, keep these tips in mind:

• Cover any doorways to other areas of your home with plastic that will cover the entire area. This will prevent dust, dirt, and sawdust from getting into the rest of your home.
• Pack everything, especially breakables, up and put them somewhere far away from the kitchen. You don’t want your best dishes getting kicked, falling off shelves, or otherwise getting broken.
• Buy plastic forks, spoons, knives, and paper plates. This will leave you hunting for those dishes you packed away, and will save you from having to find a sink you can wash your dishes in.
• Designate another sink in your home as the kitchen sink, whether that’s the sink in the bathroom, the sink in the laundry room, or even your bathtub. You will need to wash some dishes, or something else that you’d normally use your kitchen sink for, and having one already in place will make it much easier.
• Kitchen floors often get very hard on the feet after spending hours standing on them preparing a meal. Place thick, non-skid mats and rugs in high traffic areas to make it more comfortable.
• Kitchen floors get cold too! Installing an automatic floor heater can make it much more comfortable and keep tootsies toasty on colder days.