We have lived in this house for 33 years bought it so cheap in 1986, it was a "fixer upper" and I guess I get used to how things are instead of how they should be...anyway, with more time at home due to Covid job loss, husband and I are finally, finally galvanized into action.

but since we have never done major renovations before, I had no clue what I was in store for. and it's all DIY for us, as cheap as we can.

For now it's all kitchen. New floor (doing the 4' x 8' plywood sheets cut into 8" planks; whitewash; maybe stain) New ceiling (purchase beadboard and paint it a slate/blue color). Don't have the money for new cabinets but scrubbing everything down and painting. New-to-us gas range (now husband has to check gas lines before hookup) New light fixtures (now husband has to check wiring on this old house). Have sheets of faux brick for walls (maybe dated but I don't care)

It seems that every proposed step required ALOT of pre-work!

Would love to hear other's stories! (to keep me going _)

Anyway, I guess I have to learn to live with clutter and mess and unexpected surprises for a while. But eyes on the prize!!

We did our kitchen a few years ago, not a huge change, but a bit. Our countertops took 4 weeks longer than we expected, which led us to washing our dishes in the bathroom sink (and occasionally the bathtub!) and learning to cook most of our meals on plug in appliances. crock pots, griddles, toaster oven etc. It was an interesting set up.

The best advice for learning to live with it is sit down and make a list of the whole project. Every little bit of it that you plan on doing. Then set a schedule for getting it done. It only feels overwhelming when you look at it as a whole, and seems like too much. Once you have the entire project organized and an outline for when you're working on each piece, when the unexpected bits pop up (and they will) it doesn't feel quite so overwhelming.

thank you vchan for taking the time to tell me your experience and for your good advice !

Your plans sound fun!
We've done a lot of decorating in the past, but not a lot of DIY. We made a deck, once. And a daybed, and a 5-star kennel, and do general maintenance things.
I'd agree that all the work is in the prep, which is boring and you don't even see it, but anything you do yourself is really rewarding afterwards, because you always look at it and remember the time you made it, and appreciate the improvement - especially if it's long and laborious in the making!

We've just had a new ensuite and walk-in-robe (done by builders, not us). They said 3-4 weeks. It took 12!!!!
My other top tip is that patience is a virtue.....

How I understand you! Repairs take not only all the money but also time and nerves. My wife and I decided for a long time what kind of intercom system to install at home. There was a choice between aiphone and bas-ip and we decided only when we started comparing the two options. And the final point was that bas-ip has integration of connected IP-cameras when the aiphone did not.

I always hate renovations it takes time and it's stressful

Renovation always takes much time and effort.
We are currently working on our kitchen and dining room. Replacing of windows and patio doors is ahead. Btw, any recommendations on good companies?

When we moved to our house, we built the second floor without changing the existing one. Recently, we've finally started renovating it. We also replaced all windows and a sliding patio door. It took me some time to find a good company, the choice is wide. But having looked through the Windows USA reviews, I ended up buying from them. Good quality, affordable prices, fast delivery and installation. No regrets yet.