5 Tips for Living Through A Remodel with Young Kids
Remodeling with young kids at home is hard. Like, really hard! I’m pretty sure there’s no way around that. It’s stressful, disruptive, and even messier than regular life at home. But it’s not all despair…
In our 6 years as parents (during which we’ve remodeled 7ish homes) we’ve learned a few ways to make renovating with young kids a little bit easier. So today we’re sharing our very best tips for surviving a remodel with young people.
Our Farmhouse | Daphne’s nursery
Renovating with kids is one of the most common topics people ask us about. And honestly I’ve always struggled with answering that because every kid is different and what works for some families won’t work for others. Plus how we approach our kids and renovating has changed as they’ve grown. Our kids are currently 6, 4, and 2 so we still have everything to learn about older kids!
But I figured it’s time to share what’s worked for us thus far. I’d love (LOVE!) to hear about your experiences in renovating with kids (especially with older kids!), in the comment section below.
Here are our 5 best tips for surviving a remodel with youg kids at home.
One // Adjust expectations
Okay, let’s have a heart-to-heart. Renovating with kids at home is going to be hard. And you’re going to move a lot slower than you did before you had kids. Like A LOT! And for me, it’s always best to get my head wrapped around that idea before we even start. That way I don’t get as frustrated by our lack of progress later on.
So if you have kids, we recommend tacking on extra time to your schedule. Maybe even double it. Adjust your mental state and lower your expectations. For us, that’s step one of renovating with kids.
The Porch House Remodel | dining room
Two // Involve Your Kids
The thing that’s worked the best for us is to involve our kids as soon as they’re old enough, around 18-months or so (before that age, we’re big fans of baby carriers!). Older kids like to have a role and feel like they’re actually contributing. So we play it up!
We get our kids dressed in their ‘work gear’ (usually Carhart overalls and boots) and find a couple of tasks for them to do. Something like putting the screwdrivers in a tool box, pulling off old paneling, painting a wall that we plan to repaint soon, or hammering nails into a 2x4.
Of course everyone has a different level of comfort when it comes to kids and tools. At our house, we have kid-sized safety gear like gloves, ear muffs and glasses that our kids wear when “working”. They are welcome to use most of the basic tools on their own (hammers, pliers, screwdrivers, wrenches etc.) and if they’d like to use the power tools, we give them hands-on assistance. One key point we try to drive home with our kids is that tools are not toys and as a result they interact with them differently than their lego ships (which might go flying across the room)!
We’ve gotten each of our kids their own toolbox, which really helps them feel involved! Just a vintage metal box filled with kid-safe tools - think tape measures, wrenches, levels, safety glasses, waterproof notebook, etc. And it’s fun because you can add to the box over time, stuffing stockings with another tool for their ‘work’.
“We also get each of our kids their own toolbox, which really helps them feel involved!”
Of course, involving kids in renovations slows down the process even more. But we’ve found that after 30 minutes or so, the kids are usually ready to move on and play independently, which allows us to get real work done. Plus, we’re hoping that eventually the kids will actually be helpful and still enjoy working with us!
three // keep your work-space and living-space separate
It’s easier to keep your sanity and your kids safe during a renovation when you keep your work area and living areas separate. We like to cordon off the work area with a double layer of plastic, hung by painters tape in the doorways. We’ll also place a damp rag down as a walk-off mat when it’s needed to collect dust. If you have crawlers or young toddlers, this could also mean a physical barrier to keep them out of the work zone (a door or baby gate).
Whether you have kids or not, I highly recommend keeping one clean, dust-free living space at all times. That could be just a bedroom or a living room or the kitchen. But make sure it stays tidy and clean of construction debris so you’re comfortable having you’re comfortable there and can relax there after your work day is done. During our kitchen remodel that was our garden space (during the summer) and now our living room.
Our Farmhouse garden (during our kitchen remodel)
four // schedule around the big stuff
Demo is no time for a kid to be around! Neither is floor refinishing, painting by sprayer, or anytime you’re using high VOC’s or doing loud or dangerous work. So those are the perfect jobs to have scheduled in advance and a grandparent waiting in the wings. We’re lucky to have semi-regular sleepovers planned at Nana’s. But in the past when we didn’t have family close by, I took the kids down to visit my sister and left Garrett at home to get big projects done. ‘Divide and conquer’ is definitely a common theme when it comes to parenting and renovating.
“Divide and conquer is definitely a common theme when it comes to parenting and renovating. ”
five // keep ‘em occupied
When our kids were younger, we had nap-time to plan projects around. That’s pretty much how we got the Ravenna basement built…one nap at a time. When work was too loud, I’d strap baby Wilder on my chest and take really long walks around the Ravenna neighborhood of Seattle. I still have such fond memories of those walks (and the old houses I’d dream about buying and renovating along my route!).
But our kids have all been early to cut out the daytime sleep (around 2…ugh). At that point it often becomes a ‘one parent working while-the parent keeps-the kids occupied’ situation. That could involve taking the kids to the park, making a meal with them, playing legos, getting to the library, etc. But when we really need 2 sets of hands on a project, there’s always the big black box (aka the TV). We put on Wild Kratts or hand our 6-year-old an iPad (it’s amazing and scary how good kids are with devices these days!) and they are usually quiet for an hour. Our 2-year-old doesn’t always sit still for shows, but if all the stars align, we can usually get a solid 30-minutes of kid-free time to bang out a project.
Those are the things that have helped us survive renovations with kids.
What’s your best tip (or memory) for living through a renovation with kids? Please share in the comments below so we can all learn from your experience!
