10 strategies for Dealing With Renovation Fatigue (A Crowd-Sourced List)

THE FARMHOUSE

Renovation fatigue hit us hard last week on our kitchen/laundry-room/pantry project. Have you ever felt renovation fatigue? That point in a project when you just can’t stand the dust and chaos anymore. When you’re so exhausted by the process that you question why you ever started in the first place. Yeah, we’re there.

I asked on Instagram for ideas on how to overcome renovation fatigue and I was amazed at the creative responses (THANK YOU!). You guys gave us so many new suggestions and reaffirmed lots of the things we already do. So today I wanted to share 10 of our favorite strategies for dealing with renovation fatigue. Hopefully these will help anyone undertaking a major remodel!

all photos of the Porch House renovation

psst: I’m sharing photos from our Porch House renovation today for a change of pace and to remind myself that we do finish these remodels eventually! For those of you new around here, the Porch House is the project we renovated in 2017, filmed our HGTV pilot at, and eventually sold to Garrett’s parents. You can read more about the house using these links:

Okay, let’s get to it…

Strategies for Dealing with Renovation Fatigue

One // a night out

Head out for a beer or dinner. You don’t even need to get cleaned up first…just go. Get you eyes and mind off the project for a few hours and hopefully you’ll be ready to start again tomorrow. This is Garrett and my ‘go-to’ strategy!

Two // Plan a party

There’s nothing quite like hosting guests to light a fire under you. I can’t tell you how often a social gathering or imminent houseguests have been the reason we finish a project!

Three // Wrap up and wait

Get the project to a point where you can shut down and take a couple months off. This was a suggestion from a few followers on Instagram and it’s definitely worth consideration. I’m not sure I’d be able to stand a partially-done renovation for very long, but I guess that’s the point!

Four // Weekend getaway.

Leave the house for a couple of days to clear your head. When you get home, hopefully you’ll be able to see how far you’ve come and feel rejuvenated and ready to carry on.

Five // complete a small DIY project

A few people recommended doing an unrelated small project, and honestly, I’ve never thought about it. But it makes total sense. Paint a room. Refinish a dresser. Hang art. Take on a project that you can complete in a day and it will give you that “job well done!” feel. And hopefully it’ll give you motivation to get your big project done afterwards.

Six // Plow through

Enough said.

Seven // Go to someone’s beautiful, completed house to inspire you to keep going

Seeing an ‘end project’ might just give you the motivation you need to keep going. So if you’re us, you call up Nana and Papa and come over for dinner (they own the Porch House now). Not only is it ‘completed house’ inspiration, but it also reaffirms that we CAN actually finish a project👇

Eight // Clean mid way

Cleaning up your project can make your house feel less chaotic and help you see all the hard work you’ve already put into the room. We try to do this periodically throughout our remodels, just to keep our sanity in check.

Nine // Focus on other parts of your house

Shift your attention to other areas of your home. Organize a closet. Gather up old toys to donate. Clean out your fridge and meal plan the heck out of next week. Check a task off your to-do list and it’ll leave you feeling accomplished and competent.

Ten // Look at a picture of where you started from.

I love this idea from a follower on Instagram! Looking at a picture of where you started can make you realize just how much work you’ve already done. Even better, print the picture out and hang it on your wall for daily motivation.

Hope those can help anyone who needs it to get through a renovation-fatigue slump!

Anything else you’d add to the list?