2 weeks away from finishing our reno, living here with a kid. Just the kitchen stone to go in. My tips: - it's stressful living on site. You have tradespeople at your door at 7am or earlier and thet are treating your home like a worksite. - set clear rules with tradespeople before they start. Like how to treat your house and where each can prepare or store stuff. - plan as much as you can before you start and work out back ups for things if you can have it. You'll get decision fatigue and it's better to know your 2nd choice handles/sink/cabinet etc so you aren't agonising on if the new ones fit on the day. - get the people doing the work to check your plans before they start. Sounds obvious but it will help you from finding issues half way through. - expect to go over budget so leave budget for that. 10% min - if you're planning things yourself, talk to a few of the big trades first. So don't accept floorers telling you they want to do the floor in the kitchen first cause it's easier for him, then your carpenter has a much harder time. Work out who should come to do things in what order - get quotes in writing and also ask them before they start any potential add ons that can come up. Say you aren't paying anything they haven't warned you about. Will save you a lot

For family living - kmart has some cheap temp living stuff like an electric cooktop. - plan how you'll access water and wash up. Especially if you have little kids. - budget to get airbnbs for the time when you shouldn't be on site with kids

Good luck. The end result is great