Quite possibly the best piece of advice is to be flexible in your scheduling expectations. Remember, the kitchen is the most lived in room in the home. If it takes a few extra days or even a week or so to do it right try to be accommodating. It's also an excellent idea not to have any major events planned in the house that create a deadline for construction. Holidays, birthday parties and the like should all be in the distant future not seven weeks from the start of construction. Flexibility is the key to greatly reducing stress. The goal is to see steady progress made on quality workmanship.

Many people are astonished at just how much mess is produced during a kitchen remodel, particularly when tearing out the old kitchen and fixtures. The last thing you want is for this mess to travel to the rest of the house. Here are some good ideas to prevent this from going on and keep the home more cleanly during construction

1] Have workers come and go through the nearest door to the kitchen. If there isn't a door directly adjacent to the kitchen have them lay down runners leading to the nearest door to keep the flooring in good shape while the work goes on.

2] In order to keep dust molecules from spreading throughout your home it is important to be certain your contractor seals of all cold air returns in the kitchen while work is going on. After your new kitchen is done and ready for use you'll want to replace the filters in your furnace. This may also be a good time to have the air ducts cleaned as well.

3] The idea is to keep the home as clean as possible while the kitchen is under construction. It's a good idea to have doors and wall openings to the rest of the house sealed off with masking tape and heavy plastic.

One creative way to keep dining costs low during your kitchen remodel is to construct a temporary kitchen in another room. Save some cabinetry and a length of countertop for this purpose. Your temporary kitchen will at least offer enough room for some basic cooking. You can have your refrigerator relocated to this area along with some smaller appliances like a microwave, hot plate or a toaster oven. At least you can have a place for the coffee pot and you'll be able to keep the restaurant tab a bit lower too.

Sometimes during the kitchen remodeling process collateral damage can occur. On the exterior of the home landscaping can be trampled or contractor vehicles can leak oil in you driveway. Inside the house floors can be scratched, doors and existing moldings may also be damaged. Most of these occurrences are minor in nature and easily fixable. If you have an initial heads up about these types of problems before construction you will be more conditioned to handle them when they come up. Be sure to do a regular walk through of the home and report any damage to your contractor. Remember, almost everything is fixable.

One useful way to offset the expense of your new kitchen and help your community is to consider donating your old cabinets and appliances to a local charity. If they are still in decent working condition local charities will be happy to take them and you can claim the donated items on your next tax return.