Get a hotel/motel room or move in with relatives/friends. That stress will be minimal compared to the demo.

I'm not kidding, I am totally serious.

well.......cant do that for financial and ethical reasons - but we do have a granny unit behind our house.......

Lots of plastic up, and be ok with the dust! I'm still finishing my kitchen and still finding dust in spots I didn't think it could get into.

Don't only pack up the kitchen, but try to pack most of the knick knacks, and things that are 'out' so you have less to dust. Try to dust frequently if you can. I found the dirt and clutter were the things most stressful.

Know that this is temporary and remind yourself of that daily, even if it's more like 6 weeks!

Set up a small kitchen area with a bookshelf to hold everything you'll need, if you haven't already; a spot for microwave, and a spot for doing the dishes either in your laundry room or bathroom.

Think only of the lovely, functional kitchen you will have when this is done. :)

I'm still finishing mine, but so far it is so much more amazing than what I tore out. Hang in there, it will be great!

Well.....we're 6 months in to our DIY reno....... so.....

Just accept that it is inconvenient. There is just no way around that. Also accept that stress is an emotional reaction to a situation and is something you are in control of. Dust isn't stressful. Obsessing over dust is.

Your adult beverage of choice stocked in your temporary kitchen has gotten many people through over budget and over ETA renos.

Lucky you, 'guests' at your door in the early a.m. and still there until who knows when! Endless noise. A 'surprise' or two every day. What will they find next?

How far away from the kitchen can you go live? The hotel/motel idea is great, but can you retreat far, far away from that part of the house, and keep everyone from tracking the mess into your lair? I've thought that should I ever be so silly as to do this again I'd have one of those folding room dividers installed to seal off 'the site'. (Plastic? Don't make me laugh!)

Can you prevent HVAC from circulating through the kitchen, bringing dust and dirt throughout the house? Can workers come and go without entering the rest of the house? Got a port-a-potty?

TWO weeks? Not even if you have every piece of material on site. (Hope you prove me wrong.)

A well designed, functioning backup kitchen will serve you well.

Two weeks?? .. sounds to me like your contractor is not setting expectations that are reasonable ... that's a problem right from the start.

Keep all your work clothes and work boots handy as you will be constantly taking showers and changing clothes as you oversee every aspect of the gut/reno. You don't want to be searching for clothes when you have to wake up early every morning. Also keep the electric percolator and coffee nearby...and stock up on rags, dustbins, buckets for the clean up you do after they clean up each day. Keep your camera charged up to document anything you want corrected...

No pain, no gain. Stress is a matter of attitude; tell yourself "I love it" as often as possible and be thankful others are doing the hard part.

Block off doorways to other rooms to keep dust spread to a minimum. You might want to pick up and store as much as you can from adjoining rooms, like nick kacks and things of that sort. Cover all the furniture with thick blankets.

Insist that your contractor keep the work area clean daily and not leave piles of debris or work materials lying around. It's hazardous plus leads to poor work ethic and will make you crazy just looking at the clutter. Yes, you can destroy and build in a neat fashion, my husband does it all the time.

Ensure floors that can be damaged by contractor's tracking in and out are covered properly. This is something the contractor should do on day one.

If your contractor is a slob in the beginning make sure to let him know you want to see things completed in a more organized manner.