We lived in our last home for 6 DIY remodeling years, and are going on 2 years in our current one. We moved from room to room, so were able to contain the mess and dust for the most part. Drop cloths taped over doorways, small area rugs to wipe feet on when leaving the room, and protection of the path of workers all help. And lots of shop vac-ing.

High critical items need to be completed in one day or one weekend. Otherwise prep as much as possible before work begins. My basement has been mostly unusable as I finish it, it is done now but I am working on the stairs now. Keeping the laundry room down there available was a treat. That includes replacing all of my houses drain waste lines, and the main line runs through the laundry room under the floor. I had the floor cut up and fully exposed, and started with a full weekend and a chain pipe breaker (for cast iron). Finished demo and installing most of the drain lines in one day (used a 5 gallon bucket during that day, toilet was available at end of day). Also replaced all water lines in one day, that was more stressful since it is under pressure and fear of leaks... At the main valve the compression ferrule didnt tighten straight so there was a small leak. Put a bucket underneath and fixed it the next day after running to the store. It all turned out fine just stressful.

Cleaned up dust a lot, learned my lesson there. Barriers work and it helps to use an air purifier where you are working to filter the air. I used the air compressor to blow out the filters when im done and reuse the filters. I did that while I was sanding drywall. Still use that for various dust making activities. Make sure you vaccum up the drywall dust after every day, it spreads easy. Dust deputy works well. Another option is an inline 5 gallon pail with water in the pail (similar to sand and kleen brand) will collect dust and keep your shop vac filter clean too. I tried sand and kleen, it made a horrid noise due to the small hose so I returned that and reverse engineered one out of one of those tight seal 5 gallon buckets for pet food, a larger hose, and some various fittings. Probably would have got the dust deputy had I known about it though.

As far breathing the dust, I cant because my lungs are not great. I wear a respirator during dusty projects. Its easier to breath in it rather than using masks.

We work in peoples homes every day. Dust control is a huge element. We leave at least 30 minutes in each work day for cleaning. The time spent sectioning off rooms with temporary walls is well worth the time. Self stick carpet protectors work well too but should be replaced frequently. A new shop vac filter can do wonderful things. When possible, we install a huge exhaust fan to blow any dust out of the home. The customers are particularly thankful.

I had a hard time with the dust. I feel like my contractor didn't really care about dust containment and I worked overtime trying to keep things together. I was very depressed about it and just felt like my home wasn't my home.

I also had a hard time with the cleaning aspects. My contractor didn't clean at all. Every night I went down there and swept up the debris and took out trash. He did a good job, but I can't recommend him for anything because of his refusal to clean.

I did find that sweeping compound was useful sweeping up sanding dirt. My contractor friends thought that I was crazy for buying it. It worked and kept down the dust.

We're going through a remodel right now, and living in the house with an infant and two small dogs. We don't have a kitchen, and my wife is breastfeeding. So not having a sink and dishwasher is really killing us. We bought a cheap microwave and an induction hot plate to get us by for cooking, and we are relocating things from here to there. So far the dust hasn't been bad, but only because we haven't started the drywall! That comes this week. We've already arranged a cleaning company to send a couple people to get our house a thorough clean when it's done as our son's first birthday part is quickly approaching. We still won't have counters when the party arrives, but plywood will suffice for that. Overall, it's awful... terrible... a bathroom wouldn't bother us that much as we have 3 others in the house, but with only one kitchen it is really stressful.