So what IS the best way to prepare for a weekend kitchen renovation? Well, it is possible to get a lot of renovation work done in one weekend, but only if you have all the prep work done before Thursday night, and if you have a friend or partner to help you.

Assuming you have chosen your color scheme, then all the paint, brushes, rollers, paint tray, sand paper ( different grades if needs be) masking tape, new sinks, faucet, new cabinet handles, whatever else and a dust sheet must be bought or found before Thursday. If you are changing your sink or faucet, then pack everything under the sink in a box and keep it somewhere handy in the bathroom

Take down all curtains and blinds and take up all rugs. Every single area that may need masking tape can be taped before Thursday. If you are painting cabinets this may include floor edges, laminate counter top edges etc. Remove all your electric plug covers but keep the screws in the wall.

If you have to move your fridge, then put it in the dining or living room where you can set up a temporary kitchen. Buy a large plastic bowl in which to wash the dishes, and keep it in the bathroom. Move the table and chairs to an area near the fridge.

Buy all the groceries to make sandwiches for lunches and to eat cereal for breakfasts. You will be too exhausted to eat out in the evenings so buy pizza or a frozen meal when you are grocery shopping. Going out takes too much time from your busy schedule, so eat in and plan to go out on Sunday evening for a bang-up supper!

If you are painting cabinet doors, they will need to be sanded with fine and finer sand paper before washing and painting. It is a good idea to do this before the weekend deadline and also to paint the first undercoat onto the wood.

If you need a new splash back, you can now buy twelve inch by twelve inch sheets of mosaic tiles backed onto a thin fabric; they 'sort of hang together' loosely! The tiles come in quite classic designs that you can stick to the wall yourself, and grout afterwards - do it yourself tiling the easy way. The sheet backing can be cut to size, so that you can tile in varied measurements.

Go to bed early on Thursday night!

Once Friday comes, lightly sand the cabinet doors and drawer fronts and damp-sponge the dust off. Paint the ceiling; this will be quick, one of you can do all the edges, and the other person can do all the roller work. Now you must change the sink and faucet if this is one of your projects. It is better to do this before painting the walls, in case you scrape the walls doing it.

On Saturday you will give the window and doors their first coat, the cabinets will have their second coat and then apply the first coat to the walls together. On Sunday you can apply the second coat to the walls, the final coat to the doors and windows and the third coat to the cabinets. (It is often recommended to give the cabinets an extra coat, for that hard-finish look.)

You may have to wait until Monday before putting it all together, because it must dry properly. You will not be able to add the hardware until the cabinets are dry. However, you will not mind coming home from work on Monday evening feeling tired out and having to finish off the kitchen; in fact, you will probably be bustin' to get in there and complete your masterpiece!