1. Find one place to live and then stay there. Moving around house-sitting and living out of a van isn't worth the trouble, and you won't save that much money, anyway. Mostly you'll just end up with a lot of mismatched shoes and a serious case of residential vertigo. This would be Priority Numero Uno on the "Stuff I'd Do Differently" list of advice for any future homebuilding projects I might endure (which I won't, because I plan to live at 1510 17th until my withered, dusty nonegenarian corpse has to be Shop-Vac’d off the sofa).
2. Take photos of everything and everyone involved in

3. No matter how cute they look in pictures, wait until AFTER you move in to adopt a giant puppy. In my case, adopting Frida

4. Plan some stock answers to questions because you will get asked the same thing over and over again. Usually I'm asked when I'm moving in, and I say "as soon as the house is done," which sounds smart-alecky, but I don't mean it to. I don't know when I get to move in, so it's the only answer I have. Lots of people ask "what's the [bedroom/kitchen/etc]" in your house like?" and I have wasted a lot of time describing these spaces, when I should have wiggled my eyebrows and said, "You'll just have to come over and see for yourself" wink, wink. At least if the inquirer was a George Clooney lookalike.

6. Craigslist! James has to cover his eyes when I back into the driveway, knowing as he does that I've been spending way too much time accumulating stuff for the house that has to be stored at the new place and is therefore competing with the table saw and assorted other construction items for space in the garage. Alas. I’ve saved a ton of money on a used washer and dryer, a set of patio furniture, a bed, lights, and a dog kennel. I also saved $275 by NOT purchasing the giant 6-foot tampon sculpture recently posted for sale.
7. Commit yourself to learning from the experience. Hard to say how knowing what a rafter tail, a jamb saw, or a belly board are will enhance my life in later years, but it’s fun to
8. Take risks, be bold, and build the house you want to live in. Unless someone advises against the fire-walking pit in the living room or a swimming pool on the second floor, you're going to be happiest fulfilling your own dream of home, and not building a showplace that others will envy or admire. YOU are the one who will be living there...they'll just be stopping by occasionally for cocktails, in which case you can numb their disappointment about the ideas they pitched that you rejected.
9. Do the happy dance. I know no one wants to

10. Maintain your sense of humor. I genuinely believe that if you’re not laughing, you’re not doing it right—whatever “it” is. I am completely guilty of having lost my sense of perspective, and with it my smile, during several stressful moments in the last year, but ultimately, I’ve had a lot of fun and many laughs during this process—and I know that once I move in, they’ll continue to multiply.