Remodeling your kitchen means you’re going to lose the use of the room for a period of time while the work is in progress. Because it’s a room you depend on so much every day, you’ll need a good plan for how you’re going to deal with not having it. How long you have to “make do” will depend on the scope of the remodeling project. We have some suggestions for surviving a kitchen remodel that will help for almost any size project.
Stay or Go?
You may know of homeowners who move out during a large whole-house renovation project, but not many move out of the house during a kitchen remodel. Many people find moving out can be more stressful, expensive and disruptive to the family’s routines than working around the area under construction.
You can relocate your cooking and dining to another area of the house and, with proper planning and careful dust control, still live there during the time you have no working kitchen.
Staging and Setup
Don’t wait until the night before demolition starts in the kitchen to clean out the fridge and cabinets. Find out when the appliances, sink and cabinets will be torn out and make a plan to be ready. People usually set up a temporary kitchen, often in the dining room. It may be possible to move the refrigerator there or you may want to get a small dorm-size one as a short-term convenience. Figure out what dishes, utensils and other food prep items you will need during the remodel and pack up everything else.
Wherever your temporary kitchen is, set up a table and plastic storage bins to keep things as organized as possible. Stock up on food that doesn’t require refrigeration: cereal, canned soup and fruit, and quick snack items like protein bars, crackers, nuts, and peanut butter. Don’t forget foil, plastic wrap, food storage bags and bowls for leftovers, and trash bags.
Cooking
Thanks to small appliances, cooking might actually be the easiest part of what you’ll be dealing with when you have no kitchen. A microwave, toaster oven, coffee maker, crock-pot or instant pot, and maybe a hot plate will get you through most meals. Take advantage of the prepared foods, heat-and-serve entrées, salad bar and rotisserie chicken from your grocer’s deli. If weather permits, a grill on the patio can be your best friend. And you’ll probably do DoorDash or other delivery service, get take-out, eat lots of pizza and become familiar faces at neighborhood restaurants.
Clean-Up
Because you’ll be without a kitchen sink, the biggest challenge you might have is cleaning up after a meal. Maybe you’d rather not be using disposable plates, bowls and flatware, but it will save a lot of clean-up headaches if you do. When you do have some dishwashing to do, have a large dish pan or plastic bin handy to transport the dirty dishes to the sink you’ll be using. Don’t forget that you won’t have a garbage disposal, so you’ll have to scrape food scraps into the trash before you put dishes in the bathroom or laundry room sink.
It’s Worth It!
Once your new kitchen remodel is finished, you’ll be glad you took the leap to update the room where you and your family spend so much time. You’ll also realize just how much you use the kitchen for more than just preparing and eating meals!
We promise that we’ll make the process as smooth as possible for you and your family and that you’ll love the beautiful kitchen that will be yours at the end of this process. So, give us a call and let’s get started!
