Inside: Get been-there recommendation on the way to survive a significant kitchen renovation–and feed your loved ones throughout a kitchen rework.
Almost 20 years in the past, we fell in love with a small, 100-year-old home on a fairly, tree-lined road.
Principally, we fell in love with the bones of the home.
The kitchen, not as a lot.
The counters had been blue, the range was black, the fridge was off-white. It was purposeful however outdated. Clear however cramped.
We purchased the home figuring we’d have the kitchen reworked. As a result of how onerous might that be?
Yeah, proper!
The corporate we employed took the kitchen right down to the studs, pushed the ceiling up, leveled the flooring, dismantled an outdated coal chimney, opened up a wall, and located sufficient costly surprises alongside the way in which to go away our authentic finances within the mud.
Did I point out I used to be additionally pregnant, sick with nausea and vomiting, and had a toddler?
After all it was nicely value it. Immediately I look again on the “earlier than” pictures and really feel grateful for our larger, extra fashionable area.
But it surely wasn’t simple. And one of many hardest components was conserving everybody fed with out a working kitchen.
So I made a decision to stroll down reminiscence lane with our personal kitchen makeover in case you’ve bought a rework in your future and need assistance surviving the method.
I additionally reached out to my Actual Mother Diet Fb neighborhood for his or her greatest recommendation and bought so many nice suggestions, I needed to share them right here too.
Plus, I’m sharing before-and-after pictures of our renovation and the little “kitchen glow-up” we lately did.
6 Ideas for Surviving a Kitchen Transform
1. Make a Short-term Kitchen
Our contractor moved our outdated fridge into the lounge, the place we arrange a short lived kitchen area with a small desk, microwave, and toaster oven.
A folding desk or card desk is useful for this. And earlier than you pack every part away, put aside some objects that may aid you in your makeshift kitchen, resembling:
- Espresso maker
- Reducing board
- Pots/pans
- Strainer
- Can opener
- Spatula and different cooking utensils/instruments
- Spices & cooking spray
Right here’s some reader recommendation:
“Discovering a devoted spot to have zones for various issues helped us. Cooking space, prep space, place for making lunches and so forth. fortunately we have now an enclosed aspect porch that labored completely.”
“We moved fridge & microwave to our stroll out basement, purchased a sizzling plate, toaster oven, and hubby constructed a kitchenette.”
“I had my makeshift kitchen arrange within the storage with the fridge, an induction sizzling plate, toaster/convection oven and a microwave. Additionally had the crockpot and rice cooker useful.”
“We sealed off our eating room and made it a makeshift kitchen. We had our fridge in there, a desk, prompt pot, air fryer, and so forth all arrange so we might entry it. We used paper plates and cups, and so forth. we additionally bought a couple of giant, heavy responsibility plastic shelving models to make use of as short-term pantries. We packed every part in plastic tubs that we thought we would use (a reducing board, a couple of knives, and so forth) it was rough-but we made it!”
2. Hold your sink so long as attainable
Everybody, together with me, agrees that coping with soiled dishes is the worst a part of a kitchen rework. So in the event you can, cling on to your kitchen sink so long as attainable.
You might also have a sink you should use in a basement, toilet, storage, or laundry room. However “don’t do dishes within the bathtub,” one reader cautioned. “It should kill your again. I ended up in PT due to that.”
READER TIP: “I stocked my freezer with crock pot dinners earlier than the work began and used sluggish cooker liners.”
3. Lean on small home equipment
Whereas your oven’s out of fee, smaller home equipment can save the day. Listed here are some to contemplate (ask a good friend or neighbor to borrow in the event you don’t have one):
- On the spot Pot
- Air fryer
- George Foreman grill
- Microwave
- Toaster oven
- Scorching plate/induction burner
- Electrical skillet
- Electrical griddle
- Camp range to prepare dinner outdoors
READER TIP: “Be additional good to neighbors and buddies within the months/weeks main as much as the renovation so you may name in some favors & get invited to dinner.”
4. Time it proper
If attainable, schedule your renovation for hotter months when you should use your grill and eat outdoors.
Bonus: Summer season can also be when buddies and neighbors will journey. One reader recommended a swap the place you water their vegetation and fetch the mail in change for utilizing their kitchen whereas they’re gone.
READER TIP: “Our Blackstone grill is savinnngg me proper now. It mainly does most of what you are able to do on a stovetop in a pan, it’s only a griddle: Stir fry model dishes, breakfast hash, and so forth. in addition to burgers and whatnot.”
5. Meal plan & assume E-A-S-Y
Having some sort of plan in place might help cut back stress (you’ll have sufficient of that already). Seize my free meal planning worksheet in the event you’re a pen-and-paper particular person.
Listed here are some reader recommendations for lower-effort meals:
- Costco pre-made dinners
- Sandwiches
- Salad kits
- Dealer Joe’s frozen/microwavable meals
- Pre-prepped meal supply service
- Freezer meals you’ve made upfront you could microwave
- Pizza supply as soon as every week
Take into account filling a plastic bin with shelf-stable objects you should use for easy meals and snacks resembling:
- Peanut butter
- Shelf-stable microwavable rice and pasta pouches
- Canned meals resembling canned beans, soup, veggies, and fruit
- Vitality bars
- Complete grain crackers
- On the spot oatmeal
- Applesauce and fruit cups
- Cereal and granola
Seize extra concepts, plus 10 simple meals you may make with out a range, in my put up 45+ Wholesome Dorm Meals Concepts
READER TIP: “Don’t assume it’s a must to prepare dinner – chilly meals are advantageous, too. Deal with it as an journey.”
6. Let go of guilt
Give your self grace when you’re going by a rework. As a substitute of beating your self up over disposable plates and frozen dinners, channel that power into choosing out new home equipment and selecting between 500 kinds of drawer pulls. Right here’s what else Actual Mother readers needed to say:
“Don’t attempt to save the setting in 3 months (which means you should use paper plates for a couple of weeks to avoid wasting your sanity), and preserve your humorousness.”
“Paper plates, cups and plastic cutlery. Shake off no matter guilt you assume you must really feel and name it ‘self-care.’ Make an inventory of carry-out/dine-in choices you’ve got needed to attempt to work that expense into the finances in the event you can.”
“There have been MANY instances we simply had sandwiches and cereal for all 3 meals.”
“Hold it easy as a result of life is sophisticated when your entire kitchen is torn up.”
READER TIP: “You’ll be able to all the time get compostable paper plates and bowls in the event you use a composting service.”
Our kitchen rework
Listed here are some before-and-after pictures of our kitchen area, which was renovated 16 years in the past. What they did:
- Eliminated an higher block of kitchen cupboards and a peninsula separating the kitchen and consuming space to make one huge room.
- Eliminated a part of an outdated coal chimney and turned it into one aspect of an ornamental mantle over our range (the aspect cupboards have cabinets for spices, and so forth.).
- Opened up a kitchen wall into the eating room.
- Eliminated a drop ceiling.
- Eliminated laminate flooring and wove the unique ground from the eating room into matching hardwood within the kitchen.
- Put in new perimeter cupboards and black granite counters, plus a kitchen island with a soapstone countertop.
- Relocated the again door.
Our kitchen “glow-up”
Now that our kitchen is sufficiently old to drive, it felt like an excellent time for a bit of refresh.
So we changed the backsplash and the pendant lights to offer the room a bit of enhance with out spending an entire lot of cash.
