Inside: Get been-there recommendation on survive a significant kitchen renovation–and feed your loved ones throughout a kitchen transform.
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 have been blue, the range was black, the fridge was off-white. It was useful however outdated. Clear however cramped.
We purchased the home figuring we’d have the kitchen reworked. As a result of how laborious 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 previous coal chimney, opened up a wall, and located sufficient costly surprises alongside the way in which to go away our authentic funds within the mud.
Did I point out I used to be additionally pregnant, sick with nausea and vomiting, and had a toddler?
In fact it was effectively price it. At this time I look again on the “earlier than” images and really feel grateful for our greater, extra fashionable house.
Nevertheless it wasn’t straightforward. And one of many hardest components was preserving 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 transform 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 ideas, I needed to share them right here too.
Plus, I’m sharing before-and-after images of our renovation and the little “kitchen glow-up” we just lately did.
6 Ideas for Surviving a Kitchen Rework
1. Make a Short-term Kitchen
Our contractor moved our previous fridge into the lounge, the place we arrange a brief kitchen house with a small desk, microwave, and toaster oven.
A folding desk or card desk is useful for this. And earlier than you pack every little thing away, put aside some objects that may enable you in your makeshift kitchen, equivalent to:
- Espresso maker
- Slicing 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 now have 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, on the spot 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 number of massive, heavy responsibility plastic shelving items to make use of as non permanent pantries. We packed every little thing in plastic tubs that we thought we would use (a slicing board, a number of knives, and so forth) it was rough-but we made it!”
2. Hold your sink so long as potential
Everybody, together with me, agrees that coping with soiled dishes is the worst a part of a kitchen transform. So in the event you can, cling on to your kitchen sink so long as potential.
You might also have a sink you should use in a basement, rest room, storage, or laundry room. However “don’t do dishes within the bathtub,” one reader cautioned. “It’ll 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 gradual 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 pal or neighbor to borrow in the event you don’t have one):
- Instantaneous Pot
- Air fryer
- George Foreman grill
- Microwave
- Toaster oven
- Sizzling plate/induction burner
- Electrical skillet
- Electrical griddle
- Camp range to cook dinner exterior
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 potential, schedule your renovation for hotter months when you should use your grill and eat exterior.
Bonus: Summer time can be when buddies and neighbors will journey. One reader urged a swap the place you water their crops 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 principally does most of what you are able to do on a stovetop in a pan, it’s only a griddle: Stir fry fashion dishes, breakfast hash, and so forth. in addition to burgers and whatnot.”
5. Meal plan & suppose E-A-S-Y
Having some sort of plan in place may 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 strategies 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 prematurely you can microwave
- Pizza supply as soon as per week
Think about filling a plastic bin with shelf-stable objects you should use for easy meals and snacks equivalent to:
- Peanut butter
- Shelf-stable microwavable rice and pasta pouches
- Canned meals equivalent to canned beans, soup, veggies, and fruit
- Vitality bars
- Entire grain crackers
- Instantaneous oatmeal
- Applesauce and fruit cups
- Cereal and granola
Seize extra concepts, plus 10 straightforward meals you may make with out a range, in my put up 45+ Wholesome Dorm Meals Concepts
READER TIP: “Don’t suppose it’s important to cook dinner – chilly meals are nice, too. Deal with it as an journey.”
6. Let go of guilt
Give your self grace whilst you’re going by way of a transform. As an alternative of beating your self up over disposable plates and frozen dinners, channel that power into selecting out new home equipment and selecting between 500 types of drawer pulls. Right here’s what else Actual Mother readers needed to say:
“Don’t attempt to save the surroundings in 3 months (which means you should use paper plates for a number of weeks to avoid wasting your sanity), and preserve your humorousness.”
“Paper plates, cups and plastic cutlery. Shake off no matter guilt you suppose it is best to really feel and name it ‘self-care.’ Make an inventory of carry-out/dine-in choices you’ve got needed to try to work that expense into the funds 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 difficult when your entire kitchen is torn up.”
READER TIP: “You possibly can at all times get compostable paper plates and bowls in the event you use a composting service.”
Our kitchen transform
Listed here are some before-and-after photographs of our kitchen house, 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 massive room.
- Eliminated a part of an previous 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 a very good time for somewhat refresh.
So we changed the backsplash and the pendant lights to present the room somewhat increase with out spending a complete lot of cash.
