Stylish backsplashes and high-tech appliances, custom cabinets and perfect paint colors … the benefits of remodeling your kitchen are endless! There’s nothing quite as exciting as waking up every morning to a kitchen that feels like a window to your soul as well as your stomach. What’s not so fun, however, is the remodel itself.
Endless days and weeks without a usable kitchen, constant noise and dust, and feeling cramped and uncomfortable in your own home … Let’s face it, a big remodel can be an unpleasant experience, even with the promise of your wonderful new kitchen waiting on the other side.
But a kitchen remodel doesn’t have to be a stressful series of boring evenings and fast food dinners! With the right planning, you too can survive your kitchen remodel, and maybe even have some fun while you’re doing it. Check out our tips on making your remodel quick and painless, and minimizing your anxiety along the way!
Set Up a Kitchen Corner
Learning to survive without a full-service kitchen is the first step to getting through your remodel. Before the installation and design crews get started, pull out all your necessities, including cookware and small appliances, and set up a temporary cooking station in your living room or garage.
Anything that isn’t built into the wall is fair game, but try to get only what you’ll absolutely need, to avoid cluttering up the small space. An electric kettle and portable griddle are both good ideas – a stand mixer, not so much. If you rely mostly on large appliances in your kitchen, you’ll want to invest in a few small-scale appliances to get you through the next few weeks. Our team of experts down at Don’s can help you pick out which appliances you’ll need during the remodel, but a countertop microwave, a large toaster, and a mini-fridge are all safe bets.
Use an old bookshelf or foldout table with a few storage bins underneath to hold all the necessities. Make sure to leave yourself enough space for casual food prep, like pouring bowls of cereal and buttering up toast. The fastest way to drive yourself crazy during a major remodel is having to hunch over tiny coffee tables or even sit on the floor every time you make a snack.
Simplify Meals and Dishes
With a tiny kitchen should come modified meals. There are plenty of ways to avoid eating out every day, but meals might be a bit less elaborate than you’re used to. Learn to love pre-prepped meals, microwave meals, and paninis galore. An outdoor grill will be a lifesaver during this remodel. Foil packet meals (just like the scouts used to make!) and even homemade pizza are big hits for the whole family, and they can be easily cooked up on the grill. Check out how one family planned nearly a month of meals during their kitchen renovation with just a few small appliances!
Be sure to plan your post-dinner routine as well. Disposable dishes and utensils will be your best friend, especially if your temporary kitchen is in a spot without a built-in sink. Even if you do have a spot to wash up, doing the dishes is the absolute last thing you’re going to want to think about after prepping food in a cramped space without any cooking conveniences. It’s best just to stock up on disposables so you don’t have to put any more sources of stress on your plate.
Keep Routines on Track
Especially if there are kids in the house, it’s important to keep your remodel from disrupting your usual routine. Being able to go about your day like you’re used to, even if it’s in a different place than usual, can make the whole process feel much less stressful. Resist the urge to sleep in all day to avoid all the noise and chaos and stick to your usual waking, working, and meal schedules. If you just get up and start your day like usual, a sense of normalcy will follow!
Protect What You Love
Pets, kids, and prized belongings will all need a little extra care and attention while your remodel is underway. Wrap up your grandma’s prized china and stash it in the garage along with any other items you want to protect from dust and dirt.
Pets and young ones can have a particularly tough time dealing with renovations. Be sure to put up barriers around the work area to keep curious kids and kitties out and consider installing gates by front and back doors to keep animals from getting out as work teams are in and out of the house. If your pets are especially nervous, you may want to consider leaving them with friends or family for a week or two, until things quiet down at home.
Make It Fun!
For your own sanity, and your family’s, find a way to make your remodel an adventure rather than a drag. Have picnic meals in the yard or the living room floor and treat yourself to breakfast in bed every now and again. Plan afternoon outings to the movies and kayaking on the riverfront to escape all the chaos for a little while. If budget and time allow, a weekend getaway can be a great way to relieve some of that stress that comes with a remodel and make the experience feel less like a chore. If you can make the process exciting, that momentum can carry you through until the end!
Renovations might be making life hectic for now, but try to keep it all in perspective. It’s a few weeks of stress in exchange for a lifetime of comfort and convenience in a kitchen you love! With these tips, those long days before your renovation is done will feel like a snap. But if you’re still struggling to see the upsides of all the stress, it could be that your new kitchen plans just aren’t inspiring you enough.
At Don’s we have all the latest in kitchen tech, to make your cooking space stand out and function fantastically. From professional quality cooktops by Bosch to powerful fridges from Sub Zero – whatever you need to make your kitchen more stylish and efficient, we’ve got it! So, come on down and talk to one of our in-store experts to find everything you need to build a better kitchen, and for more advice on how to survive your remodel!