When you decide to do a kitchen renovation, you’re often greeted with stress and anxiety about everything you need to do before, during, and after the renovation. But what if we told you, there are ways to eliminate some of that stress? You’d probably want to learn more!
If you are contemplating a kitchen renovation in your home, or are kicking one off soon, then you came to the right place! To help you prepare for a kitchen renovation, we compiled our six favorite tips below.
Set up a temporary kitchen
To survive a kitchen renovation, you’ll want to have a temporary kitchen set up elsewhere in your home. While a couple of days or weeks may not seem like a long time to be without your kitchen, not having access to your everyday kitchen essentials gets old fast. If you don’t want to take over an entire area of your living or dining room, perhaps you can scope out an area of your outdoor/covered patio, basement, garage, or office. You can outfit the room with some portable/collapsible tables, shelves, storage crates, collapsible chairs, and any small portable appliances you can bring over. That way, you can still have a spot to make your morning cup of coffee, grab a quick snack, reheat leftovers, or pack up your family’s school lunches. Be sure to grab things like any coffee pods, a can opener, a cutting board, trash bags, sandwich, and freezer bags, Tupperware, nonperishable food, canned goods, pet food, baking trays, and sheet pans that you might need for the near future – because once the renovation begins, you won’t be able to track down those items.
As you set up your temporary kitchen, also be cognizant of what you do in a kitchen beyond cooking. For instance, you’ll be without your usual dishwashing setup. To avoid having to use a bathtub or outdoor hose, stock on biodegradable (and/or recyclable) utensils, plates, bowls, napkins, and cups. One final, non-cooking, thing you’ll want to be sure you transport over to your temporary kitchen is any cleaning supplies that you may need for the rest of your home or temporary kitchen.
Plan your meals ahead of time
During a kitchen renovation, you won’t have the usual kitchen setup you are used to. That means you’ll have to plan your meals around smaller appliances like microwaves, slow cookers, griddles, toaster ovens, electric skillets, and more. If you’re able to move your refrigerator over to a temporary kitchen area, then great! If not, maybe a mini fridge would be a good investment. And, if you have a second freezer somewhere else in your home before the kitchen renovation begins, you can cook meals ahead of time and freeze them. That way when you don’t have access to a full kitchen, you can simply take out the frozen meals and cook them in the toaster oven, electric skillet, slow cooker, or another small, portable appliance.
Be thoughtful in how you pack up your kitchen
One of the reasons many of us put off tackling a kitchen renovation is because you’ll need to pack up everything in your kitchen for the renovation to be completed. To help you, we’ve included some helpful information below about how you can be thoughtful with your packing so this process is as stress-free as it can be.
Anything in the kitchen that isn’t bolted down or part of the kitchen design is a loose item that will need to be packed. These items include your food, glassware, cooking and baking items, countertop appliances (that you aren’t bringing to your temporary kitchen), utensils, anything in your junk drawer, and more. To stay organized with packing all these loose items, categorize them into four categories: food, appliances, everyday use, and pack away. While you can likely determine what the food and appliance categories entail, the other two may seem not as clear. Everyday use should include those items that you often use every day. Whatever goes in this category will go to your temporary kitchen. Keep in mind that if you purchased things like disposable utensils and plates to use temporarily, they will not need to go in your everyday use category. The final category “pack away,” are those items that you are okay with not having access to until the kitchen renovation is complete. If you don’t use a certain item regularly, you can probably live without it for a little while. As you start a new box, be sure to label the appropriate category on that box so you know the contents of it.
Plan your pet’s schedule
With pets, it’s hard to change a routine. But with a kitchen renovation, you’ll need to prepare how you will keep your pet out of the construction zone, especially when contractors are in your home. You know your pet best so for some pet owners, a simple gate, or placing your pets outside in a fenced-in yard, may work to restrict the area, but for other pets, you may have to get more creative. Pets are also often scared by loud noises, so if your pet will be scared during the workday, perhaps you might want to find a pet sitter or pet day-care facility you can bring them to.
Break up your routine
Having to live out of a temporary kitchen can get exhausting fast. Mix up your temporary routine by using your grill and outdoor patio set for some of your meals. Some people may not be aware, but your grill can do almost anything that your kitchen oven can. Another way to break up your usual routine is by eating out for some of your meals, and/or leaving town for a short while. A kitchen renovation is a good excuse to schedule a vacation, business trip, or to try out a new restaurant you’ve been dying to test out.
Prep for the renovation
Similarly, to how you’ll want to pack up all your loose kitchen items, you’ll also want to take the steps to prep your kitchen for the renovation. This includes anything your contractor will not be responsible for doing. After you remove all loose items work backward from how the kitchen was originally built. For instance, you’ll want to disconnect the gas, plumbing, electricity, and water and drain lines. Another prep item you’ll want to tackle is the removal of things like the glass from your fixtures, window treatments, and outlet covers. While contractors usually tackle prying trim and removing tiles and backsplashes, you can help prepare for your new kitchen by cleaning up any waste or dust that is lingering from your old kitchen.
If you’re ready to get started on your kitchen renovation, Capitol Granite can help. With Capitol Granite you’ll receive more than just a “job well done,” you’ll be working with an accredited, trusted provider whose mission is to provide clients with an unmatched level of workmanship.
Reach out to Capitol Granite today to learn more about how we can be your one-stop shop for your kitchen renovation.
