Inside: Get been-there recommendation on the way to survive a kitchen transform–and feed your loved ones throughout the course of.
Almost 20 years in the past, we fell in love with a small, 100-year-old home on a reasonably, tree-lined road.
Largely, 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 It was purposeful however outdated.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 laborious might that be?
Yeah, proper!
The corporate we employed took the kitchen all the way 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 best way to go away our unique funds 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 effectively value it. Right now I look again on the “earlier than” pictures and really feel grateful for our greater, extra trendy house.
However it wasn’t straightforward. And one of many hardest components was protecting everybody fed with no 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 Real Mom Nutrition Facebook community 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 not too long ago did.
6 Suggestions for Surviving a Kitchen Rework
1. Make a Non permanent Kitchen
Our contractor moved our previous fridge into the lounge, the place we arrange a short lived 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 gadgets that may assist you in your makeshift kitchen, akin 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 on. fortunately we have now an enclosed facet 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 helpful.”
“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 on all arrange so we might entry it. We used paper plates and cups, and so on. we additionally bought just a few massive, heavy obligation plastic shelving models 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, just a few knives, and so on) it was rough-but we made it!”
2. Maintain your sink so long as doable
Everybody, together with me, agrees that coping with soiled dishes is the worst a part of a kitchen transform. So if you happen to can, cling on to your kitchen sink so long as doable.
You might also have a sink you should utilize in a basement, toilet, storage, or laundry room. However “don’t do dishes within the bathtub,” one reader cautioned. “It is going to 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 pal or neighbor to borrow if you happen to don’t have one):
- Prompt Pot
- Air fryer
- George Foreman grill
- Microwave
- Toaster oven
- Scorching plate/induction burner
- Electrical skillet
- Electrical griddle
- Camp range to prepare dinner exterior
READER TIP: “Be further good to neighbors and buddies within the months/weeks main as much as the renovation so you possibly can name in some favors & get invited to dinner.”
4. Time it proper
If doable, schedule your renovation for hotter months when you should utilize your grill and eat exterior.
Bonus: Summer season can also be when buddies and neighbors will journey. One reader urged 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 on. in addition to burgers and whatnot.”
5. Meal plan & suppose E-A-S-Y
Having some type of plan in place may help scale back stress (you’ll have sufficient of that already). Grab my free meal planning worksheet if you happen to’re a pen-and-paper individual.
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 that you may microwave
- Pizza supply as soon as per week
Contemplate filling a plastic bin with shelf-stable gadgets you should utilize for easy meals and snacks akin to:
- Peanut butter
- Shelf-stable microwavable rice and pasta pouches
- Canned meals akin to canned beans, soup, veggies, and fruit
- Power bars
- Complete grain crackers
- Prompt oatmeal
- Applesauce and fruit cups
- Cereal and granola
Seize extra concepts, plus 10 straightforward meals you may make with no range, in my submit 45+ Healthy Dorm Food Ideas
READER TIP: “Don’t suppose it’s a must to prepare dinner – chilly meals are high quality, too. Deal with it as an journey.”
6. Let go of guilt
Give your self grace when you’re going by means of a transform. As an alternative of beating your self up over disposable plates and frozen dinners, channel that vitality 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 atmosphere in 3 months (that means you should utilize paper plates for just a few weeks to save lots of your sanity), and keep your humorousness.”
“Paper plates, cups and plastic cutlery. Shake off no matter guilt you suppose you need to really feel and name it ‘self-care.’ Make a listing of carry-out/dine-in choices you could have wished to try to work that expense into the funds if you happen to can.”
“There have been MANY instances we simply had sandwiches and cereal for all 3 meals.”
“Maintain it easy as a result of life is sophisticated when your complete kitchen is torn up.”
READER TIP: “You possibly can at all times get compostable paper plates and bowls if you happen to 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 huge room.
- Eliminated a part of an previous coal chimney and turned it into one facet of an ornamental mantle over our range (the facet cupboards have cabinets for spices, and so on.).
- 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 a bit refresh.
So we changed the backsplash and the pendant lights to present the room a bit enhance with out spending a complete lot of cash.