Your kitchen is a central part of your home, and your life. You won’t really know how large a part it plays until you no longer have it. During your kitchen remodeling project you will have to make do without a fully functioning kitchen. It is an inconvenience, but there is no escaping it if you want the kitchen remodel of your dreams. Luckily, with some forethought and smart planning, you can make the process more manageable. These tips will help.
- Designate a Make-Shift Kitchen
If you have an additional basement kitchen or guesthouse, then you are in luck. It will be easy to use that for food-prep while your usual space is out of commission. However, many homeowners are not so lucky. To avoid the extra expense of regular takeout, you will need to outfit a corner of your living space. Choose your work room, garage, or basement. Set up a folding table and some chairs, maybe a standalone shelf, and some storage crates. Move the necessities like your microwave, electric griddle, and coffeemaker to this make-shift kitchen. If possible, move your fridge as well. If not, perhaps you can borrow a mini fridge or small chest freezer from a friend.
- PareDown Your Kitchen Gear
How often do you use your waffle iron? What about that outdated food processor? Be merciless in deciding where you can winnow down. For the length of construction, you will need to keep things simple. Store the small kitchen appliances you use daily in easy access bins. If you can live without it, then you might consider moving other appliances to storage or donating what you can easily get rid of. Also during a remodel, you won’t have access to the normal spot where you wash dishes. So it is also wise to stock up on disposables. If not, you will have to get creative and use a bath or outdoor hose to clean dishes.
- Meal Plan
Because you only have small appliances, you will need to plan accordingly. Choose meals that work well around your portable appliances likes toasters, griddles, skillets, and slow cookers. If you will have a fridge and freezer in your temporary kitchen, try to make several big meals ahead of time. You can freeze these in smaller portions to reheat during your kitchen remodel. Kitchen remodeling in Mission Viejo, CA does have some benefits. At least you can always fire up the outdoor grill, weather permitting. You might also clip some restaurant or delivery coupons ahead of time. That way you can still run out for a meal.
- Stock Up on Nonperishable Foods
You want to prepare easy access snacks, especially if you have a larger family. Things like peanut butter, crackers, popcorn, gummies, and trail mix will help hold over starving stomachs when you aren’t ready to put a full meal together. You can also offer to cook a meal for a neighbor. You will bring all the food in exchange for the use of their kitchen.
Kitchen remodeling is exciting, but also a bit of an ordeal. Just remember, in the grand scheme this project is a short period of inconvenience. In Mission Viejo, CA we do all we can to make the process as seamless as possible. You will be back in your new kitchen quickly, and the hassles of being without a kitchen will fade away.