Tell Me How You Survived a Kitchen Reno......

[DAISYDUCKRN]

we are soon to begin a complete kitchen renovation expected to last about 5-6 weeks. I am interested to know how others survived the dust, dirt, disruption of daily. Also, how did you accomodate for meals. We tend to rarely order out and I would like to keep to that during the remodel. For those who are going through this or did go through a remodel please let me know what worked for you. Thanks

 

[sparkyboy]

First, plan on the renovation being a bit longer than the contractor has specified. Be certain that he has everything well taped and plastic coverings to help eliminate the dirt and dust. I also have allergies, so our contractor brought in an large air filter which really helped.

As far as eating, we set up the microwave and fridge in our lower level. I used the crock and my electric fry pan. DH did lots of grilling of meats that were then to have salad, baked potatoes, steamed veggies, etc. We did eat out a few times. I did use paper products since we were without dishwasher.

Good luck.

 

[crjack]

First, plan on the renovation being a bit longer than the contractor has specified. Be certain that he has everything well taped and plastic coverings to help eliminate the dirt and dust. I also have allergies, so our contractor brought in an large air filter which really helped.

As far as eating, we set up the microwave and fridge in our lower level. I used the crock and my electric fry pan. DH did lots of grilling of meats that were then to have salad, baked potatoes, steamed veggies, etc. We did eat out a few times. I did use paper products since we were without dishwasher.

Good luck.

All of the above are great tips and we did the same during our remodel. The hardest part was not having a great sink so try and use as many disposable pans and dishes as possible. You might want to make a few things in advance that you can freeze and reheat in your microwave.

I preferred to grill as much as possible. We set up our fridge, microwave, coffee pot, etc in another part of the house too but honestly I felt like it was hard to prepare too much. You might need to do more take out or prepared food than usual but it's only temporary.

Best of luck with your remodel. We love our kitchen now.

 

[Molliday]

Even taping things off, didn't work so well for us. If it can get sucked into the ventilation system, it ends up everywhere. We changed our air filters like crazy.

I used the microwave a LOT. We had a fridge in the garage, and I resorted to using the bathtub to wash dishes. We used paper products whenever we could, and grilled a lot too.

Be prepared to lose your water occasionally, unless you have a manifold system.

It won't be a fun process, but it will be so worth it when you're done!

 

[wdwgreg]

BBQS arre the way to go,

make sure you set up a small area in another room for a kettle, toaster, microwave electrical cooking instruments (george forman grill, fryer etc) and just keep it as simple as you can

try a few of your local takeaways, use as a chance to try new food that you have always wanted to but never got around to (maybe do a mini epcot of tastes of foods from around the world)

 

[magchavez]

We did the same last year. There was dust everywhere even thought the openings were taped off with heavy plastic. I dusted our living room everyday to try to stay one step ahead.

We went to Costco and used only paper plates, bowls, cups and silverware. I got very creative with the crockpot (I didn't know you could do baked potatoes in there). We also tired scrambled eggs in the microwave. They're not my first choice but they were passable. We grilled a lot. And don't forget the Easy Bake Oven. My daughter made brownies for dessert one night

 

[Gigi22]

Agreed with the PPs--I was very lucky, I had a laundry sink I could use to do the dishes--it is set so low, I had to use an inverted dutch oven to support my dishpan--doing dishes was very hard on my back. Since we had to remove our existing kitchen appliances from the kitchen, we were able to plug the refrigerator in as well as our microwave. My stove got moved elsewhere--we didn't yet have a dishwasher. We were also able to use both our BBQ and crock pot to make meals. I have subsequently purchased a fondue set, and would use that to cook with too (you can heat up soup, boil water, make noodles, etc.) if I had to do without a kitchen again. Consider using your toaster oven for some meals as well.

 

[pixiewings71]

We lived in a rental and the kitchen was remodeled. We put the micro and the fridge in a different room and we ate a lot of microwaveable foods...Mom was a single Mom with 4 kids so we didn't have a lot of eating out $$. We got creative, that's for sure. We also had a coffee pot that we used to make hot water, then we poured it over cup of noodles or made hot chocolate with it. Our remodel took a few months, I don't remember a lot of dust but it was a long time ago so I probably just can't remember it. I do know the kitchen wasn't blocked off from the rest of the house, we had to walk thru the kitchen to get to the downstairs bathroom and to get to the stairs to go upstairs, since my bro and I both had rooms upstairs we didn't have much choice but to walk thru it. lol

 

[amylevan]

For food, we did a lot of grilling and a lot of crock pot meals. I also used a lot of packaged foods (i.e. microwavable vegetables, salads...). We didn't eat out too much but we did do pizza once a week and invited ourselves to my parents' house every so often.

Paper plates were a godsend. We were lucky to have a utility sink in the laundry room that I used to do dishes, but I tried to only use the necessities. Everything else was disposable.

We did the remodel ourselves (down to the studs...) and it took 3 months. Dirt and dust ended up everywhere despite my husband's anal ways. Basically once it was done we did a very thorough spring cleaning.

 

[princessnoelly]

We went to Portugal for the first half...came home and only HALF of our cabinets were installed! I was also 6 months pregnant with DD #2 and boy was there hell to pay!

But, I cooked and froze stuff we could micro over the next 4 weeks. We ate at the pizza court at costco at least 2x week. I also did a bunch of crock pot stuff.

The second house- we remolded before we moved in- my DH insisted, said he couldn't do it again....deal with my screaming about how long it took!

 

[PHXscuba]

This is a good time to get yourself invited over to all those friends who say, "how can I help?" Tell them one good home-cooked dinner would mean a great deal during this time.

I think a lot of dealing with the day-to-day inconvenience is sitting everyone affected down and having a game plan -- what you are temporarily letting slide, who will be handling what, what will bother each of you the most. If everyone knows the "pressure points" it will help when they inevitably hit. And something always goes wrong with a project that big!

Eating some of the "prepared food" from a grocery (rotisserie chicken, pasta salad, etc.) might be a good change from eating out if you run out of home-made ideas.

When we renovated, I missed my sink a lot more than my stove or oven. So have a good plan for the sink. If you don't have a laundry sink it will be very difficult to wash dishes, fill things, etc.

PHXscuba

p.s. I would budget in money for eating out and extra convenience foods as part of the reno. There may be days there will be no way around it!

 

[shelly3girls]

We also used a toaster oven with the pan covered in tin foil. Store food items in clear bins so everything is easy to find. We grilled often and made side dishes on the grill as much as possible.

 

[NVDisMom]

We moved our fridge into our laundry room and in the adjoining hall I set up our camping table. On it was a mini kitchen. I had a single stove coil, an electric fry pan, a microwave and a toaster oven. Set up the small overhead cabinets that had come from above our fridge under the table as a pantry. Nothing gourmet, but we could have just about anything we wanted as long as it fit into those small appliances. DH definitely grilled a lot too. We used all paper products and disposable pans from the dollar store with the exception of one pot. Grocery store takeout was a godsend as were our neighbors. They loved bringing us the items we couldn't really make for ourselves. Never though the kids would miss cupcakes so much! But, we also made it a point to eat out once a week. It was so nice to get away from the mayhem and have food on real plates with a real fork.

As fr surviving the mess. We didn't! No amount of plastic and tape will keep that mess out of your house. You learn to live with dust and plan for a major cleaning spree when its all done.

 

[arminnie]

I was without a kitchen from 9/1 until 1/15 for a TINY, TINY little condo kitchen. It will take longer than you think unless it is just countertops.

I did have custom cabinetry built on site plus I had site finished hardwood floors. Plus I had popcorn removed and did a little wall/pass through renovation. But it took months not weeks.

I did have a refrigerator and a microwave. I bought a lot of stuff like precooked ham and chicken. I did lose 25 pounds as I got tired of eating cheese, fruit, sliced chicken, turkey or ham, etc.I had a few Lean Cuisine type dinners but I really hate them. By the end of the renovation I literally had to force myself to eat. (from someone who has weighed as much as 70 lbs more than I do now that was a new one).

My kitchen is now fabulous even if it is still tiny, tiny. Good luck.

 

[homedad]

we gutted most of our first floor last year and had no kitchen for over 2 months, we grilled outside alot, ate at the pool club(it has grills and eating area) and went away alot(almost 4 weeks). The best thiing was the gas grill and the microwave we set up in the laundry room. The worst thing was going away for a week and nothing getting done or not what was promised. Good luck it was not fun!

 

[rileysmommy]

Our kitchen reno was last year and our contractor finished exactly on schedule. He knew me well enough to know that I wouldn't put up with anything less. I know you didn't want to hear this but honestly, we ate out a lot. It was a cost we factored into the renovations. For my kids' breakfast and lunch I bought disposable bowls, plates, cups and silverware. I remember making my son's peanut butter sandwiches on top of the washing machine. We did still have our microwave accessible but that was it. It was frustrating and by the end I was done with eating out. Good luck to you.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Hang plastic in the doorway and cover the register vents to prevent the dust from traveling. Replace you furnice filter before the reno so that it will catch as much dust as possible then change it when you are done.
Make sure you have a gas grill and plenty of propane so you can cook. Relocate your microwave so you don't have to travel into the construction area as often.

Just think this minor inconvincence will be worth it when its done.

 

[MinnieForMe]

We went to Disney for 2.5 weeks! However, we did not have new cabinets put in as they were already done. We had walls taken out to make our dining room and kitchen open concept, a new sink, new build in hutches, and a new pantry.

I agree with the above poster. We hung plastic to close off the rest of the house and covered the heating and intake vents.

We came home and the mess was gone!

 

[jkc0325]

If you will have a microwave try to pre-make as many meals as you can. Then you just have to reheat. I agree with the crockpot and grilling ideas, they were very helpful.

I set my dining room up as a makeshift kitchen. And yes, the project did take longer than originally estimated. 5 years later, I still think it was all worth it!

Good luck!!!!!!!!

 

[HM]

We moved our refrigerator into the dining room and set up the microwave cart next to it - mini kitchen. We did eat more take-out than usual.

Make sure that everyone has their materials ready to go and that everyone knows when they are supposed to show up. (My DH 'worked' as the foreman of this job). We had a delay because although our flooring came in very early, it was ruined in the warehouse and it was discovered as they got ready to move it to our house, so they had to reorder pushing back everything a few days, as it had to be laid before the new cabinets could be brought in.