Kitchen Renovations: A survival checklist

Kitchen renovations are at the top of a lot of homeowner’s wish lists. Or rather are at the top of the list until the process actually begins!  Surviving a kitchen renovation can be tricky; demanding a level of patience rarely required in your day to day life.  I have a couple of clients that are currently in the process of starting in on major kitchen renovations so I thought now might be a great time to share a few tips!  Hope they help and good luck on your projects!

Kitchen Renovations: A survival checklist

1.  Small appliances are a necessity including: toaster oven, electric kettle, electric grill, crock-pot, and microwave.  You might also want to consider a rice cooker or even a fondue pot.

2. Pre-cook and freeze in meal size portions before starting in on your renovations.  You might not be able to account for all of your meals but you can certainly get a head start!

3. Fire up the outdoor grill!  If you’re renovating in the winter then make sure the BBQ is located in a convenient place.

4. Paper plates are your friends!  This is certainly the time to cut back on as many dishes as possible and disposable plates and cutlery will make a huge difference.

5. Tell your family what’s going on, there’s a good chance they might invite you over for at least a meal!

6. Set up a temporary kitchen somewhere else in the house with the basic staples from Tip #1.  Depending on the set up of your house this might be the bathroom nearest the kitchen or the laundry room.  Laundry rooms can be a great substitute as they have a water connection and you can put cutting boards on top of the machines.

7. Have a plan for your kitchen and do your best to stick to it.  Time is money and regretting, reordering and reconfiguring all lead to delays that take up more time!

8. Before demolishing the old kitchen make sure you’ve ordered all of the new components of the new kitchen.  Finding out that your kitchen cupboards are going to be delayed by even a week can set a whole series of delays in motion!

9. Make sure to seal off your rooms!  Dust will get everywhere so make sure that the room and all vents are sealed over with plastic.

10.  Clip out those restaurant coupons!  So you’ve done your best to make sure that you can cook for the month (or two) that the renovations will take but odds are that you will still find yourself in the position of having to eat out.  To save yourself some money keep your eyes out for any deals local restaurants have on.  If you’re renovating now keep an eye out for Winterlicious!

So these are the basic tips we’re following.  There is, however, one more golden rule.  Hire a good contractor or if you’re doing the renos yourself (or with your wife/husband) then prepare for some frustration and tempers to flare and budget in for at least one mid-remodel weekend in a hotel!

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