How one can Feed Your Household Throughout a Kitchen Transform

May 28, 2024

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Inside: Get been-there recommendation on how one can survive a kitchen rework–and feed your loved ones in the course of the course of.

Practically 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 It was practical however outdated. Clear however cramped.

We purchased the home figuring we’d have the kitchen transformed. As a result of how arduous might that be?

Yeah, proper!

The corporate we employed took the kitchen right 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 way in which to depart our unique price range 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 nicely value it. At the moment I look again on the “earlier than” pictures and really feel grateful for our larger, extra fashionable house.

But it surely wasn’t straightforward. And one of many hardest elements was protecting everybody fed with out a working kitchen.

So I made a decision to stroll down reminiscence lane with our personal kitchen makeover in case you’ve obtained a rework in your future and need assistance surviving the method.

I additionally reached out to my Actual Mother Vitamin Fb neighborhood for his or her greatest recommendation and obtained so many nice ideas, 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 lately did.

6 Suggestions for Surviving a Kitchen Transform

One reader remodeled her storage into a brief kitchen

1. Make a Non permanent Kitchen

Our contractor moved our previous fridge into the lounge, the place we arrange a brief 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 aid you in your makeshift kitchen, resembling:

Espresso maker
Chopping 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 many others. fortunately we’ve got an enclosed facet porch that labored completely.”

“We moved fridge & microwave to our stroll out basement, purchased a scorching plate, toaster oven, and hubby constructed a kitchenette.”

Right here’s one other reader’s makeshift kitchen

“I had my makeshift kitchen arrange within the storage with the fridge, an induction scorching plate, toaster/convection oven and a microwave. Additionally had the crockpot and rice cooker useful.”

“We sealed off our eating room and made it a makeshift kitchen. We had our fridge in there, a desk, instantaneous pot, air fryer, and many others all arrange so we might entry it. We used paper plates and cups, and many others. we additionally bought a number of massive, heavy responsibility plastic shelving items to make use of as non permanent pantries. We packed every little thing in plastic tubs that we thought we’d use (a reducing board, a number of knives, and many others) it was rough-but we made it!”

Our kitchen was a building zone however not less than we had our sink!

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 rework. So in case you can, hold on to your kitchen sink so long as doable.

You might also have a sink you should utilize in a basement, rest room, storage, or laundry room. However “don’t do dishes within the bathtub,” one reader cautioned. “It can 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 gradual cooker liners.”

We moved this previous fridge into the lounge in the course of the renovation.

3. Lean on small home equipment

Whereas your oven’s out of fee, smaller home equipment can save the day. Listed below are some to think about (ask a buddy or neighbor to borrow in case you don’t have one):

Immediate 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 mates within the months/weeks main as much as the renovation so you’ll be able to name in some favors & get invited to dinner.”

Behind that plastic sheeting was our makeshift kitchen in the lounge

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 mates and neighbors will journey. One reader advised 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 type dishes, breakfast hash, and many others. in addition to burgers and whatnot.”

5. Meal plan & assume E-A-S-Y

Having some sort of plan in place may also help scale back stress (you’ll have sufficient of that already). Seize my free meal planning worksheet in case you’re a pen-and-paper individual.

Listed below 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 resembling:

Peanut butter
Shelf-stable microwavable rice and pasta pouches
Canned meals resembling canned beans, soup, veggies, and fruit
Power bars
Complete grain crackers
Immediate oatmeal
Applesauce and fruit cups
Cereal and granola

Seize extra concepts, plus 10 straightforward meals you can also make with out a range, in my publish 45+ Wholesome Dorm Meals Concepts

READER TIP: “Don’t assume you need to prepare dinner – chilly meals are positive, too. Deal with it as an journey.”

6. Let go of guilt

Give your self grace when you’re going by a rework. As a substitute of beating your self up over disposable plates and frozen dinners, channel that power into selecting out new home equipment and selecting between 500 kinds of drawer pulls. Right here’s what else Actual Mother readers needed to say:

“Don’t attempt to save the atmosphere in 3 months (which means you should utilize paper plates for a number of weeks to avoid wasting your sanity), and keep your humorousness.”

“Paper plates, cups and plastic cutlery. Shake off no matter guilt you assume it is best to really feel and name it ‘self-care.’ Make an inventory of carry-out/dine-in choices you’ve got wished to try to work that expense into the price range in case you 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 difficult when your complete kitchen is torn up.”

READER TIP: “You’ll be able to at all times get compostable paper plates and bowls in case you use a composting service.”

Our kitchen rework

Listed below are some before-and-after pictures 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 many others.).
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.