Living Through a Kitchen Remodel
Navigating day-to-day life in the midst of a kitchen remodel can be tricky. From cabinets and countertops being torn out to tools and materials in your space, caring for and feeding your family can certainly be challenging when you’re in the thick of it. To help get you through, we’ve compiled the following list of tips and tricks.
Set up a temporary kitchen.
- Even during install, make sure you still have access to your refrigerator, small appliances and other necessities for preparing meals and eating.
Packing up your current kitchen.
- Before demo starts, clean out your cabinets and pack up anything you are not using in your temporary kitchen.
- Use boxes with lids and labels so you can easily access items you may need.
- Now is a good time to purge and get rid items that you don’t use and donate them to charity
Seal off your rooms.
- Block off the construction zone and vents in the room with plastic sheets.
- Since dust will filter throughout the home, cover carpeting with plastic sheets and protect large pieces of furniture with sheets or blankets.
- If you have an installer, he/she can do this for you.
Identify the installer’s work zone.
- At the beginning of the project, decide which rooms will be used for work zones and how much access you’ll have to the rest of the house.
- For example, what room do you prefer to be used as a preparation/staging area for installation? This could be the room where your new cabinets are stored or an adjacent space.
Identify the rooms that will be accessible throughout the installation.
- Determine how you and your family will get around your house.
- If the room being renovated is a major access point, you will need to create a detour through nearby rooms during work hours.
Keep your feet covered.
- Your house may become a mini construction site filled with tools and nails during the installation.
- To avoid injuries, wear a pair shoes indoors during the kitchen remodel.
Keep the documents together.
- Keep receipts, warranties and manuals together in one file so you access them easily during and after installation.
Create a photo journal.
- Track the progress of your kitchen installation with photos and notes.
- This will be a great keepsake for you when your kitchen makeover is complete.
PRO TIPS
Design and install experts highly recommend that you do not start demo and cabinet removal until your new cabinets arrive. This minimizes the time in which your kitchen is not available to use and reduces potential inconvenience if there is a delay with installation.
Recycle & Reuse
You will also want to decide what to do with your old cabinets. Here are some ideas:
- Use them in your garage for storage and workspace.
- Donate them to a local charity such as Habitat For Humanity ReStore.