A kitchen remodel is an amazing way to breathe new life into one of the most used spaces in your home — and to boost your home’s value while you’re at it! Whether you’re starting smaller and simply adding soapstone countertops or doing more in-depth work, like restructuring your entire space, there is no denying that changing your kitchen can make a world of difference. But, before you get to enjoy the finished product, there is a lot of hassle that comes first. 

Anyone who has undertaken home renovations before can tell you that those renos will put a crimp on your household’s daily routines. All of those hassles are amplified when you decide to do work on your kitchen because it’s such a central hub of everyday life. And it’s not just because of meal preparations, either. For most families, the kitchen is the spot for food, of course, but it’s just as much a hub for gathering together, working on projects, doing schoolwork with your kids, hosting parties, and so on. When you make moves to update your kitchen, a lot of life will feel the effects. Here are a few tips to prepare for a kitchen remodel and get your family through it with ease: 

 

Prepare For a Temporary Kitchen Space

With some kitchen updates, you can theoretically keep using your kitchen as usual. For example, if you’re just tearing out those old laminate countertops to replace them with soapstone, the actual disruption to your kitchen will be pretty minimal. On the other side of the coin, if you’ll be tearing out all of the cabinetry or replacing flooring, you can expect your kitchen to be out of commission a lot longer. If your kitchen will be out of commission, you will almost certainly want a temporary kitchen space. 

First, if at all possible, you will likely want to move your refrigerator to another room. That way, you can keep accessing all of your cold and frozen foods throughout the renovation process — which is pretty darn important if you want to make sure your family gets well-rounded meals. Of course, you’ll also need a way to cook everything. No, we aren’t suggesting that you move your stove as well; that wouldn’t work as well as we might hope! But you will want to look into a few electronic appliances that you can use to prepare meals and keep your routine the same as much as possible. Consider: 

• Moving your coffee maker so you can continue to access it.
• Moving (or buying) an electric skillet or griddle for searing/sauteeing/etc. 
• Moving your microwave, or buying an inexpensive second one if your current microwave is a built-in.
• Moving your garbage and recycling cans, or finding temporary replacements.
• Moving an assortment of cooking utensils. 

While you may not be able to get as fancy as you would with a full working kitchen, the above array will at least get you through your remodel with the option for healthy, home-cooked meals instead of constantly eating out. This way, you’ll minimize the disruption to your daily routine, especially if you have kids. 

 

Set Up a Secondary Kitchen

Now that you’ve got everything to create a makeshift kitchen, you’ll need somewhere to set it all up.This step is part practicality, part routine helper. First, setting up a designated temporary kitchen space will help you keep everything more organized and contained. One of the things that makes a renovation feel the most chaotic is when mess is spread out and you cannot find what you need. By setting up a secondary kitchen space — even if it’s just a designated corner of your living room — this will help keep everything organized and make the process feel less crazy-inducing. When it comes to your family, having a set secondary kitchen will also help keep them from feeling the stress because your kids will still be able to grab a healthy snack, and no one will have to wonder when or how meals will eventually happen. That secondary kitchen space will go a long way towards helping your family feel more at ease through the renovations. 

 

Stock Up On Disposable Dishware

With all the work you’ve done to set up a temporary kitchen space, it might sound counterintuitive to go with disposable dishware. However, you may have noticed that one of the big things that didn’t make our list for a secondary kitchen space was a dishwasher. It’s not really feasible to move a sink and have it still usable, so you’ll need an alternative. You will likely do as countless others have done and wash up in the bathroom sink. The big problem with this is that your bathroom sinks don’t have a disposal, so you will need to be a lot more careful about how you wash things — after all, you wouldn’t want to clog the bathroom sink with food scraps! Disposable dishware will help cut down on the amount of washing you need to do, and as long as you choose recyclable products, you can still minimize your impact on the environment. 

 

Grocery Shop Wisely

Cooking at home, even through the chaos of renovations, will help keep your costs down and your routine running smoothly. But with limited cooking capabilities, you will need to consider what you can reasonably still cook given your equipment and space. It may mean an uptick in pre-prepared and frozen meals that simply require reheating. You may also want to stock up on frozen, microwavable meals as a replacement lunch option because limited space and equipment mean you are less likely to end up with leftovers. Plan your meals more intentionally so you can continue to eat at home through your kitchen renovations. 

 

Clean Out Your Kitchen

Whether you’re just installing new soapstone counters or undertaking a full kitchen remodel, you will need to do something with all of the stuff in your kitchen. If you aren’t replacing the counters, you will likely be clear to leave everything in the cupboards, though you may want to remove anything in the top shelf or drawer in each section or find a way to cover them to protect from dust and debris. If you are doing bigger renovations, you’ll want to carefully box up and move everything out of your kitchen to keep it protected. 

 

Make a Pet Plan

If you’ve got dogs, cats, or any other pet that roams the house freely, you’ll need to figure out some way to keep them safely out of the way for the duration of the renovation. While it might sound simple to just put your pets in a spare room — and that can be a decent option — don’t forget that you’ll need to figure out how to make sure your pets can still take care of bathroom business, eat, hydrate, and play enough to exercise out that cabin fever. 

Undertaking a kitchen renovation can be complicated, but it doesn’t need to feel chaotic. The difference is working with professionals who can help you through the process. If you’re ready for a kitchen upgrade, start by connecting with Dorado Soapstone. Our experienced team can help you choose the best soapstone for your new counters and guide you through the installation process. Connect with our Massachusetts team today to learn more!