How To Survive A Kitchen Remodel

We are completely moved out of our kitchen and are about to be in full on demolition mode at the Sain Casa for our kitchen renovation! (I’ll be showing a bunch of behind the scenes over on our instagram!) I know living through a kitchen renovation is never easy, but I’m hoping my pre-planning will help get us through without too much fuss!

1. Set up a makeshift kitchen space.

Since a kitchen is essential to everyday living, set up a makeshift table somewhere with a coffee pot, a few mugs, microwave and/or toaster oven, paper plates, maybe your crock pot or air fryer, and your fridge. I wouldn’t recommend getting rid of that until your new one is installed and functioning! If you’re doing a kitchen renovation during the summer (like us) and you’re planning on grilling out, have your favorite seasonings here, too.

2. Plan to eat simply.

Mom (or dad) gets a vacay from cooking for a while, so make plans to do easy meals for breakfast and/or lunch, and then do takeout or grill out for dinner. (We’re planning on ordering a family sized meal kit from a local restaurant (rice, chicken, veggies) to eat for lunches during the week).

3. Be ready to wash any dishes in the tub.

I know this sounds crazy, but if you need to wash any big pan or even a stack of plates (if you’re not using paper plates which I highly recommend doing) is WAY easier to do in the tub than a bathroom sink. So keep your dish soap and a sponge somewhere in the bathroom for a quicker cleanup.

4. Move ALLLLLL of your stuff out.

Obviously you’ll need to empty all of your cabinets, but don’t forget about any of the furniture nearby, too! If you have the space (or can rent a storage unit), get absolutely everything you can OUT of the kitchen area and any spaces attached to it. There will be ridiculous amount of dust and it’s easier if absolutely everything is out of the way.

5. Plastic off the reno space.

This won’t solve the issue of dust everywhere, but it will at least keep most of it at bay. Job sites are messy, so to help contain the chaos, plastic off the kitchen area. It’ll be less mess in the rooms close by AND help keep your sanity from not looking at a mess all the time.

6. Make sure you have a safe place for the pup.

Sometimes the loud noises of a renovation can scare your dog, so consider having a quite place where they can stay away from the noise and the chaos. Our 1 year old puppy, Sal, is going to get her own little cave downstairs in a walk in closet. It’ll be a quiet and cozy place for her to stay while work is getting done.

7. Give everybody grace.

Give grace to yourself (living through a renovation isn’t easy!), your family (this is a big adjustment for everyone!) and your contractor (there’s a lot of details he’s managing to bring this new kitchen to life!) You will inevitably hit a few snags during your renovation. But don’t fret. In the grand scheme of things, it’s small and will be over quickly.

If you’re hoping to renovate your kitchen space soon, we’d love to hear from you! We offer consultations to families in Upstate, SC hoping to renovate their kitchen. You can also browse some of our kitchen remodels where you can see all of our before and afters from client projects and flip houses.

Care to share or want to pin to read later? Just pin the image below!