Not only can a kitchen renovation be costly and take a long time, but not having access to a kitchen during your renovation can be unsurprisingly difficult and stressful.

How long your renovation will take will depend on what work is required. A standard kitchen renovation will take between 6-8 weeks from start to finish. This might sound extremely long and unmanageable, but rest assured that you can do this!

Preparation Tips to follow before Kitchen Renovation

In terms of useful appliances, what to prepare beforehand and other useful tips, here is our guide on how to cope without a kitchen during your kitchen renovation.

Pick a space for your pop-up kitchen

While your renovation is taking place, you will need a kitchen and place to eat. Prepare a pop-up kitchen in an appropriate space. This may be in your garage or in a room with adequate space far enough from the kitchen. Try not to choose your dining room since it is often too close to where the renovation will take place. You do not want sawdust floating around in an area you are preparing and cooking food.

Create your pop-up kitchen

You will need some temporary bench space and a place to eat, so some trestle tables or camping equipment are great options. Move what you need to your pop-up kitchen including your old fridge and small appliances. Bring a tub and fill it with two sets of cutlery for each household member as well as some plastic or paper cutlery too. You will also need plates and cups for each person.

Only bring the bare necessities to your pop-up kitchen and store away the rest. Make sure you label everything and put it in an accessible place in the event you need it. You will also need a makeshift pantry as well so get some tubs to store pantry items in.

For your washing up, get a tub to place all your dishes in after a meal and bring it to the laundry sink. Alternatively, you can purchase a portable sink. Try to wash up as you go as difficult as that might be.

Preparation and planning

While your kitchen renovation takes place, you will not have access to the kitchen for at least a few weeks, so you should make a list of dishes that freeze well then cook and freeze as much as you can in advance.

Make a list of breakfast foods, lunch foods, and dinner foods that you can cook in advance or are not costly to purchase. For instance, you might have cereals, muffins, crumpets, toast, pre-made pancakes or crepes for breakfast, and fresh sandwiches, toasted sandwiches, and wraps for lunch.

You might want to make some pasta sauces, lasagne, casseroles, and cooked meat to reheat later for dinner.

Useful appliances

Depending on the time of the year, you could use a barbeque during the summer and the slow cooker for the winter.

If you have an air fryer or mini-oven, you’re in luck! These are fantastic for cooking meat, vegetables and can be used to cook small meals. You might want to use your air fryer or mini oven for some meat skewers, roast vegetables, meat pies, and roast meat.  Some other useful appliances for your pop-up kitchen include a microwave, kettle, sandwich press, toaster, and rice cooker.

Must Read: Tips to Make Home Appliances Durable

Don’t be afraid to cook vegetables in the microwave! The texture may not be the same as boiling, but if you are just after some steamed vegetables or cooked potato, the microwave is a great alternative.

Eat out and borrow kitchens

There’s no denying you will be tempted to buy a lot of take-out during your renovation. However, it can get very costly if you begin to rely on it. Set a limit for takeout (perhaps twice a week) and try to stick to it. Another great alternative to using your makeshift cooking is borrowing someone’s kitchen. You might want to have dinner at your in-laws or parents’ place, or perhaps your sibling or friend is happy to let you use their kitchen to cook dinner. These options are great since your family gets a home-cooked dinner and some leftovers to take home!

Track your progress

Ensure you are across every step of the process and ask your project manager for updates when needed. You might want to get your schedule of work and cross off each step once completed. This can help ease your stress and motivate you to stay optimistic.

Things to remember

Keep in mind that the benchtops are usually the last of the larger items to be installed so unfortunately, you will not be able to use the benches until the very end.

If you have a large renovation and perhaps are renovating two or more rooms, in order to avoid the noise and dust, some people prefer to move to a serviced apartment or something similar. If you will be staying at home while the renovation takes place, be mindful that you will have endless early starts and crowded home.

If you have pets, create a barrier or some other means to ensure they will not walk into the renovation project. If your pet is prone to opening food packets or creating a mess, try to keep things in tubs and high enough that they can’t reach.

Conclusion

Not having access to a kitchen for weeks is undoubtedly frustrating and challenging. Your family members are likely going to test your patience throughout the process as well. However, the end result, your beautiful new kitchen, will be well worth the chaos and stress!

We have other valuable renovation blogs if you want some extra tips for your kitchen renovation. We also have some great resources for home decor and various home improvement blogs as well.

If you haven’t chosen a builder for your renovation yet, opt for one that designs, builds, installs, and fully project manages the entire process. A kitchen renovation can be extremely stressful and complicated. Having to coordinate between your designer, builder, and architect can be a nightmare, so consider a kitchen renovation company that takes care of all the details for you.