Surviving a Kitchen Remodel

Every couple’s love is tested throughout their relationship. I think a kitchen remodel among planning a wedding is one of the bigger challenges we have faced. Those of you who have done major house projects with your significant other know what I’m talking about and are probably nodding in agreement. Someone even told me their biggest marital spat was over paint color… and she wasn’t kidding.

Our house has been a disaster for the past month and a half. Nothing is organized. We had wedding presents stacked in our living room. Our spare bedroom is wedding storage and craft supplies. We still welcome guests to stay in our disarray. We have no chairs at our dining room table and a 6 foot by 4 foot hole in our dining room. We just recently got our sink back and appliances installed.

Tyler thinks our roommate and I are hoarders and that our things take over the house. We think he’s messy and doesn’t put things away. I’ve been stressed, drank too many glasses of wine, took things out on Tyler that I shouldn’t have, but I see the end in sight.

So after / during this experience, I would say we are experts in surviving a kitchen remodel. We did the demo, painting, dump runs, and clean up, but our contractor has done everything else. Having a professional actually do the work while we are working has been our saving grace. There’s absolutely no way we could have done this by ourselves on this tight timeline and known what the hell we were actually doing. So thank you Mike and here is our advice for surviving a kitchen remodel:

1. Set up a temporary kitchen like we did here.
2. Donate as much as you can to the Goodwill. We couldn’t believe how much extra stuff we had and didn’t need. Since you are pulling everything out of your kitchen anyway, take inventory of what is necessary and donate the rest. Clearing out your house of clutter is so refreshing.
3. Prep as many meals ahead of time. We had some frozen crock pot meals ready to go, but I wish we would have had more.
4. Try to eat in or grill as much as possible. Eating out is so expensive, although it’s extremely tempting to eat out rather than make a meal without a kitchen.
5. But, on the other hand, get out of the house! We became stressed and irritable navigating around furniture in the wrong spots, holes in the floor, construction zones, and refuse ready to go to the dump. It helped to just remove ourselves from the house and be in a different environment.
6. Use as few dishes as possible. We each had a plate and silverware set, but also had disposable dishes. We had to wash everything in a tiny sink, so it was really difficult to clean anything bigger than a dinner plate.
7. Ask for help. Tyler’s parents, my parents, my brother, and our roommate have all helped out during the remodel in some way, shape, or form. We are extremely grateful for those who have helped us.