What to Consider when Setting up a Temporary Kitchen before your Remodel  

Depending on the scope of your remodel, you could be without a kitchen for 4 weeks or more than likely up to 12+ weeks. Most of our clients are without a kitchen for 2-3 months because they choose to have custom cabinets (which take longer), so setting up a temporary kitchen is a must. Your temporary kitchen could be as simple as moving your existing fridge and a table into your garage with a microwave, toaster oven, and a crockpot, but here are some other things to think about when deciding on location and set-up (from someone who has been there):

1. Consider what is important to you and what can you live without. For example, is having a coffeemaker a must (while dealing with coffee grounds)? Or can you survive with instant coffee? How will you heat water? In a microwave or do you need a small portable cooktop / hot plate? You get the idea.
2. Washing dishes and rinsing food is going to be one of the biggest challenges during the kitchen remodel so try to locate your temporary kitchen near a sink. If you have a sink in your laundry / utility room or a wet bar in the basement, this may be your best choice. We have even setup a free-standing sink temporarily in the demoed kitchen for a client. But keep in mind it would be in the middle of the remodel and will have to be disconnected sporadically through the remodel process. If none of these are an option, then buy a dishpan and be prepared to take dishes to the bathroom.
3. If you can’t locate your fridge close to your sink, purchase a small bar fridge from craigslist and place it near the sink. This will save you time and energy when prepping food.
4. When choosing a location for your temporary kitchen consider whether or not it can support multiple electrical appliances running at the same time. If not, you may only be able to have one thing plugged in at a time in order to prevent blown fuses.
5. Purchase plastic storage bins with drawers to store dishes, utensils & dry goods. Clear drawers keep the items organized, dust-free (there will be dust) and make it easy to see what is stored inside.
6. If you have an under-utilized dresser or storage cabinet, move this into your temporary kitchen to use as a pantry.

If you have questions on how to prepare for your kitchen remodel, just ask us. We’ve been doing custom remodeling for decades and can provide insight on what might work best for your situation.