The best way to ensure a smooth installation is with a thorough, well-thought-out design!  Make those 182 decisions about refrigerators, cooktops, vents, pendants, backsplashes and garbage disposals before you start tearing out the cabinets.  

Once your plan’s in place, your designer and contractor can accurately estimate how long your remodel will take. Generally speaking, most remodels take between four and twelve weeks, depending on their scope. So, if you were planning to see the in-laws or take a camping trip, this might be a good time to leave town.

Also, consider contacting Habitat for Humanity or another charitable organization to discuss donating usable cabinets, fixtures, hardware, or appliances that you’d otherwise be discarding during installation.

Finally, acclimate the pets.  If Fluffy is used to eating at the kitchen sink, move her food elsewhere several weeks before construction begins.    

While a remodel will certainly upend your kitchen, it doesn’t have to upend your lifestyle.  With some preparation, you can maintain your healthy routine while your kitchen is being gutted.    

To do so, you’ll need to set up a temporary kitchen where you’ll cook and eat your meals.  Here are a few guidelines:  

• Set Aside Kitchen Staples. At a minimum, you’ll want to have your coffee maker, a can opener, and a simple assortment of pots, pans, dishes, and utensils, readily available.   
• Keep Disposable Dinnerware on Hand. To make things easy, consider purchasing disposable plates, cups, and utensils. These days, you can find eco-friendly options that are biodegradable and compostable.    
• Obtain Cooking Essentials. For food preparation, we suggest you purchase or borrow a small refrigerator, microwave, mini freezer, and hotplate.  
• Decide Where You’ll Clean Dishes.  This could be outside, weather permitting, or possibly in a bathroom sink or bathtub.  
• Create Your Temporary Kitchen. Arrange your temporary kitchen on a fold-up table in an area away from construction, perhaps in the garage or basement.    

Believe it or not, you can still eat delicious home-cooked meals during your remodel.  To do so, you’ll want to keep these tips in mind:

• Cook, Freeze, and Reheat. Before losing the use of your stove, cook meals that you can freeze and then reheat during installation, such as lasagna or soup.    
• Opt for a Backyard BBQ. Consider grilling or using an outdoor stove, weather permitting.  Recall your scouting days, and create some delicious foil packet meals.  Treat it like camping in your backyard!

Buy Non-Perishables. Stock up on granola bars, trail mix, dried fruit, peanut butter, Nutella, nuts, popcorn, and cheese.  These make simple, healthy meals and snacks.

By thoroughly preparing your kitchen for the remodel, you’re making it easy for the contractors to do their job without distractions.  Be sure to remove everything from your kitchen, including personal items, and securely protect the floor. Additionally, make sure the contractors have a place to park, and decide beforehand where they’ll use the restroom.  

With respect to protecting your floors and packing your kitchen supplies, we suggest the following:

• Cover Your Flooring. During installation, a lot of heavy equipment will be moved in and out of your kitchen. To prevent floor damage, buy some carpet scraps and lay them across the flow of traffic, securing them with duct tape.  If you have a wooden floor, consider using carpet pads to secure the scraps, as the adhesive might damage the floor.    
• Remove Dishes, Pots, & Utensils. About a week before installation, start to remove dishware.  Ideally, you’ll store items on the same floor, so you won’t have to walk up or down stairs to retrieve them.  

By now, you should have already set aside the essentials. Still, in case you later realize you can’t live without the garlic press, for example, you should pack the items you’re least likely to need at the bottoms of boxes.  Or, if you’re using a spare bedroom, simply lay things across the bed.  

Pack the utensils by type (fork, knife, spoon), separately, in gallon-sized ziplock bags so they’ll be easy to unpack.  

• Label Items. When packing food and spices, keep like items together and label everything. This will make them easy to unpack after the remodel.   
• Pack Personal Items. Remove all photographs, artwork, and other personal items from your kitchen, protecting them with newspaper or bubble wrap, before packing them into boxes.  
• Take Down Window Coverings. Remove blinds, curtains, and rods from the windows.
• Protect Furniture. Cover the furniture and any computer equipment around the kitchen with large plastic sheets.