5 Tips For a Smooth Kitchen Installation
⏱ 3 minute read
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Kitchen installations can take between 1-3 weeks. How will you store, cook and prepare food (let alone do the washing up)?
Before we arrive and offer your old kitchen to a hungry skip, here’s a guide to preparing yourself for the temporary inconvenience (it’ll all be worth it though!).
1. Food Storage
Before you dispose of your old fridge and freezer (or if you’re keeping them), find a suitable place to keep them running during the installation. We’ll happily move them for you. It means you can keep milk fresh and of course have somewhere to store ready meals.
If you’re keeping your fridge but not using it, be sure to keep your fridge door open ajar otherwise the fridge can develop an unwanted odour which is very difficult to get rid of!
Extra tip:
If you’re keeping your fridge but not using it, be sure to keep your fridge door ajar otherwise the fridge can develop an unwanted odour which is very difficult to get rid of!
2. Make a Kitchenette
If you have a garage, this is an ideal place to set up a temporary kitchen. Otherwise find a suitable place in the house. We recommend getting a fold out camping table where you can prep food and drinks and put appliances such as a kettle.
If you’re washing up in cold months, mix boiled kettle water and run cold water from the bath to do the washing up inside rather than in the snow. *This was a note added by Ben, who speaks from experience.
Essentials:
Make sure you keep back enough plates, mugs and cutlery when you’re packing away your old kitchen cupboard contents.
3. Appliances You’ll Need
Must haves are:
- Kettle
- Microwave
- Plastic washing up bowl (for washing up outside or in your bathroom – be extra careful not to get food down the plug!)
- Can opener! Don’t put this into storage by mistake!
If you have space you’ll be thankful for:
- Portable Electric Hob –
I’ve seen lots of people using camping gas stoves, but I would never recommend using one indoors. Better to play it safe and invest in a portable electric stove. You can pick them up starting at £25 online. - Toaster
- Slow Cooker
Here’s a realistic example of a temporary kitchenette set-up for you to aim for.
4. Premade & Ready Meals
Takeaways get tiresome fast and they’re often not so healthy! It’s definitely worth saying a triumphant goodbye to your old kitchen by cooking up a load of meals you can freeze and heat up in a microwave.
Think lasagna, casseroles, cottage pie etc. If you’re going to rely on a microwave you can just use microwavable rice pouches – although mashed potato freezes really well (as any parent with a baby will tell you). Here’s a great list of freezable meal ideas from BBC Good Food:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/freezable-recipes
Extra tip:
Is it me or do lunches always get forgotten? Plan for those too!
Cheeky tip:
Assign family and friends to make you a meal to freeze or drop off fresh.
5. Treat Yourself
Budget permitting, I would recommend planning two restaurant trips or takeaway meals for every week your kitchen is out of action. It’ll help keep your spirits up – even though we try to minimise the disruption, there is still an element of camping to proceedings, so a bit of luxury goes a long way.
I’m writing this during a Covid lockdown, so you probably can’t eat out – but plenty of restaurants do takeaway!
Extra tip:
Surprise yourself and order something different from your usual takeaway. Or not.
Wrapping Up
There’s no getting away from it, having a kitchen installed while you’re living at the house will mean you have to do some temporary glamping. A little organisation will go a long way and we will do everything we can to keep the disruption to a minimum.
If you have any tips from past experience, we’d love to hear from you!
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