Kitchen renovations can be rather messy and noisy, and plain bothersome, especially if you have to spend your time inside the home during the process. And things can get even more complicated if you also work from home. If you have a home-based job, certain practices can help you survive the kitchen renovation without too much stress and annoyance.
Set Up a Temporary Kitchen
Obviously, you’ll still need to eat and prepare some meals and snacks during the kitchen renovation. This is why setting up a temporary kitchen can make a huge difference, especially if you’re staying at home all day. A small portable stove can turn out to be a lifesaver in this situation but you might also want to remove your microwave, coffee machine and toaster from the kitchen area and place the appliances somewhere else if you know you’ll have to use them a lot. Of course, don’t store away every kitchen utensil; you’ll need your cutlery, plates as well as a couple of pots/pans for preparing your meals. In case you live alone, you won’t need to prepare too many items.
Pre-plan Your Meals
Aside from setting up a temporary kitchen, you should also pre-plan your meals for the estimated duration of the renovation project. After all, you probably won’t move out your fridge from the kitchen. In that respect, you should focus your attention on non-perishable foods and ingredients as well as incorporate daily shopping for perishable ingredients into your routine. You can do this early in the morning before you start your work.
Maintain Proper Air Quality
Adequate ventilation system is crucial during any type of renovation work, especially when you have to stay at home for work as well. When you’re dealing with kitchen renovation, top-quality ventilation system and fire ducts can make a world of difference. In case the installation of ductwork is part of the renovation, try to air your home by opening doors and windows as much as possible. You can also use an air purifier to minimize the dust and allergens in the air.
Deal with Noise
For people who work from home, noise that usually accompanies kitchen renovations might be a huge issue. Not everyone will find this extremely bothersome; if you don’t need to use headphones and talk directly with other people during your working hours, you might be able to combat the irritating noise by closing the doors and windows completely and playing your favourite concentration-boosting music. However, if you know that you can’t be productive when there’s noise bothering you or you have to talk to other people online a lot, it might be better to leave your home and visit the co-working space until the renovations are completed.
Try to Stay Organized
The best thing you can do for yourself and your sanity during the kitchen renovations is to maintain most of your regular schedule and organization. As mentioned, you might need to add daily shopping onto your to-do list, but even with this change, try to remain unfazed by the work going on. This means waking up when you’re used to, tending to your personal rituals and routines such as skincare and exercise, cleaning up the rest of your home as you normally would, leaving to meet up with friends and family as usual, and so on. Sticking to the routine that has become a norm in your life will also help you survive the kitchen renovations, especially if you have to spend the working hours at home.
Talk to Your Neighbours Beforehand
Enduring the noise and mess during the kitchen renovation when you work from home is already challenging enough, but if you haven’t notified your neighbours about the work, they might cause even more stress. Obviously, just like you hate the noise, your neighbours probably do, too. It won’t take too much effort to visit your neighbours and notify them about the future renovation work and apologize in advance. That way, they’ll be understanding and expect the inconvenience. Otherwise, they might pull you away from your work and busy schedule to complain when you’re already under enough pressure.
Don’t hesitate to use all the help that you can get in situations like these. For starters, you don’t always have to cook the meals yourself – you can also go to the restaurant or get a delivery. Furthermore, you can ask your friends or family members to accommodate you during this time, if all you need to work properly is a quiet corner, Internet connection and your laptop.