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On My Mind Monday: 3 Kids and a Kitchen Remodel

Day 1: Demolition

Almost 3 weeks later we are almost done. Same wall.

After almost 3 weeks, my family is almost done with a huge kitchen remodel.  I will post photos of the kitchen when it is completely finished but this is a sneak preview of what it looks like.   I know it will be gorgeous when we are all done but it is a stressful process.  As much as I dreamed of remodeling my kitchen in the past 3 years of living in my home, I didn’t think it was possible with my husband and my schedule and three very active little boys.  Somehow we have almost made it through!

The house was built in the mid-60’s and we bought it pretty outdated with a lot of work to be done.  It is a lot of fun getting to choose exactly how we want the house to look and everything is custom fit to our tastes.  I also laugh now at how many times we had changed our minds with the design of the kitchen.  When it was still a dream, we had always wanted very dark wood cabinets and as you can see from the photos above, we went with a beautiful vintage white color.  We couldn’t be happier with our choices and really have had a fun time building our dream kitchen together.

Below are some of the problems we have faced and how we remedied them.

1.)  Meals–Our kitchen and dining room have been out of service for almost 3 weeks and we have a family of 5 to feed, including 3 boys under the age of 5.  The challenges have mainly been what to cook, how to cook it and how to get the little one (2 years old) to sit and eat.

The solution:  We have used our old microwave and a toaster oven in the basement to heat our foods somehow only eating take out foods about once a week.  The boys are getting tired of eating chicken nuggets and hotdogs but luckily we have gotten creative baking chicken and pizza in the toaster oven and even trying scrambled eggs in the microwave.  It wasn’t bad either!  The little one never sits down to eat now without being strapped into his booster seat, so that is the one problem we haven’t solved.

2.)  Dust–Our house is full of dust!  Even with the kitchen and dining room taped off from the rest of the house, the dust still spreads VERY easily!  With the high amounts of traffic and the dog sneaking through the tape, our house is covered in dust.  The challenges have been a lot of sneezing and looking at the mess!

The solution:  Every weekend we try to mop up the upstairs living room floor that is the worst of it.  We try to get out at least once a day if not more to get fresh air as well as keep the windows open as much as possible.  Our family has vowed to do a full deep cleaning (including carpets) after the remodel is over!

3.)  Kids’ boredom–We have basically lived in our basement for 3 weeks!  It is a tv/playroom but when you turn into a kitchen, dining room and hang out area too, the kids get bored.  The challenge is getting them to stop trashing the room with food, toys, books, and dishes!

The solution:  Do a daily cleaning of toys, books and dishes.   Try to avoid sauces or anything colorful that can be spilled and ruin carpet more than it already is.

4.)  No Dishwasher or kitchen sink–This is my biggest grievance!  I’m really struggling with doing the one chore I resent more than anything else.   The challenge is keeping up with the flow of dishes and also finding time to do it when the kids are downstairs most of the time and the bathroom is upstairs.

The solution:  My family has a double sink in the bathroom and we have been washing dishes once a day in the bathroom sinks.  One for soaking and one for washing/rinsing.  Then we try to dry and put away in the appropriate boxes right away.

5.)  Making decisions–During the process, we’ve had to make a lot of decisions!  Some are due to the budget or design and others are just little details.  The details can be very daunting at times.  My husband and I luckily have similar taste in the design of things so that helps.

The solution:  Keeping organized!  Form lists and assign a few tasks each weekend.  Sit down and communicate a plan.

As we come to the end of our remodel, I start to ponder when we might be able to start our main bathroom.  I guess it can’t be that bad if I’m already looking ahead to the next big project!   Have you done a big remodel before?  Tell us your tips to keep your sanity below!

 

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Studio: 117 W. Slade St. #2, Palatine, IL 60067