New kitchen - any tips on how to clear my whole kitchen singlehandedly?

[AphroditesSeashell]

In the middle of January I'm getting a new kitchen fitted. Full new re-fit, with wall painting, splashbacks, flooring etc. Now that I have a fitting date, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with the idea of moving every plate, fork, tin, cereal box etc out of the room. I guess I'll forage for boxes from the supermarket and make a massive pile of stuff in the living room for the 3 days (Mon-Wed) that it's expected to take to complete. Then there's the task of putting it all back 😅I'll spend some time over the Christmas break clearing out junk so I'm not moving things I don't need.

My mum is going to have my dog for a few days to minimise her stress.
I've told the kids to expect to live out of their bedrooms upstairs for most of the week, as it will likely be the weekend before I can get things shifted back. The living room will be full of kitchen stuff so not really suitable for watching tv, I wouldn't think!

Is it going to be as horrible a job as I'm thinking? About 8 years ago I had to completely clear my bedrooms out to get new carpets fitted and I think I'm still traumatised by how hard it was to do it all myself. Dreading the kitchen being the same again!

Set up an area in another room for your kettle snd and fridge. Collect packing boxes - I like clear plastic so I can see what I’ve got but it’s expensive for the short term.
Borrow a sackbarrow and ask for help; pay to have appliances disconnected.
It’s never too early to get rid of stuff you won’t want any more or to pack stuff you hardly use.
Buy a nice crowbar and a battery drill / driver for stuff that will come apart nicely. Make space outside to pile up your waste.

Get your kids to help, would be my first suggestion, and, expect it to take more than a few days. I would start sooner than you think and do a little bit at a time.

Set up a mini kitchen somewhere else in the house with a kettle, microwave, crockery and cutlery and a couple of boxes of everyday foods.

It sounds like you are overwhelmed with ‘stuff’ so it might be quite cathartic to sort through and get rid of gadgets you don’t use, and out of date food.

It will be worth it when you have a lovely shiny new kitchen.

I did this a few years ago. I put stuff we would need - couple of plates/bowls, cups, cutlery - into the washing up bowl and kept that separately. Set up a small table in the living room with the kettle, toaster and air fryer, and I also cooked on my camping stove outside. I counted how many cupboards I had, then got a corresponding number of clear, sturdy stacking boxes with lids and emptied each cupboard into a box, being quite brutal about what was thrown away as I went along. I then stacked the boxes outside as they were sealed and watertight. Washing up was done in the shower for a couple of days whilst I had no kitchen sink.

Spend the money on clear stackable boxes. Label them. Clear a cupboard every day and leave only a skeleton of items. Eat store cupboard food. Chuck out what you do not use or need. Be ruthless and don’t keep tat.

I used open cardboard boxes with a clear decorating sheet laid over them in the living room.

Expect it to take longer than they say it will. There’s always something!

You think a full kitchen refit will take three days?!

As PPs have said, be methodical, get clear boxes, and take this opportunity to throw out all those mugs things you don't use or like any more.

I did this! I put everything in boxes in our family room apart from enough plates and silverwear. It's a big job but I also decluttered as I went along. I used the kettle for tea and we ate at a friend's one night, then takeaway the next. The fitters moved at speed!

I'm doing it again soon but I think it'll take longer. I plan to put everything except the kettle in the garage.

How exciting!

Keep a microwave available/reachable in the sitting room, OP. As well as a kettle. Then you can have some hot food that isn't takeaway.

Done this more than once! Believe me, your kitchen may well be out of action for a couple of weeks.

1. batch cook some things that you can freeze then microwave
2. buy some disposable plates / bowls /cutlery to save on washing up
3. Go through each food cupboard and throw away all out of date items now.
4. go through each crockery / pan cupboard and throw away all damaged items.
5. buy yourself a new crockery set now ready for the new kitchen.
6. set up a cooking table in the living room - toaster, microwave, kettle, tea/coffee
7. be prepared for LOTS of mess!

I had mine redone 6 years ago and used it as a great opportunity to get rid of so much junk out of the kitchen!

Think - do I REALLY want to find a home for this item in my sparkly new kitchen?

All those useful utensils that you've not used for a year? Bin

Odd spoons/forks/knives that you've pinched from work/from old sets? Bin

Manky kid bowls/cups/water bottles/thermal mugs - just bin

Mismatched pans/lids/Tupperware/gadgets that are unused and taking up space? Bin

Party wear that doesn't match? Use it instead of having to wash up during the Reno or bin

Use all your food up now - I'd bet my house that you have 50 food items in your cupboards that are out of date. Likewise medical stuff if you keep that in the kitchen. Don't rebuy until everything of that sort is used - cereals, tins, pasta, sauces. Eat from your freezer, use stuff up.

Cleaning stuff - nobody needs 6 bathroom cleaners, 4 kitchen sprays and 3 bottles of furniture polish. Use the emptiest up first, decant what you safely can.

Recipe books - I struggled with these the most. Everything you can possibly imagine to cook is available online. Keep recipes you love. I started actually using my books more after I charity-shopped the majority of them.

Heirloom cutlery/crockery. Hard. Do you use it? Could someone else get better use out of it? Do you REALLY want it to sit in your new kitchen unused?

During the work eat takeaway, cereals, packed lunches and use paper plates. Cost is part of the new kitchen expenses.