Deciding to renovate is half the battle, but your job isn’t over yet.
So you’ve decided to remodel your kitchen and have hired the right remodeling contractor for the job. Now what? Long before your kitchen remodeling contractors steps through your door to start making your dream kitchen a reality, you’ll need to take steps to prepare your kitchen, your home and your sanity for the renovation ahead. Depending on how extensive the renovation is, you could be without a full working kitchen for days or weeks. However, taking a few preparatory steps now will make the whole thing less painful and more convenient. In our last blog, we touched on a few things you can do to prepare for a kitchen remodel in your home. Here are a few more:
#5. Pack wisely, and don’t forget to label!
In our last blog, we talked about the importance of packing up things in your kitchen you don’t need or use often. However, how you pack is just as important as packing at all. If you simply throw all of your stuff into one big box, you won’t be able to easily find things you need, and it’ll make unpacking a lot harder than it has to be. Instead, be methodical about the way you pack, keeping like items together and ensuring that you properly label every box.
#6. Toss, sell or donate what you don’t need.
Chances are, there are probably a few things in your kitchen that you haven’t touched or even looked at in years. There’s no reason to put yourself through the arduous process of packing, storing and unpacking these items, only to leave them on the shelves untouched for the foreseeable future. That’s why it’s smart to take this time to really go through your kitchen stuff. As a general rule, anything you haven’t used in a year probably won’t be used, so it’s usually safe to toss, sell or donate.
#7. Take down anything and everything on your walls/windows.
When your renovation contractors arrive, they are going to want to work with a blank slate, so it’s important to make it a point to remove any wall hangings, blinds, photographs, curtains, etc. that may be hanging on your walls or windows. Plus, this will help to prevent those things from getting damaged during the remodel.
#8. Make arrangements for kids and pets.
The site of a kitchen renovation is no place for pets and kids. Not only are they likely to get in the way of your remodeling contractors, but they could easily hurt themselves if they aren’t careful. If you can, plan for your pets or kids to stay with a sitter during the work, or at the very least, keep them preoccupied outside or in another area of your home.
We hope that these tips will make your kitchen remodeling project in Northern Virginia as smooth and as easy as possible. If you have questions or concerns, or you’re still in search of the right renovation company, give us a call!