Hey! Hey! Hey! It’s so good to be back with you today! Whew! What a whirlwind of a week we had….we packed up almost our entire downstairs, moved it into basically any location we could find plus a storage unit, kept the house moving with typical meals and laundry, add in baseball practices, a flag football game, a baseball tournament, and a volleyball tournament and this mom was DONE! Last night, I sat down on the couch around 6:30 p.m. and told Tab I was ready to go to bed. hahaha!
I’m sure this house information is super riveting for you, but for those who’ve asked I’ll share just a bit. We moved into this house almost seven years ago. We knew back then there were many things we’d need to update over time. If you have an older home, then you understand how overwhelming updating rooms can be. To combat some of that crazy, we finally decided we’d rather just knock it all out at once. So the crew began six-ish weeks ago and have knocked out most of the updates to the upstairs…new carpet, hardwoods, new tile, new shower, new countertops, etc. The plan is for us to move upstairs while they start work on the downstairs so we’ve had to pack up almost every room downstairs. How have we accumulated so much stuff? URG! For the next four to six months, we’ll be living upstairs while the crew gets the downstairs in tip-top shape. That’s where we are now! I still have some packing to do in our master closet but my deadline for that room was a little later. :).
Also-if you’ve lived through a kitchen remodel, WHAT did you feed your family? Here’s a little fact about me. If I’m cooking and eating at home, I can make healthy choices but eating out basically means I’ll be eating Whoppers, Big Macs, and fries for the next few months. That seems like a terrible idea, so any suggestions are really appreciated!
And one big, huge last thing…THE BESTIES are back with our FINAL episode of Season 2! In this episode, Shay and I do a little look back at all of Season 2. We share some reader e-mails, messages, and touch on some of our favorites from our year. We never dreamed we’d have kept this going for FORTY episodes. Our big goal was just ten episodes. hahaha! Thanks to YOU, we kept it going. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for listening, sending in questions, and sending us messages. We truly couldn’t have done it without you. Our plan is to take the summer off from podcasting. Then we’ll be back in the fall with some new ideas. We can’t wait to be back for Season 3!
You can listen to each episode from Season 2 right here. Huge shoutout to our producer, John. I absolutely LOVED the intro to this episode. Hope you enjoy it too!
Okay, I’m off to work, pack a little bit, and scrounge something up for meals. Happy Tuesday, Friends!
XO
We moved out for our renovation but I think you can do this!! Will you still have access to your fridge? You’re entering grilling season, so I’d say lots of grilling. For salads you just need a fridge, a sink to wash everything (maybe an upstairs sink? Not ideal, I know) and a cutting board. Fresh fruit or fruit salad as a side since you really just need to wash/cut? And there are healthy takeout options for when you just can’t make anything.
You can do this!!
We did a kitchen remodel three years ago. It was during all star baseball season, so we had lots of time away from the house, which helped. I set up a corner of my basement with a fridge and table for prep. I stocked up on as many paper products as possible. The goal was always the least amount of dishes as possible since I was washing them in the bathtub! I made lists of quick, easy meals in the slow cooker, air fryer and on the grill plus easy sandwiches and salads. And prayed for good weather so we could eat outside. It went fast and wasn’t as hard as I was expecting. Good luck!
God Bless you with a downstairs renovation! Keep
Lots of healthy snacks in east access for kiddos. http://www.elspethsdaybyday.com
When we had no kitchen I used and electric skillet, air fryer and toaster oven! We were able to make everything that way! Our remodel was during the winter so grilling wasn’t always an option!!! Good luck!
No advice but glad you are back! Enjoy your podcast season break. 🙂
Perfect timing! Think of all the meals you can knock out on your grill and your air fryer! Sandwiches are great grab and go meals with your busy schedule too. Just think easy and don’t get too stressed – stay away from drive-thu’s! Use that fabulous outside space as your go to kitchen!
Please share the advice you get! We have a kitchen remodel starting very soon – plan is to set up a makeshift kitchen with an airfryer and toaster oven and mini fridge and microwave and an electric griddle (and to rely heavily on using the grill outdoors during summer…) but I would LOVE other tips that people who have “been there” can give!
I can’t imagine not having access to my kitchen or bedroom. Did they give you a firm timeline? Ex: only two months without kitchen access
Hat Creek avocado + egg bowls or salads are close by 🙂
We did a 9 week kitchen renovation/addition. We ate out once a day and otherwise lived on toaster waffles, bagels, yogurt,etc. Thankfully I only had one kid left at home. 4-6 months is a long time, but will be so worth it!
Have Tab cook lots of meals on the grill. Steaks, chicken, fajitas, salmon. Etc
My only suggestions are large batch cooking so you can do mostly reheat and eat or get large catering orders! But since you have nice weather over the next few months, maybe you can do more of an outdoor kitchen situation and be a grill master!
Can you move your fridge to the garage? Then live off grilling and crock pot meals!
Lots of outdoor eating! Picnics and Grilling will be a must. Luckily warm weather is here…take full advantage of not doing dishes,lol
We did a downstairs remodel in 2019 and we were without a kitchen and our bedroom for 4 months. I set up my fridge, toaster oven, pantry and microwave in one room and had big ideas of being able to cook meals for my husband and I. Boy, was I mistaken! There was dust everywhere and unless I wanted to deep clean everything each night the workers left I was not able to do any cooking. We have a fridge in our garage that I started using and I went and got a gas grill and was able to cook some things that way, but it is not the same as having your full kitchen available. Don’t have high hopes and everything will be ok! I just didn’t realize how much dust there would be and it was everywhere….even upstairs!! The good news is you will make it through and be so glad you did it. Good luck!
I found myself using an electric griddle a fair amount during kitchen reno- grilled cheese, quesadillas, pancakes. I was only feeding 2 adults and a toddler though!
We did a lot of crockpot and camping meals. Roast hotdogs over a fire! The kids loved it and it’s now great weather.
Ack! 6 months! Do you have access to a refrigerator? Can you move one into your garage or something? And do you have a place where you can plug in a crock pot, toaster, or electric frying pan? Not to mention a decent place to wash dishes…
I guess paper plates and plastic silverware will be your best friends!
The grill and crock pot/instant pot are your friend!
We are about to do a whole house remodel starting in 2 weeks (like you we decided to just bang out the whole list at once). I am moving out LOL. I have small children now and I cannot see myself dealing with the dust and chaos. I lived through a kitchen remodel with my husband a few years ago and we used the air fryer, microwave and grill. Eating very simple, healthy meals was easy, cleaning dishes in a small bathroom sink was hard. It went by quickly though! Think basics… a grilled meat and salad, sandwiches, fresh fruit, healthy prepared foods from the grocery store that you can reheat.
Hi Jacqui! I’m being too cheap to move out! haha! I know I’m gonna wish we had but I can’t help but think about all the money we’d spend on rent versus us being able to spend it on new furniture. Give me two more weeks and I’m going to be so jealous of you and regretting my decision! haha!
The reader that mentioned the dirt and dust was spot on. It just filters everywhere through the hvac system. Plan on the grill and eating outside as much as possible! Also, you’ll start to order healthier even at places out because you get so sick of eating out all the time. Good luck! It’s all worth it in the end!
Great last episode — super season 🙂
Living through a renovation is TOUGH. Hopefully you have a vacation planned along the way?
Grilling and get a Blackstone — you can do everything with those two things (as long as you have a fridge?). The garage idea is a good one. . .set up a table and bins of grab-and-go snacks. I know everyone says “paper products” but plasticware that you can hose off and then rinse clean (maybe a baby pool?) might be better on storage and cut down on trash. You have such a nice backyard area for eating — even when you order in you have a great place to sit and enjoy meals together as a family. Would Hello Fresh work? I LOVE the service –everything comes ready-to-go. . .you can grill and if you have a burner on your grill you can boil water and the Blackstone can do everything else!
The biggest issue with a kitchen renovation is where do you wash dishes when your sink and dishwasher are out of commission. Like others have mentioned, you can cook outside, in an instant pot/crockpot but it creates dishes that have to be washed. I was washing prep and serving dishes in the bathtub for about a month. It was misery. I would think about signing up for a meal delivery type service where everything is premade and you only have to nuke it. Hope that helps. Good luck!!
I agree-that’s gonna be tricky!!