Kitchen sinks! How to survive a kitchen renovation.

We are finally moved back into the heart of the house--the kitchen, den, and office. You'll excuse the tiny bit of life debris in the after picture--I have yet to wash breakfast dishes today. But, after months of using a temporary kitchen, I wanted to share some tips for those of you considering a kitchen remodel.

And to take a moment to say how happy I am to have kitchen sinks, a dishwasher, and a real range. And an office. And no one else in the house.

I think we lost the last bit of the kitchen some time in late September or early October. What that meant for me as the head cook was that I had to set up a "dry kitchen" in the dining room and set up a kitchen sink substitute in the bathtub in our master bath.

Dry Kitchen:

The dining room table got covered with a protective layer of tablecloth (one we bought on clearance) and other protective things to ensure the table didn't take damage from splatters, heat, etc. I have two huge baking sheets and a pizza stone that were great for providing a pretty heat and spill-impervious surface. 

My tools:

• The bottom element in our range went out months before the renovations started. So, I already had my little toy countertop oven and was used to using it for all of my baking needs. I set that up in the dining room. 
• A butane burner. This is like a camp stove (or if you have ever had Hot Pot, think of the table-top burners they use for those. Thankfully, Walmart carries fuel for these, so I always had two or three cans of butane ready for cooking.
• An all-in-one device (Instant Pot knock off in my case). This was the real workhorse. You can sear, slow cook, and pressure cook in it, as well as make hard-boiled eggs. 
• An electric griddle: Great for cooking breakfasts and at around $20 saved me a lot of butane. Bonus--you cook right on it, so there's no device + pot to wash.
• A waffle iron: You can waffle a lot of things. I recommend the book Will it Waffle? Before I bought the griddle, I made an omelet or two in ours. But I also love it for things like zucchini fritters, chicken fritters, actual waffles, falafel.  If you're buying new, get one with the plates that pop out for cleaning.
• Countertop oven (see above). 

For my sink, I took my wire dish drainer and a plastic tote and set them in the bathtub. I kept another plastic tote in the dining room to catch dirty dishes and I would haul them to the tub for washing.

After two weeks or so of having real sinks and a dishwasher, my back and shoulders are almost back to normal.

The new kitchen details:

• Vintage blue pendant lights from Bevelo.
• Range is an AGA 36" Legacy dual fuel. Purchased on Facebook Marketplace.
• Countertops are from Midway. Island is Quartzite and kitchen countertop is granite.
• Saltillo tile is from Rustico Tile. 
• Cabinets are from Home Cabinet Shop.