The Kitchen Switch Process: New Appliances

I told you I wanted to really focus on the kitchen this week. Who knows, it could last until next week. I already showed you how I tackled our super huge cupboard but now I will focus on how we handled the appliance switch.



We had the delivery scheduled for Saturday morning, that way we could both focus our time on that, you know, while Cam was napping, jumping, etc. Before they arrived, we prepped for the shiny new toys appliances, and we made a shocking, disturbing, gross discovery. I've asked Carl multiple times to pull the stove out so I could clean behind it, but he wouldn't humor me. Well, we spotted this:


Ack! Rodents! Rats! Mice! No. No no. No no nope. That is just an untidy husband. That's easily enough coffee beans to make me a cup of coffee that had slipped between the counter and stove. So while that part isn't as gross as it first appeared, the dust and dirt was. I deep cleaned behind each appliance so that the new stuff would have a suitable home. It also made the haul away process quick and easy.



I also emptied out the spice cupboard over the microwave since we needed to be able to work in that area as well. It needed some cleaning/organizing anyway!

This was how the kitchen was looking shortly before the delivery guys arrived.

And then yikes, this is how it looked after they left.


But I knew it would have to get worse before it got better. And it did, although I don't have photographic proof. So, Carl finished the installation, I put the spice cupboard back together and then I think we simultaneously crashed.

But this...

and this...

made it all worth it!

So just a quick recap with my little tips if you have a big switch in your near future:

1. Empty any necessary cupboards- place contents in a tote or box so they are easily moved out of the way.
2. Empty the refrigerator- we used two coolers to house all the necessary items. Make sure you have enough ice on hand- we moved all our freezer items to the chest freezer, dumped the ice in a bowl and left it in the freezer overnight so the ice maker would make more ice as well.
3. Clean behind all the old appliances. Magic Erasers are your best friend here. Just ask my rodent problem. They witnessed it.
4. Install new appliances. Leave this to the pros if you aren't sure what you are doing. But if you are confident- you can save a good portion if you DIY!
5. Clean out the fridge before you load it up, preferably before you even turn it on since it will be open for awhile.
6. Replace refrigerator and cupboard items. The fridge will take a bit to cool down, so don't rush those items in there right away.