The Renovation Kitchen II: Packing

This post will likely become the most edited of my posts, because I'll be discovering as I go what I need and what I don't. However, I'm starting with the stuff that I know I won't need, and whittling my kitchen down from there. (I already had a moment of regret for packing up all the seldom-used tea. Thankfully, it was quickly resolved when I found my decaf coffee. )

For packing pre-renovation, I'm taking the hard-line approach of de-clutterers: if you haven't used it in the past 6 months, pack it (they say chuck it, but we're not going that far).

The first thing to go: special-occasion ware. Anything you save for special food events, like china, punch bowls and their special little mugs, fancy serving dishes, etc. Because you are definitely not hosting Thanksgiving/Christmas/Birthdays when your house is undergoing construction.

I was told we'd be starting the renovation at the end of the month, so I started packing early: first, I gathered up everything that I only use occasionally--things I knew I wouldn't be using for the rest of the month, and could easily survive without for several months. This included:

• Special occasion serve ware, including pottery, china, special flatware, bar glasses, and all dishes used only once or twice a year. Include platters, cake plates, grandma's dishes, etc.
• Casserole dishes. You're not going be making any casseroles, of that I'm pretty sure, You'll have no oven.
• Extra cups and mugs. We've got a self-replicating cupboard of cups and mugs, but only use a few. I've packed the rest.
• Pie plates. We love pie. So much pie. But the plates gotta go bye-bye for a little while. We'll miss you, pie plates!
• Baking tools. Cake pans, tart tins, ramekins, icing bags, tips, knives, cookie cutters, pastry cutters, etc. The cake pans were especially difficult for me to put away--we've got birthdays coming up and if you know me, you know the crazy cakes I like to bake for my kids. But I had to suck it up. I won't have an oven, and won't be able to do any baking. It's gotta go.

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• Novelty items like egg and candy molds. Admittedly, I am leaving the Halloween molds out. Because Halloween. 
• All of the useful but infrequent tools: extra wooden spoons, meat mallet, veggie cleaver, candy thermometer, special fryer spoon, etc.
• That drawer-ful of tea. (Am I the only one who has one of those?)
• All the spices except salt, pepper, and that one spice you use on everything. 
• Small appliances like the deep-fryer, kitchenaid, and cuisinart.

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• Any pans that you hardly ever use or would like to keep nice. The wok, waffle-maker, and roasting pan. The pressure cooker, canner, and canning jars.
• Extra tupperware and storage containers. Pare it all down to what you'd actually use in a given week.
• Extra dish towels: if you're like me, you've got a large drawer stuffed with dish towels, aprons, and pot holders. You aren't going to have space for them all. Plus, as an added bonus, they are perfect for wrapping breakables. Keep five or six for you to use, and use the rest to pack with.
• If you are doing a large renovation that'll destroy your kitchen and dining room, you may as well just pack up any table cloths and placemats. Keep one set out, two at the most. Use the rest to pack any breakables.
• Seldom-used cookbooks. You can keep one, and it has to be the one you use almost every day. Okay maybe two, if it includes this one. Kiss the rest farewell, and tell them you cannot wait until your reunion.

When you get closer to the point that you're going to lose the stove, dishwasher, and cupboards, you'll pack up all of your daily dishes, too.

Still a way to go but looking emptier!
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Next, we'll come up with a preliminary list of what you're going to keep, and where you're going to keep it. In the meantime, get yourself to your favorite store first thing in the morning (when they have boxes available), stock up, and start packing!

What would be the first thing you pack for your renovation? Post a comment below!