I told a friend in the US that we’re about to start renovating our kitchen, and she said, ” You’re always redoing kitchens. Maybe next time you move, buy a place with a renovated kitchen!”

We did our first DIY kitchen renovation thirteen years ago; the last three took place in the last six years. And here I go again.

So why not buy a house with a renovated kitchen? Very simply, because I’m able to buy more home for my money by being willing to do my own upgrades.

For my past kitchens, I’ve purchased used kitchens and then customized them to my space. It requires being able to visualize and think out of the box, and I’m good at that.

This kitchen has been a lot more challenging to plan than any of the others. The way space is allotted here is unusual, and I’ve spent ages thinking and rethinking and rethinking again. Now that I’ve bought the kitchen (yep, used once again!!) and the various cabinets are sitting in front of me (the configuration is different than the detailed measurements I was given and had planned for already), I’m reworking out the details yet again!

The old kitchen was pulled out two days ago, and it was nice to to get it out. It was only seven years old but looked really dilapidated, and when we took it out, some of it was moldy and rotted.

I had originally planned to replace the kitchen before moving in, but when we suddenly moved a few months early, that plan changed. It ended up much better that I lived in this space for a while because it completely changed my idea of how to renovate.

It’s never fun taking out a kitchen because nothing is where it belongs and instead it’s piled up all over, and it makes it hard to prepare meals. But we’ve got a better workable temporary setup than ever before – we put a piece of granite from the used kitchen that I bought on top of the cabinets that will be the island, and that gives us a workspace.

The sink we’re using is in the bathroom, and here’s my workaround – I’ve placed a dish drainer set into the laundry hamper, so that I can stand at the sink and put the dishes in the drainer without having to bend down to the floor. Simple but it works and it makes me happy to find a way to make the renovation process less stressful!

So much easier than how I washed dishes last time we did the kitchen, sitting on the edge of the bathtub/ on my knees leaning over the tub.

If you’re wondering about specifics of putting in a kitchen like this, feel free to ask! Someone on a FB group for those doing building projects/renovations in Israel asked about putting in a used kitchen a couple of years ago, and out of thousands of members, I was the only one to respond. This is my fourth kitchen here in Israel and I have a good sense of what’s involved in terms of cost and getting outside help.

My daughter, her husband and our granddaughter will be coming to visit for a week, arriving Thursday night. (And next week another of our couples, is arriving for an extended visit and the week after the third family arrives!:)) I’m very much hoping to have the countertops and sinks put in by Friday – it would be so nice to go into Shabbos with a new kitchen!

Avivah