And so it begins

Today is the first day of the rest of our kitchen's life. The real work begins: boxing up everything in anticipation of demolition starting in just two days! The official schedule calls for everything to be done by March 10 (our 10th wedding anniversary!) -- we'll see...

So many questions... what objects do we absolutely need in order to eat every day? How many coffee cups, sippy cups, glasses, cereal bowls, spoons, forks, plates?

I'm determined to keep from using tons of paper plates and eating out all the time. I've been cooking big meals with lots of leftovers that can be frozen and reheated. Will a hot plate, grill and slow-cooker get us through? (The microwave and full-size fridge will stay plugged in in the back room.) I'll need to plan some meals from the slow-cooker and grill cookbooks we have... slow-cooker on rainy days, grill on others...

My current purging strategy: throw out any food that's open if I can't remember when I opened it; take dry goods that aren't opened to the food bank.

Up next: some background on the project, plus BEFORE pics...