Do I need to empty my kitchen cabinets before they get painted?

Yes, you will need to empty your cabinets before the painting process begins, and it is one of the most important prep steps homeowners can handle themselves to keep the project on schedule and reduce costs. Everything inside the cabinets should be removed, including dishes, food, cleaning supplies, and shelf liners. This protects your belongings from dust, paint fumes, and accidental drips. It also gives the painter full access to the cabinet interiors if those are being painted or primed as well. In Metro Vancouver condos and smaller homes where storage space is limited, a good strategy is to pack everything into labelled bins and stack them in another room, a storage locker, or even in a hallway closet temporarily. Most professional cabinet painters will let you know exactly when to have everything cleared out, usually the day before work begins. Some homeowners choose to have only the doors and drawer fronts painted and leave the interior cabinet boxes as-is. In that case, you still need to remove contents from the boxes so the painter can access the face frames and work around the openings without risk of contaminating your belongings. If your cabinets have built-in organizers, lazy Susans, or pull-out shelves, those should be removed as well. The emptying process usually takes a couple of hours for an average kitchen. Plan to have your items packed up at least a day ahead of the painter's start date so no time is wasted on the first morning.

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