You really need to get it down to the slab. There is a tool...I think it's called "The Black Widow," that fits into a Sawzall (reciprocating saw) that looks a bit like a 4" or 6" chisel. Used properly, it really helps to dig up the old vinyl. If you get it down to the cardboard-like material, sponge on a lot of hot water to loosen it. It should scrape up pretty easily after that.

Okay. Update on removing countertop(s). We took the first (of 2) countertops off. Abbisgram, you were correct, and there were only a few screws attaching the top. All came out easily except one which was impossible to get to without disassembling the whole cabinet, so we got out the sawzall and took care of that one. Decided for several reasons not to special order countertops. We bought a sheet of 3/4" plywood (4x8), had it cut in half lengthwise, and that will do all the new countertops. Got the first one on and will need to put the tiles and edging on. Regarding the comment from the guy at Lowes: He was correct in the sense that the cabinet was very flimsy; however, it didn't 'fall apart'. The front (where the doors are attached) is pretty standard, however the sides of the cabinet are 1/8" (at most) luan, and there is no back piece at all, just a 1x2 strip fastened to the bottom of the (old) countertop, then screwed to the wall. Thankfully, the shelf inside the cabinet seemed to help keep it all together til we got the new top on it. Once the new plywood was on though, it is as sturdy as it was before ... lol. Not sure if I mentioned that this is not our full-time home, it's a mobile home that we purchased in a resort town, so we are not there to work on it every day. Hoping to go back next week and remove/replace the 2nd countertop, then cover them. Bottom line is that it wasn't nearly as scary as the Lowe's guy made it sound. And thanks, abbisgram, for the encouragement. :) As a side note, the finished countertops will end up costing under $100 for approx. 13-14 feet of countertops. I'm not the best at taking pictures, but will try to post some when we finish. This post was edited by danandcarol on Sat, Sep 27, 14 at 22:44

How much longer are you planning on staying in the house? Pics and a floorplan would help people give you some ideas.

I would be wary of the vinyl planks as they can be slick, especially when wet. Scatter rugs on vinyl are exactly that...scattered around, slid somewhere you don't need them. We recently did a living room and hall with the vinyl flooring from Home Depot and the flooring is surprisingly slick, noticeably more than the oak floors in the dining room or the sheet vinyl in the kitchen. I normally wear soft soled shoes but had on a pair of boots with a harder sole and nearly fell on my rear just running into the room to grab something. I have solid rubber floor tile and also cork tile in my basement and I would pick either of them over vinyl for a kitchen. I do like the vinyl and will use it again just not in a kitchen.