Kitchen remodel-need tips on how to function without my kitchen
 

We are planning a kitchen remodel this summer and I am trying to plan how to function while I have no kitchen. It will be completely gutted to the studs, new larger window, foam insulation in 2 outside walls, new floor, cabinets, etc.

Suppose to be short term project, but we all know how that goes...

Anyone gone through this? Did you set up a temporary kitchen somewhere?

We have restaurant gift cards from Christmas, but they won't last a long time.

My husband jokingly said we should rent a camper and park it next to the house...don't think the budget would handle that.

Thanks for any tips,
Deb

use a gas grill and a slow cooker. there are lots of receipe out there.
it can be done and fun. maybe pretend you are camping.

I set up a small kitchen in my garage I had a small cabinet and milk crates as a pantry and the fridge set up in there. We boxed almost everything I kept out the barest of essentials to cook with.

We covered dh work bench with a few layers of heavy duty sticky plastic (the kind you put on carpet and such to keep it clean during Construnction. I bought a George forman grill, a counter top microwave and toaster oven. I also had a crock pot and a charcoal grill. We did dishes in my garage/laundry room sink I worked out of that for 12-14 weeks. We acted like it was an extended camping trip. We ate off paper plates and plastic cutlery. We also ate more fast food and supermarket pre cooked foods than usual it wasn't difficult, but I'm not going to I was really really happy to get my kitchen back and get back to normal.

Since it will be summer, I'd plan on doing a lot of outdoor grilling. You can cook most anything on a grill. Veggies can be done in foil so clean-up isn't a mess. Kabobs make a quick and fun supper. Definitely use a gas one so start-up will be a breeze.

Definitely love the above idea of paper plates, plastic cups, etc.

Grill, microwave, coffee pot, slow cooker and toaster oven. All but the grill will fit on a table somewhere.

some really good ideas here. We put the fridge and microwave in the dining room and used paper goods because cleanup was the hardest part. Simple meals, like soup, salad and sandwiches, pizza etc was the norm for a while. For me the kitchen is the heart and hub of our home, so it was quite an upheaval, but it was well worth it in the end! you could make things ahead and freeze if you have a way to reheat, like microwave and an extra burner on your grill. My best suggestion is to think simple meals, NOT Thanksgiving! lol.

I set up a small kitchen in my laundry room, microwave, slow cooker, toaster, coffeepot ect and I have a sink in there. We put the fridge in the garage.

I've got most of the small appliances mentioned ... have to have DH work on a plan for water

Deb

Also, what I plan to do before I pack up the old kitchen is look at all the "stuff" in the cupboards and decide if it will ever see the new kitchen. I have some things that never see the light of day and may have to go live somewhere else...lol.

Deb