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

Get invited out a few nights each week.
I put my kitchen in the dining room when mine was done and washed up in the bathroom sink. That way I had the whole kitchen shut off during the day so the men could work and I could function.
I think central heating was the worst problem as floor boards were up every where even the bedroom. I had to climb over. Carpets etc for a week while they worked. Just glad I have a small cottage.

i had an unused second bathroom. i put a shelf above the sink with angle brackets and put the microwave on a stand nearby. the refrig was in the hallway. the trick to making it work was to wash everything immediately after use.

It really depends on your home and potential options. Also, whether you are cooking for two or more. Consider how you can accumulate most of what you will need in one area ... rather than the frig in the house, cooking in the garage, washing in the laundry. Yes, you might not be able to have it all together, but the closer, the easier it will be for you to make it thru with some sanity!

As already suggested, keep it simple ... don't stress that it's not the perfect kitchen environment and go into it with a good sense of humour! And of course, eating out with friends, family or at restaurants/fast-foods will be in the mix.

When I moved to this home, I was without a stove and oven for 6 weeks due to a minor reno ... crockpot, microwave, tea kettle and Hamilton Beach grill came to the rescue and provided some pretty impressive meals!

I would now start a kitchen-reno cookbook with recipes and ideas that will work. As you make your meals, think about how you would do the same, simplified or if it will be off the menu for the duration.

Glad to see that you are in the real world as to the timing!
As for the excess stuff ... start getting rid of it NOW!!!!!!

When I built my new kitchen in my old home (miss it dearly!!) ... I was lucky, that we moved rooms, so I had a workable kitchen throughout. I did get rid of a lot of excess stuff to the benefit of the thrift stores, food bank and local soup kitchen. Likewise when I moved here ... they were thrilled and certainly helped me with the downsizing.

When we did our addition, the original kitchen/laundry room were ripped off the back of the house. New back half of house from basement to 2nd floor. We move the washer/dryer/sink base cabinet into the LR all in a row. Had top loading washer; then dryer; then sink. Had temp water hook ups all in the same place and had the dryer to use as a counter for dishes/such. Fridge was on the other side of the room. Tall bookcase with TV/food supplies/microwave. Used the microwave, grill on the front porch and electric frying pan. I moved the coffee pot to the upstairs bathroom as there just wasn't enough room for one more electrical thing in the LR at that point and I had water! We lived this way for about 8 months. About the only room in the house that was not touched during that reno was our then bedroom. Eventually had to patch one wall in there but at least it was after the reno was just about complete and we had moved into the new BR.

When we redid our kitchen I used my electric skillet the most, I made alot of 1 skillet meals and found you could cook things like pasta in the microwave.I also used the grill like an oven. I would take aluminum foil and double it , then layer olive oil, veggies and chicken in a pouch shape and seal it, let it cook for 10 minutes on one side then flip to other side.Dinner was done and clean up was minimal. I cooked fish , chicken and thin cut beef all like this.

Make doubles when you are cooking now ... and freeze to reheat in the microwave or oven (if you have the stove reconnected during the upheaval)

Pack away things you will not need ... then have some plastic totes for the things you want to keep at hand. Make sure they are stackable, so it will take less of the space in your temporary workspace.

Also if you have any cast iron skillets, you would be amazed how good breakfast can be. We have charcoal grill. Slow cookers and toaster ovens are great and let Miss Dixie and Mr. Reynolds do most of the work for you. You can cut up veggies while the charcoal is heating up.

Use groupon coupons with gift cards and they will go twice as far.

we ate out

Go out to eat!

We remodeled several years ago and I remember washing dishes in the bathtub! At least it will be summer so lots of cooking outside and microwave what you can. It will be worth it.

Grill, slow cooker, microwave, and toaster oven. You should be good.

Can you explain using groupon coupons? Never heard of them.
Thanks,
Debbie

Done it TWICE! You will survive. Worth the inconvenience!!
sandy

Been there - done that! We moved our daughter into her brother's room - then used her room as our kitchen. But, we were able to leave our gas cook stove in the kitchen and use it. Moved the refrigerator and table and whatever we could, into the bedroom. Only had one bathroom, so had to use the sink in there for dish washing, etc. We did not have any money at all for going out to eat - so we just got by. Then, when we were sure getting tired of all of this inconvenience, our carpenter had a heart attack and quit. We had a horrible time getting another carpenter to come in and take up where the first one left off. It was months and months before we had a kitchen again.

Can you say electric skillets crockpots and most of all TAKE OUT MENUS!!LOL.The first year my husband and I lived together we set up in the basement with the electric skipper. We finished one week shy of one year in the making cause we did it ourselves.Good luck.

It's not fun going through the experience, but once its done its worth it. I took way longer than expected and no water, gas or electric in the kitchen. That also meant no dishwasher. Coffee center was set up in our livingroom as well as them moving the appliances in the livingroom. Dust...cover the furniture. Paper plates, plastic forks, spoons, lots of cereal for dinner...hamburgers. Takeouts. People in and out of the house all day long...Good luck, you will love the outcome.

It was a cold Iowa winter when we remodeled our kitchen so i cooked with an old fashion electric skillet, a slow cooker and a microwave. I bought 2 tubbies to wash dishes in because I refused to use the bath tub. We used lots of paper plates. We were torn up for about 4 months but we managed. One pizza place in town delivers so we had a lot of chicken and pizza from them. The drivers would pop in the door while we paid them and say something like, "Gee, you didn't have that done the last time." or "That really looks nice! What are you doing here?" That's when we knew we had ordered out a lot. ;) It was a long process because we did most of the work ourselves but we sure love the results. It will be worht all the trouble when you are done.

We gutted our kitchen in '08 and the whole house was unsettled. We also redid the dining room- basically lived in the bedroom. There was stuff in the living room from the dining room and the basement family room had stuff from the utility room which is under the kitchen. We had to do a downdraft vent for the cooktop that was vented through the utlity room. We set up the kurig, microwave and storage tubs with paper dishes, plastic silverware and the cat dishes and food. Our fridge was moved to the dining room, so sometimes during the day it was not accesable (sp?). So there were times that we had to go out the front door, through the garage to the other fridge to get something to eat. We ate out some, ate lots of cereal and sandwiches and microwave dinners. It was only for about 5 weeks. I was really sick of those MW dinners! LOL definitely worth it though- my old kitchen was horrible and the new one is amazing!

We remodeled our kitchen a while back and did all the work ourselves (after work and on weekends). It took close to 3 months and by the end of that time I was REALLY tired of sandwiches. lol No, we did not set up a temporary kitchen and going out took too much time from doing the work. We did keep the fridge in the dining room. I can recommend BBQ, crock-pot, microwave, and sandwiches.

30 some years ago we remodeled our kitchen in a 1913 house. We had to do dishes in the laundry sink in the basement directly under the 'project' - dust would settle on the dishes dirty or clean... The refrigerator was in the dining room which was up stairs and round about through the living room. We had the door to the kitchen from the dining room sealed off in plastic to keep the mess down - had to go outside and around the house to go anywhere. We had to leave the stove in the kitchen - covered it up and uncovered as needed on occasion. We ate in the basement near the sink. Used a crock pot and microwave. My DD crawled in the new cabinets to hide. We used used cabinets and I found ceramic tile for 10 cents a foot - cost was very minimal to redo that kitchen. Gold stove and fridge! LOL Some day you will look back and smile.

My next door neighbor just finished having her kitchen redone - She put everything in the laundry area in the basement. She also bought a small refrigerator to take the place of the large one that was being replaced. She used her microwave, her little cooking oven, did the dishes in the stationery tub, had a table down there to put stuff on and it worked out quite well. She is all situated with brand new oak floor, gorgeous stove, antique sink and new cupboards for the sink, kept the old cupboards but had them redone. Beautiful now. And she kept up with everything as far as shopping, cooking, eating, and cleaning. Good luck to you. I, too, would love a new oak kitchen floor. But, I'll never see it. Edie

I have been without my kitchen for 15 months---due to damage from Sandy. Long story but, repair process is slow. When all my cabinets had to be removed, I set up folding tables I bought from Costco as my counter tops to I had work space and a place for a coffee maker and toaster and that is in my den. Underneath the tables are containers with cleaning products and small applicances like my mixer, waffle iron etc. I bought clear plastic containers--maybe 18 inches square with tops and about 3 inches high from AC Moore to put my silverware in and utensils--so I can see what is inside and they stack. Paper plates, plastic cups are a must to reduce dishes that need to be washed. I almost doubled my use of paper towels--I wipe out pots/pans with any greasy stuff or tomato sauces that might stain so I don't send that down, until recently, the bathroom sink or now the utility sink my husband set up that I am using to wash dishes. I use Al+ to line all baking pans for easier clean up. I bought a crock pot--great in the winter for soups, chili etc. I bought a table top toaster oven. I put my fridge in my den. I bought inexpensive shelving units from Home Depot and set up my pantry in the dining room so I can find things and have place to store things while the repairs are underway. Any thing I don't regularly use I packed in clear containers and they are either in the garage or on the covered back porch. I packed everything I don't use regularly...good dishes, summer stuff etc.. Now....with all that said, I made some mistakes. Because this has taken so long, I can't find my knife sharper, my rolling pins, my pastry cloths so try to think of what you might need based on holidays coming up because I had to rebuy those things just before Thanksgiving. You will be surprised how this "camping" will help your kids (if you have them) appreciate their house when it is put back together. I was without my washer and dryer for 4 months and after making them come with me to the laundromat when I had to go, they now help with laundry at home with no fuss. No complaints about helping with dishes either.

Electric Fry pan works good too... I even used an electric fondue pot to cook with (I was Single then) before my stove was delivered ( couple weeks) but since you will be outside- use the grill, my aunt used to make cassaroles in metal pans on her gas grill and didn't have any problems.. Fast food is ok but very Salty...

Hi Frb just went thru this last summer, used electric skillet, crock pot, outside grill and ate out a lot. If you have a laundry sink wash the dishes in that, wash all of them then rinse them then dry. It was a long time without my kitchen. We also ate a lot of cold food..

Mighty and Tartan did a good job of telling my tale. The only other cooking item that was indispensable was one of those countertop ovens.

If it gets too much, remember why you are remodeling the kitchen and envision how wonderful it is going to be - made for you. All those years later and I like walking into it in the morning.

Best wishes,

Pat

We moved the fridge into the living room. Used the grill, electric skillet and crock pot a lot. They left us a working sink until they just HAD to unhook it, but it wasn't out of commission very long. We did eat out more than normal, but not excessively as I recall.

Make ahead breakfast sandwiches are good for more than just breakfast. :D
http://www.theyummylife.com/Egg_McMuffin

grill, crockpot, 2 or 3 burner free standing camp stove, electric skillet , set up under a pop up or covered patio. Set up tables in a U shape, haveing one table for washing dishes, one for prep, one for cooking. Beware of using a plastic table for your electric and gas cookers, it may melt. Keep the fridge and freezer in the garage or on covered patio though, to protect from rain. The biggest thing is to be organized and the whole ordeal can be a piece of cake and even a little fun.

You might find a bread maker machine handy, too.