Those who have had kitchens fitted.. Tips

[BluntlySpoken]

Our landlord is having a new kitchen fitted here.
So excited as it's much needed.

He's wanting us to go and help choose one too next week.

It's the whole shebang, from floor joists to re plastering walls and ceiling. Wall tiles and floor tiles.

It's approx 5 weeks. As 4 weeks for delivery.. In that time the workmen will be doing the prep and everything. Then should be ready for the delivery.

Washing can be done at parent house who thankfully lives 2 min walk.

But what to do about cooking.

Well only have use of a microwave.

I have no where to put anything other than that and fridge freezer

There's me and dh
Teen
3yr old
1 year old.. With allergies and very very very fussy
And Dsd at weekends weekends

I could batch cook a few bits to microwave but there's only so much of that sort of stuff we can eat

Our kids prefer like roasts. Bangers mash and veg. Wellington etc.

My anxiety is through the roof at the mo trying to think of the logistics.. As well as being excited about the outcome.

We bought a small counter top electric oven and single hot plate for our renovations saved me a lot of hassle but our works took 5 months so there was more of a cost benefit. These are the ones I got and have kept. I guess you could try and flog on ebay after?

2058 Toast Oven with... [[https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KASKYX0?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share&tag=mumsnetforu03-21 Oven]]

Everyday Induction Hob [[https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00ER445UQ?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share&tag=mumsnetforu03-21 hob]]

Links didn’t really work but hope you can follow them still?

Tefal Everyday Induction Hob

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00ER445UQ?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Oven

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KASKYX0?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

My stepson gutted his house recently and we lent him a couple of garden trestle picnic tables and a plug in induction hob., He had a microwave too and a BBQ and slow cooker, so with those he was ok for a few weeks.

Can you pick up a cheap slow cooker? Handy for chucking everything in, I often do a roast chicken in mine.

We have slow cooker can use that.

Space in the lounge to put it all will be very very limited. Ie 1 tiny unit. There's no other space. That's with already moving bits about.
The kitchen will be an empty shell so to speak for weeks. Not even a worktop as the joists have to be re done the entire floor has to be lifted as they go lengthways.

Fingers crossed its bbq weather haha.

I'll do joints of meat etc in slow cooker. Just thinking of how to cook the veg etc.. Steam bags maybe
And micro mash which I don't think they would eat

My brain is in over drive thinking of how I can imagine the new one. To thinking about the upheaval.

I did loads of batch cooking and froze it all in the weeks before ..... made lots of individual portions of chilli, spag bol, veggie pasta sauces etc so that we just had to cook rice or pasta most evenings. We managed with the kettle, toaster and microwave along with an old camping stove.

It was quite good fun apart from the washing up!

I joked to dh well use paper plates and cups haha.

I don't even have anywhere for a 2 burner stove.

Was widnering if the fresh pasta u can buy woulf heat up using kettle water?

DH said well get micro meals but they're not great but wouldn't hurt occasionally.

It's the 1yr old with allergies that's the hardest.

Are you getting some sort of rent reduction for all this time you won't have access to a kitchen?

Get a halogen oven op... Game changer! We used one when having our kitchen done, and it's amazing. Cooks soooo quickly, and you can do anything in it... literally. We picked ours up for £20 in Aldi, so it isn't particularly fancy, but it's great.

No And I wouldn't expect a reduction in fairness. He's a great landlord. It's already slightly under the rates for the area.
The kitchen as much as it's needed. It's a functional kitchen that's just a bit old. It would prob have a few years left in it. But when he said abiu the floor needing doing he offered a new kitchen and the design is much more practical and more space.
I mean not many ll would let you choose the kitchen yourself. He's let us do as we please with the house too in terms of decor if we wished to.
I'd never ask for reduction because this in the long term benefits our family.
It's a few weeks inconvenience and I'm happy with that.

I'll look at halogen oven

Think about washing up too. We knocked a wall out and removed our kitchen two weeks before lockdown 1. That was fun!

Yes we know we need to wash up in the bath. We'll have no sink for 4 weeks.

4 weeks seems quite long- mine took just under 2. TBH I couldn’t cope and went back to my parents’ for the fortnight. Would that be an option?

Mine only took ten days so was easier to manage, I cooked on a camping stove and washed up in the shower. I also went on holiday for some it, was lovely coming back to an almost completed kitchen.

When we replaced the back extension (containing kitchen and bathroom) , the builders bought an offcut of worktop and a sink unit and plumbed in a cold water supply for the sink and washing machine for us in what had been the dining room (it ended up being there for 7 months). We managed pretty well with a mini oven and microwave, though it would have been good to have had a single induction hob. We boiled pasta and spuds in a bowl of hot water in the microwave.

Good luck OP. At least you won't be in such a lockdown from next week.

We had a kitchen done, took about 4 weeks. However, once the floor had been sorted out in the 1st week we created a pop-up kitchen which we would setup each night once the workmen had gone. We had a folding table for prep and to hold a microwave/oven & camping gas two ring burner.
We kept all the usual stuff in plastic boxes on wheels, but could be stacked on each other in the sitting room. Each one was dedicated to a different set of contents, e.g. cutlery & crockery in 1, tinned food and basics in another (flour, pasta etc), 1 smaller box held things like kitchen knifes, spatulas, scissors, cooking stuff out of toddler's reach. We stacked the fridge and freezer in our room, a bit of a faff, but you soon learned to plan ahead before a trip upstairs. Washing up was done in the bath - not as hard as it sounds and stuff could be left to drain once rinsed with the shower. Kids used to love playing 'washing up' at their nightly bath (two boys) .

A V kind neighbour gave us free range of her kitchen once a week so either one of us would saturday afternoon batch cooking for the week ahead, so really only need to do veg prep.We all had packed meals made the night before to be eaten at work or at home, kids enjoyed having 'picnics' in different rooms - they were 2 & 4.

Forgot to add we had an extension lead with 4 sockets one for a lamp (no lights/electric in the kitchen). Paid extra for one with a circuit breaker to prevent overloads.

We had our kitchen replaced Sept 2020.

We had combi microwave/oven/grill, toaster, kettle, hob from IKEA, omelette maker from Aldi. And a large vacuum flask from IKEA so we didn’t need to keep filling the kettle.

I batch cooked and froze as much as I could so I could just reheat in the microwave.

Instant pkt couscous with omelette and salad
Frozen jackets with beans
Pie and veg
Burger in a bun with salad

It was stupid things like draining food which had been cooked in water ie spaghetti which was a pain. I used a couple of buckets - one for dirty water and one for dirty plates etc. made it easier to carry with a handle.

We also used wet wipes, and if the weather was nice we took the hob outside and cooked there. Fortunately we have an outdoor socket and tap which were incredibly useful.

Ds2 and I had to remove all the units and plaster ourselves before the electrician etc came in. It was knackering, but so worth it. But the dust. If I was in your position I think I’d seal off the kitchen door with thick plastic and tape on the doorframe to stop the dust etc travelling through the house.

Fingers crossed that the weather is nice while it’s happening as this makes it so much easier