new kitchen installed from next week - survival tips please!

[chelseamorning]

Our new kitchen will be installed from next week (hurrah! ). We're going to put a microwave and a fridge in the dining room and will hopefully have a make-shift sink to use. We're packing away non-essentials to keep the clutter down.

Any tips or suggestions as to how we can survive the 2-3 weeks of chaos?!

move out until its all done

exactly mummylin, decamp..

We survived on heat up meals and washed up in the bath. God it was grim! Sorry Chelsea, good luck. It's all worth it in the end.

we used paper plates for evening meals. Very liberating chucking them in a bin bag after a meal.

will you have a cooker for most of it?

i detest having anything done at home ,even though when its finished i love it.Everytime i vow to keep calm about it, but that only lasts a couple of days !

We got freinds to bring meals or eat at their house for some of the time............

God my house needs so much doing to it that we are going to have to move into a bloody caravan in the garden! I am dreading it SO MUCH.

Anyway, my advice is to eat lots of sandwiches. And go out for lunch a lot.

get a gas BBQ, or we used foreman grill

Camping stove - beg/borrow/freecycle one.

If you have a source of water, plumb the dishwasher (if you have one) into it - it will give you somewhere to store plates as well.

eat lunch in works canteen
eat sarnies at home

Agree re eating sandwiches, eating out for lunch and camping grill or BBQ.
Definitely try to rig up a sink as that will make life much easier.
And why not use paper plates? Its only for a few weeks.

Dominos.

When my cooker blew up, I was so reliant on my George Foreman, electric frying pan (got given on freecycle for the duration), slow cooker and microwave. And the bonus is that by using them you minimise washing up! Hoorah all round!!

Thanks, ladies! Some good ones here.

We'll only have a microwave - and a camping stove if I can keep my 2.9yr old son away from it. Just trying to sort out some logistics now, i.e. how to rig up the washing machine in a temporary place, how much stuff we'll need for day to day, etc.

Nightmare, but I'm going to stay calm and serene for as long as I can. However, I can already feel my jaw aching from all the teeth clenching!

Any more?!

Do think about a George Foreman- with the microawave for potatoes and veg and the George that will grill a chicken breast in 5-7 minutes and create almost no cleaning up, you will still be able to eat healthily and easily.

Also will you have a toaster?- not so healthy but you can cook potato waffles in a toaster for an instant snack for DS

We're veggie, DTG, so doubt if I'd use it much. Can see how useful it would be though.

Oh, yes, forgot we also had a toaster! What would DS do without his beans on toast!

i was just wondering how you actually are surviving ?

i had no kitchen at work for 5 months

before it went i made loads of portions of bolognese / chilli and pasta-ey type sauces.

we had 1 portable hob that plugged into a plug

so we had lots of spag bol!
also did mash on the 1 hob and turned bol int cottage pie sort of.
same with rice for chillie

fresh pasta sauces from waitrose are yummy

and jack pots / beans and cheese with salad are easy with a microwave

1 week will be fine
oh yes and invite your selves round to friends for tea
have a meal out
get fish n chips one night
sorted

Puddings: fresh fruit and yogurt / cream
custard.
BOUGHT cakes

Breakfast:
cereal / toast is easy
lunch: sandwhiches /rolls / pitta for a week!

the op said it will be 2 to 3 weeks .I would be going mad after the first week .sounds like you coped well.

We survived for about 3-4 months with a fridge in the corridor and a microwave in the bedroom. We were having an extension to the kitchen at the same time and were left with 2 bedrooms. It was mad but I didn't mind as was so excited about having a new, larger kitchen. It was well worth the hassle!