Dealing without a kitchen for 10 days, how?!

[GhostOfABanana]

In summer were having a refurb. Estimated 10 days but Google reviews for the company suggest it may take much longer (awful reviews!)

How will I cope without a kitchen for 10 days 😭

I did 8 weeks (don't ask) with a slow cooker znd a microwave. Was fine. I set up a sort of camping kitchen.

I have an air fryer, so that should help.

8 weeks though?! Nightmare

Will you have a freezer? Mine managed to stay plugged in during refurb just moving it about so I batch cooked a load of stuff.

my parents loaned me a mini baby belling oven with 2 rings - we managed fine on that with microwave / slow cooker. Mine was 3 weeks but wasnt without cooker that long as it was connected and ready to use before rest of kitchen was finished - I had no woeks
topa so balanced board on cupboards. Luckily I have downstairs bathroom so easy to wash up in bath - I just kept a minimal set of 1 set of plates and cutlery each. And a couple of saucepans. Everything else got packed away. For me washing clothes was the big one - luckily it was half term one week so split between uniform and not a clothes. I had to do a launderette run.

We set up a temporary kitchen in our lounge on the dining table. It had a microwave, kettle toaster and air fryer. It worked well for us. We also had a lot of take aways. That bit sounded fun but we were so fed up with take aways after the 3 weeks we didn't have one for months afterwards.

The washing up was a pain in the bath! Really hurt my back, but we got through it and really worth it for a lovely new kitchen.

Can you put your fridge or freezer, toaster and microwave into another room?

Ready meals (or homemade stuff you’ve frozen) Jackets potatoes; soups and stews; salads; tapas/snacky bits; eggs on toast.

Can you freeze a couple of decent meals like a curry and a chilli the week before so all you’ve got to do is heat them? Serve with something prebought like naan or wraps.

Paper plates!

I have a massive American fridge freezer so can't move that. But can definitely set up a little toaster, kettle, microwave area in living room. That's a great idea.

Also the paper plates is brilliant too.

Slow cooker and microwave.
Hot dogs in buns.
Chilli and microwave rice.
Baked potatoes cooked in slow cooker and beans/Tuna and salad.
Chicken chizro in tomato sauce with cous cous
picnic tea
roast chicken, fresh bakery bread and salad

We also had a mini baby bel oven. Amazing what you can do with two hob rings. Set up a makeshift kitchen with microwave, washing up bowl etc. We had far less takeaways than I anticipated.

I’m currently without a kitchen- 4 weeks down and another 3 to go. Our American fridge/ freezer is still plugged in. We’ve got an electric portable two ring hob, ninja, microwave, toaster and kettle on the dining table, and bulk buy bottled water for cooking/ washing up/ drinking. Really not that bad. 10 days would be a lot easier but we’ve got used to this very quickly and aren’t bothered at all.

We did 5 months!

Set up a microwave, air fryer and instant pot (you might not need all of these for 2 weeks.

Air fryer:

falafel and halloumi which you can have in wraps or on a salad

Quiche/pizza

Instant pot or slow cooker is great for a batch of soup or you can do pasta in it too

And - stating the obvious - bit of takeaway

Yeah 4.5 months here also.
10 days seems very conservative unless you have a full team working 24:7. If you need things like electrics moved, floor revel , plastering, tiling, painting, remember you will need time in between for things to dry.

Fridge moved and plugged in elsewhere. The American fridge can be moved, how do you think it got there. IKEA do a plug in single induction hob, safe to use on a table. Microwave. Bathroom sink. George Forman type grill.

We pre made lots and froze for easy microwave or re heat on the induction hob. But we have no takeaways here and little pre made food in supermarket

Do you have a bbq? You can make a surprisingly variety of meals with a bbq

I did a month. I made a mini kitchen in the lounge with kettle/microwave/toaster and fridge. It wasn’t super fun but it was doable

Another vote for using the BBQ!

I've just looked at the letter and can't even see where I got 10 days from. It's probably going to be longer. I really don't know why I had that in my head?! 😂

second a single hob portable induction hob. Ours came from ikea too.

Marks and Spencer’s! You can get some fairly healthy food from there - ready packaged salads etc and meals you can microwave (including veg - the micro veg is brilliant) And yes, it will absolutely take longer than 10 days!!!

Is it literally like for like kitchen replacement or change layout and new flooring, other work?

How many people do you usually cook for?

You can see various temporary kitchen ideas online, but basically you need somewhere to add any cooking things, safely ie sideboard, and somewhere to prep meal ie table. Plus somewhere to store food.

It's a kitchen replacement, housing association.

Nothing changing or moving. No electricals.

Just like for like kitchen.

The good thing is that your work is being done in the summer, so a gas bbq may be a good option!

New flooring yes but it's just that thick hospital type lino stuff they put down.

I bought 2 portable induction hobs and sold them on after.

Prepare yourself for the dust.

I remember it from last time. I'm really not looking forward to it at all :(