Tips for coping with new kitchen being installed with a baby and pre-schooler

[Acornacorn]

Help! Kitchen and utility room are being ripped out on Monday. Please share your tips for keeping us all sane and fed!
Has anyone used those door dust covers to keep the dust contained from spreading to the rest of the house?
I’m planning to set up a microwave and fridge elsewhere in the house, and whilst DH and I can always live on takeaway and ready meals, what can I feed my just turned 3yo other than sandwiches??

We got a cheap electric oven/hob for £30 - paid for itself many times over! Our builders always left our washing machine plumbed in. Paper plates and cutlery.

Dust will happen. I used to clean every couple of days, and the builders were great at cleaning up too.

We had our whole roof off and all the doors and windows replaced when my son was a newborn. I couldn't get away from it but set up little 'nests' here and there as the workmen moved around the house. I would set up a little kitchen area ( couple of party tables, microwave, kettle, plug-in portable induction hob, slow cooker etc) well away from the kitchen, seal up the doors to keep dust out and pretend the kitchen doesn't exist! But with tiny ones obviously a set up like that would only work with an area you could use with baby gates.

How long is it going on for? I have a little one and we’ll probably do a short term let somewhere nearby while the work goes on. But we’ll be refitting / recarpeting everything after the works have finished

I’m gonna be without a kitchen for & weeks from Tuesday onwards. One of those air dryers apparently cooks chicken dippers in five minutes,and I’ll microwave mash and veg.it’ll be grand!

Get a slow cooker! You can cook a big range of meals and leave it on while you’re out of the house escaping the mess. That way you can come back to dinner ready and no faffing about when everyone is tired and cranky. We’ve done two long stretches without a kitchen and it was a lifesaver.

I'm on the third week of no kitchen.
Whole house is just filthy to be honest. We're due to be finished Monday/Tuesday.
I had my washing machine installed into a little outbuilding this week but took essentials to my mums for the first two weeks.
It's been stressful. This week I cried a lot- I am 28 weeks pregnant which probably hasn't helped. I'm not usually an emotional person.
I have 2 DS at home too and we've all ate a mixture of eating out / micro meals / takeaways.
I physically feel groggy from eating rubbish and can't wait to cook healthy and eat well again.
Dishes are been being done in the bath.
I kept all my slow cooker etc out with all good intentions and turned one of our living rooms into a makeshift kitchen but the dust has just been everywhere and but we did have a big job rewiring and tiling etc
It's been harder than I thought tbh. I could have probably personally managed loads better but I gave up positivity... I think if you stay positive and plan better than I did and definitely use tarpaulin sheeting to seal off your own areas I regret not doing this !!!
It has gone quick though!
Although I have a loft conversion starting Monday. And bathroom at the end of the month 😞 roll on mid November.
Good luck.