New kitchen going in - how to prepare and survive?

[ReductionHob]

Our horrible old kitchen is being ripped out in a few weeks time, a lovely new one going in. Whole job estimated will take 3 weeks. I am so excited at the prospect!

But also am getting stressed about preparing for the work and surviving the process. Any tips?? I mean, obviously we will declutter and remove all food and cookware and all that. But how do people manage those weeks without cooking and washing facilities? Is it just takeaways and the launderette?

Set up in another room; airfryer, microwave, toaster, kettle with tea making stuff, minimum plates bowls and cutlery etc, can be washed up in bathroom or utility, might be worth getting a small countertop fridge or bring fridge in from kitchen to your temp kitchen station.
You have to be able to food prep to some extent. Treat it like camping. It can be done!

Thank you! We’re thinking we’ll set up a mini kitchen in the dining room. Our outgoing fridge is an integrated one, will it still be useable as a temporary fridge when it’s ripped out from the old kitchen?

Decide now on your cooking utensils that you will have available. Plan meals from today and cook only those meals. This gives you time to tweak or ditch complete some recipes. Go into the renovation period with a clear idea about meals, how to store for them, how to prep them, how to cook and how to serve them.

Also plan your prep space and “cupboard” space. All this leaves space in your head knowing that you will be competent at this.

What appliances do you have that you can cook with?
Air fryer, pressure cooker, slow cooker, hot plate, electric frypan, toasted sandwich maker, electric grill, microwave, BBQ? Your fridge will still work as long as its plugged in. Just ask them to leave the door on so you have a handle till the new door is put on.

We renovated a derelict property. Initially living in the house with only 2 plug sockets working, then a static caravan. We had no washing machine for 2yrs but did have a cooker/oven/fridge in the caravan!

I had a single hot plate in the house, but a steamer really helped, because I could stack it all on the one hot plate. You can get double hot plates from argos, asda etc. Steamed fish, potato and other veg all at once. You can buy frozen stir fries which just need heating up- either in an electric fry pan or even the microwave. 1 summer we cooked nearly every meal on the BBQ- using aluminum containers to cook veg in. Set up somewhere to wash cutlery/plates too.

You will be fine for 3 weeks! I had no kitchen for 18 months, with a newborn, which was difficult. Just pack away all non essentials, move everything else to the living room. Make sure you have a microwave and a hot plate and maybe an air fryer.

Oh and if you don’t have a washing machine either do you have neighbours or family/friends that would do a couple of essential loads for you? 3 weeks should be manageable though as you theoretically could go on holiday for 2 weeks and do no washing then.

When we had our kitchen done our microwave also has an integrated oven which was a life saver - meant that we could have jacket potatoes, bake stuff etc.
When my friends have been having their kitchen done we have swapped microwaves so they can do the same.

How big is your freezer? I made several batches of bolognaise sauce and curry, reheated in the microwave and served both with rice cooked in the microwave.

I also did a lot of meals that were protein cooked in the air fryer with bread rolls and salad. Also cooked chicken from the shop.

You can do jacket potatoes in the microwave and top with tuna. Soup warms up nicely.

It’s definitely doable. You just need space to set up and a plan to use mainly your microwave and air fryer. Plan ahead and aim for simple meals.

If you have family who will invite you for a few meals that helps too

If possible I would get a gazebo and set up an outdoor kitchen with bbq and airfryer. Also when we did ours we borrowed some bread trays and put all our stuff outside stacked in trays with bin liners over so we didn't clutter up the rest of the house.

Consider paper plates and slow cooker liners. It really cuts down on the slog.

Plan to shop more often, for less. Get precooked food in- cooked chicken, salad bags, french stick and coleslaw is a favourite fast meal here.
Microwave ready meals.

Reheat prepared one pot meals in the slow cooker.

Plan!

IKEA does a good portable induction hob if you want a hob whilst it is going on. Like @Rituals1 we had no kitchen for 18 months and you just get used to it. You will be fine.

Thank you all! We have a microwave, slow cooker and air fryer. Have an old spare table which we will set up in the living room with all the things on. I love the paper plates idea as I’m keen to minimise washing up in the bathroom sink. Also love the precooked food idea, a slightly cheaper option than takeaway. I don’t think the living room will have space for both the fridge and freezer, will prioritise having a fridge for the all-important milk for tea! Our house is severely lacking in storage so we’re going to end up with all the unused kitchen bits in our bedroom 😭

Our neighbours are lovely but I don’t think I want to impose on them for laundry, best to go to the launderette I think!

Our house was chaos, it was hard.

We also did a takeaway or meal out slightly more than once a week, to break the stressful tedium. But ‘spoons is cheap 🤣

Our kitchen was out of action for nearly 3 weeks last October when it was being renovated. I did all washing up in the garden in a bowl of hot water. We had an airfryer, microwave and a single induction hob in the conservatory. It was actually really easy and I wondered why I needed so much more stuff in the actual kitchen!

I had my old kitchen renovation about 12 years ago with three children and it was winter time. I had a combination microwave. George Forman grill . Electric steamer. Slow cooker toasty maker ,egg cooker and a gas camping oven. I managed I did batch cooking beforehand too. Also had a few takeaways. Kids found it quite novelty.washing I had the dryer in the shed and washing was either mils house launderette and a lovely friends then I dried it all in my own tumble dryer.

Were planning on doing our kitchens in the near future and I’ve seen a few places that hire mobile kitchens that you put on your driveway it’s a fully equipped kitchen washing machine included which would be ideal for us now as no mil for back up washing. But I might just set up in the garage with all the gadgets I have already.

i think it’s pretty much if you didn’t hire the above due to added expenses or space to access such a set up you could look at what electrical cooking appliances you have available and maybe see if any friends could kindly loan you anything. There’s been some fantastic products come on the market in recent years many people buy then get rid of them too so you might find a bargain on Facebook or vinted.

It's a slog. Slow cooker jacket potatoes, curries and soups became a staple. We used our pancake maker as a frying pan for eggs. We microwaved beans for toast. We used paper plates when we could, and set up our old sink/ draining board unit in the garden with a bucket below and used kettle water to wash up (we hadn't long changed the bathroom so I didn't want to ruin the bath or bathroom sink). It wasn't fun but it's survivable!

Pray the house doesn’t get a v and d big while it’s going on! (joking!)

wheb we are going to redo our kitchen I think we will rent an air b and b for a month as I would struggle too much with the chaos

Pack everything away into proper sturdy boxes that you can stack on top of each other, rather than random boxes from Amazon deliveries. It'll save space, stop things getting as dusty - it's the one thing that I regret not having done when we had our kitchen replaced!

I bought a single ring induction hob from ikea. Post kitchen installation it's really useful at Christmas.
I did a batch cook of spagbol for freezer, which I pimped up with tinned beans to make into chilli as well.
I'd try and keep freezer in use even if it's sitting in your hall.

Laundry was more of a problem but did a load in neighbours machine occasionally

When we had our kitchen done we had a microwave and the kettle in the living room and that was it! Our dining room housed the fridge but was otherwise inaccessible due to the new cupboards and appliances being stored there prior to being fitted. We mainly had things like jacket potatoes with different toppings , a few ready meals and just a couple of takeaways. We bought https://amzn.eu/d/bwiWlfPThis set which saved on washing up. The plates were very sturdy and although they wouldn't withstand a wash, they were certainly able to cope with a wipe down with damp cloth so could be used for sandwiches etc and then reused. Our kitchen was done in January, so we did want hot meals, whereas in warmer mony, salads and so on would make it a bit easier as far as meal choices are concerned. The only things we needed to wash up were the mugs from the endless mugs of tea we made our fitter, but carrying a couple of mugs up to the bathroom was definitely easier than struggling with plates etc. and having a lovely new kitchen is definitely worth a few weeks disruption!