I'm in the same boat that you are, mine is being torn out Monday.

I've set up a microwave, toaster oven and a Foreman grill over on my wet bar and of course I am keeping my refrigerator as well.

I've also bought a lot of paper plates, bowls and cups to use over the next few weeks since the small 12"x12" sink in my bar isn't really big enough for washing dishes in.

Welcome to the Forum & the fun world of kitchen remodeling!

A temporary kitchen...very necessary! In addition to what you've listed, I suggest wine, at least one hot plate, access to water on the same floor, wine, two dishpans for carrying dishes back & forth from the bathroom, crock pot or slow cooker, wine, lots of paper plates/plastic or paper cups/plastic utensils, wine, outdoor grill if you live where it's warm enough to grill outside this time of year, coffee maker (if you drink coffee), and, of course, wine.

Have you caught the pattern? ;-)

Wine is a great relaxer and after a tense day of remodel/work and spending the evening w/o a kitchen, you need something to help you relax & unwind. No we're not alcoholics here, but a nice glass of wine is (1) good for the heart and (2) good for the stress!

If not wine, then something else that helps you de-stress, you will most likely need it!

BTW...will you be keeping your range or cooktop or has your new one been delivered? Some here have had an electrician run a line or temporarily re-route the existing line to allow them to hook up their range elsewhere for the duration of the remodel. It's something to think about!

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Survive a Kitchen Remodel - The Temporary Kitchen

Yes - it was me! My electrician put a plug on my old wall oven, so that I could run it off the 220v line for the dryer. It was incredibly helpful.

A $12 electric burner from the hardware store was really useful too. Rice cooker functions very well as a crockpot, or an 'electric saucepan' - I cooked pasta in mine quite successfully.

Thank you for the wonderful advice and the link. Our range is and will be gas, so I don't think I can do anything temporarily. But a cheap burner would work. Great idea.

I don't cook much to start with, so I did fine with fridge, microwave, toaster and coffee maker. I also filled my freezer full of cooked food that works cold/in salads, like chicken breasts, beforehand.

I bought an Oster square electric skillet with lid to supplement the microwave & electric steamer. It works great - very versatile & heats up very quickly. We need a thread on temp kitchen easy meal ideas if there isn't one already.

Gas in the car - go eat out... much easier - we stuck to sandwiches a lot.

Food is trickier if you are responsible for a family. It is just me, so I went with lots of main dish salads and frozen entrees.Also the cans of soup that can be a meal (Chunky, Progresso); I just microwaved in a big mug that fit the whole can. All of these keep you to one dish to wash -- or throw out. And, of course, Chinese take out.

if you don't already have them, patience and a sense of humor would be good.

We are in the midst of temporary kitchen as well. The above posts pretty much cover it. I'll add what to shop for food wise if you can't make a bunch of stuff in advance.

Sams/Costco a must for paper plates, cups, napkins, paper cups, also for large frozen meals you can microwave, such as pastas. Get a big package of paper towels because you will need to wipe all food off dishes/pots before you wash them in the bathroom ( or any sink w/o a disposal).

We lost our water filter, so we needed to by purifed water to drink and for making coffee.

I kept out two real coffee cups, and even though I have to wash them it feels a bit more civilized to start the day with a real cup.

I would hit Trader Joes regularly for better/different/healthier ready to eat and microwave fare. They have more international type stuff (asian, indian, etc.) which helps because microwavable food gets old real quick. They also have some great soups in cardboard containers that are healthy and not so salty. And don't forget the wine!

Steam in the bag veggis are a must.

In addition to the microwave, toaster oven, crock pot (get some of the liners for easy clean up), and electric skillet, I bought a two burner cooktop at Walmart for $30. We haven't even used it.

Finally, I did keep out an array of implements/gadgets and we have used them all: wooden spoon, plastic spoons (regular and slotted), Knives, pizza cutter, can opener, corkscrew - actually quite a bit of stuff. I set up a drawer with divders/boxes for all of that stuff.

Remember, it's temporary!

I have a small constructive criticism - Buehl totally underestimated the amount of wine (or equivalent liquor) to keep the needed sense of humor:)

Lots of disposable products, reheatable pre cooked meals, and look online for microwave recipes. I never thought it possible, nor did I think I would stoop to, cooking hamburgers or pasta in the microwave, but it can be done.

I used my waffle iron almost every weekend. Don't forget other electric appliances you use regularly.

{{!gwi}}

What excellent ideas. I appreciate all the feedback and will remember to keep the corkscrew unpacked! As my second-grader would say, "You guys ROCK!"

If this was Family Feud I guess we know what the #1 answer would be: Alcohol.

But seriously, you'll want lots of alcohol. And a large, handled serving tray, I found that helpful to move stuff around to places you'd never associate with food like the bathtub or a utility sink. And lots of paper/plastic products- plates, cups, utensils- to minimize the stuff that has to be moved to the bathtub, making room for more bottles of, well, alcohol... *hic*

Outdoor grill, of course.

Oddly enough, some shapes of pasta microwave better than others. I forgot which though.

Nice pic, pharaoh.

My must have that I forgot during my remodel: Shot glasses. I remember needing tequila on more than one occasion. I had to use a slimfast scoop (more lady like than drinking out of the bottle.)

WE blew circuit breakers many times, but we used the micro, and electric skillet and toaster in the family room. We had a fridge in the laundry room. I really needed to use real mugs and silver, although we used lots of disposables for plates, salads,beverages, etc. I either washed dishes in the bathtub (oh, my achin' back) or I carried the dishes down the basement and washed them in laundry tubs. Not nice either way. So glad it's over. We started April '08 and finished August '08. Way TOO long for what we had done.

My Cuisinart electric skillet with a glass lid was invaluable!I became very skilled at one-dish slops!!

I in the midst of this mess. Cabinets are removed. Next is ripping out the paneling and the floor. I have closets with dishes, pots and appliances. The stove is in the laundry room. The fridge and dishwasher are still in the kitchen.
I am washing dishes in the bathroom. I would never resort to disposables, WINE, microwaveable meals or Chinese take out.

One other thing I would add is that I've been using my single burner butane gas cooktop almost everyday. I got mine at the local Asian market, but have seen them in drug stores too (of course I live in hurricane country where it's nearly considered a staple in a hurricane kit). Actually, that's a good way to think about dealing w/remodel- prepare like you would for a natural disaster- go to FEMA & Red Cross websites. Good luck

P.S- I wish my second grader would mention that I rock when I make him scrambled eggs, toast, & fruit every morning with no kitchen. :-)

A good piece of advice I received here was to keep all the utensils, plates, pots and pans that you'll be using in a covered container. There is constant dust in every room!!

Here are some useful threads, including one with a recipe for making pasta in a MW:

Wish you had not packed away

Tips for living without a sink for a week?

What/how do you eat when you have no kitchen? [contains directions for making pasta in a MW from Pbrisjar]

From Pbrisjar:

1. Take a large microwave-safe lidded dish and put in some water (maybe about 1/3-less than 1/2 full) and salt and / or spices if you want.

2. Place in microwave and cook until hot (about 5 minutes for the size I cook).

3. Take out of microwave and add pasta until the water just covers it. DO NOT overfill your container. Leave room for the bubbling/boiling action.

4. Cook for about 18 minutes.

5. The water should become completely absorbed by the pasta. If it's not quite cooked enough, you can add a little more water and cook for about 4-5 minutes more.

Thank you for the pasta recipe. I've got three young kids to feed during this time and most Trader Joe's frozen entrees are too "sophisticated" for their tastes. I'm actually looking forward to having an excellent excuse to order Chinese takeout and go out to eat a few times.

Our kitchen was gutted last week. Our dining room is now our temporary eat-in kitchen.

prep/cook zone

Pantry/dish storage

Clean up zone

Refrigerator

Coffee station

Some of the temporary kitchen has to do with what one can realistically do with construction going on and with the location of a sink. Our kitchen / dining room was demolished this week. We were without electricity in that section of the house so using the bathroom sink (located off the kitchen) was difficult.

If you can move everything out that is the best scenario. My refrigerator stayed in the kitchen and that has been a bit of a problem. Now moving it is difficult because all the doors have been sealed up.

My contractor works on Saturday so I am unable to do much while he is around. Yesterday we spent a fair amount of time discussing outlets and such. So I didn't get to cook as planned. I have learned a few things this week:

I can only cook when the contractor is not around. No quick dinner prep in the morning before work.

I have to be super organized when I go food shopping so that I only buy what I can realistically cook.

We don't use disposables so we took out our plastic ware after breaking a cup when carrying dishes to the basement for washing.

Having an alternate source of fresh cooking / drinking water has been very helpful. We are using a five gallon bottle with a manual pump (dolphin brand) in it.

My favorite cooking appliance is a portable induction one burner (I have pots that are induction ready) that I purchased when I was testing induction.

Having the bar near the temporary kitchen is a great plus!! A sense of humor doesn't hurt either. Nor does liking the taste of dust which seems to be everywhere -- LOL!!

This is an old thread but I wanted to 2nd Maria410's praise of the induction burner. I bought a portable Burton induction burner....rated superior to the similar Viking $500 unit by the staff at America's Test Kitchen, publishers of Cook's Illustrated. I have a 2 cast iron skillets, one small, one large, and a large covered pot that are induction compatible. That, along with my old covered electric skillet; microwave, and Cuisinart Toaster/Convection oven and I'm wondering why I need anything else. There hasn't been any meal I couldn't prepare and I've been almost 2 weeks without a stove and will be a good 2 more. The worst part was not having my kitchen sink. My granite fabricator offered to lend me a dinged ss sink they had to drop into a piece of plywood on our new cabinets. We did have to pay the plumber to come and hook it up but that took the pressure off and now we can live with the granite people's "back up of jobs". Our old sink was a big heavy cast iron one so that was not an option.