We moved to the basement in this reno where there was a laundry sink we could use for water/dishes. In my previous kitchen redo, we moved the old fridge to the dining room and set up a microwave on a table next to it. We washed dishes in the bathroom (a washtub in the real tub). Spices/food/etc went into plastic storage containers and those rollout card drawer things. You can get pretty creative at Target or the Container Store. Obviously though, you go the store more often and buy only what you need to make a meal or two at a time :)

We put the essentials in a few boxes and have lived out of them in the mudroom for the past 4 months. The rest was boxed up and put in the guest room. I'll end up purging 1/2 of it once I reorganize the pantry I think.
The mudroom is big enough for the fridge but it's kinda just in the middle of the room. Annoying to say the least.

Our fridge was too big to move through interior doorways, so we gave it away and bought an apartment size fridge (that now sits in the garden shed/workshop). I boxed up spices, canned goods, and liquor. Tossed everything else. Had 2 small cabinets from Target that we used for current storage in the temp kitchen.

Here is a link that might be useful: temp kitchen pics

I think that we will sell the range and fridge via Craig's List, and use a small fridge that we already own as a temporary solution. Condiments can be stored in the large fridge at my husband's company. Don't box up your liquor with tape! :oD Keep that stuff accessible.
I guess the tiny microwave, toaster, coffee maker, and fridge can go in the basement. This reno involves quite a bit of our first floor; it isn't just the kitchen. So right now our great room is already crowded with furniture from the office. For us, nowhere on the first floor would be a good place to create a temp kitchen.

Thanks celineike! No mudroom but the living room will need to be converted.
Adrienne - no one would buy my anything here :( I've used this kitchen to within an inch of it's life). Good tip about the liquor though. Making frozen imbibinators by the pool tonight with some friends who are willing to help with the demo. Feed them and provide adult beverages and they will come!

My old fridge and freezer went in the entry way, against the kitchen wall. Didn't move far. What pantry goods I kept, including my canisters, went into file boxes. What I'd be using during the reno, including spices other packaged things, went in a couple of plastic containers. Paper goods went in another, and the few pots I might want went in the last.

Reality: I'd planned a mid-Summer remodel that at the outside imaginable (i.e., double the projected time) would be done by Autumn. That was before the myriad tile delays. A 10-week job that wasn't supposed to take longer than 5 months, turned into a 10 month job. I was completely unprepared.

Advice: If there's any construction, rather than just cabinets and all, make sure you have an interim sink. Not a sink in a bathroom that will be used as a bathroom, but a sink. Even a cold water only plastic garden sink on the porch would have helped. Also, if there's any way to put the food prep and eating really far away from the work, it'll be much more pleasant.

Most of all, prepare for real cooking and dining, rather than interim picnicking. I learned that the really hard way.

We moved the refrigerator to the basement garage. Our basement sink was a big plastic utility sink which was tremendously helpful in washing the wok. Our contractor provided us with 4 sturdy steels shelves where I stored our most frequently used items. We also moved our old center island to the basement and used it as our counter space for the microwave and the eseential coffee pot! (And you might spy my Crazy Popper on the top shelf. Another vital food group.)

We used paper plates & bowls to eat on, but kept out our silverware in one of the island drawers. Aside from the wok and microwave, we grilled out on our rusty old Smokey Joe.

I was so glad I hadn't gotten rid of that plastic utility sink prior to the reno. Like Plllog said, the sink makes a huge difference.

I would have loved a real sink. A year of washing dishes in a bus bin in the bathtub wasn't a picnic, but it got the job done.

Our fridge went into the dining room (sans water/icemaker connection, of course). Pantry items were in banker's boxes in the dining room. We were moving the microwave into one of the existing pantries, so that move was made first and it was always accessible. We also have a wet bar across the room. That tiny sink came in very handy.

When my parents did theirs they turned the formal dining room into a bit of a kitchen. lol

Our fridge was left in the kitchen, set on a piece of plywood & moved around as necessary. Renovation includes new hardwood flooring throughout the downstairs. Floor guy just moved furniture & fridge as he worked. Fridge placement was changed in renovation, but plugged into new outlet & plumbing connection as soon as they were completed. The rest of our "kitchen" function took place in the next room, originally designed as dining room, but we use as a study. A long library table was covered with a cheap but waterproof tablecloth bought for the temp kitchen purpose. On this, I placed microwave, Breville Smart Oven, coffeemaker, Cuisinart griddler & a couple of cutting boards. Nearby shelves held silverware tray (just lifted out of the drawer), a few utensils & microwave dishes, paper supplies & a some staples. What few dishes there are to be washed are done in the 1/2 bath nearby. Works for us, for the short term -- but we will only be out of our kitchen less than a month (probably).

I would post pictures, but I can't find the camera to computer connector cable now. It's packed away *somewhere*. (We had to pack up much more than the kitchen due to the floor replacement).

We were lucky to already have a fridge in the finished basement and some built in bookshelves next to it. I move the food that we would use to the bookshelves, set up a 6 ft. table with the micro, coffee pot and toaster and a few dishes and we managed quite nicely. I made at least 1 crockpot meal a week which carried us for a couple days. Big salads, cereal and take out filled in the rest. It really wasn't too bad at all.

Thank you all for your great ideas! It looks like the dining room will become command central for the next next couple of months. But that is right next to the kitchen :(

Great advice plllog - I have already started preparing and freezing meals. The sink is going to be a major issue though.

Great pics doonie, thanks!

Thanks red I hand't though about a griddle.

natal - I'm already missing my sink and demo hasn't even started. My full bath is on the 2nd floor the downstairs bath has a standup shower so that's not an option.

jakabedy - stupid question here...want's a banker's box?

A banker's box is a cardboard box that is about 12 inches wide and maybe 20 inches long, that is made to hold file folders. It has a lid and oval circles punched into the sides which serve as handles. They come collapsed, and you have to pop them out.

I had an angel of a carpenter who cut the old sink and a small section of countertop out together, and built a 2x4 base for it. He made temporary plumbing connections and left it in place for me to use most evenings, when work was done for the day. When it was in the way of the work, it was disconnected and moved around.

I don't suppose every crew would be willing to bother with this (in fact, the carpenter and the GC had a friendly but spirited discussion about the time that was taken to do it) but perhaps it's worth asking. It beats washing dishes in a tub or bathroom sink, by a mile.

We set up our temporary kitchen in a wide hallway next to the kitchen, a few steps from the bathroom and thus the water source. On one side of the hallway, in a recessed niche we put the refrigerator and a table. The table held the coffeemaker, microwave, and a toaster oven stacked on top of the microwave. The crockpot lived on top of the fridge, when not in use. Under the table we put the garbage, recycling, and a tub for dirty dishes.

On the other side of the hallway is a large linen cupboard. I banished the sheets and towels to a bedroom closet, and used the shelves for dishes and dry food storage.

It worked quite well, and some fine meals came out of that hallway kitchen. If I did it again (heaven forbid!) I'd add a portable induction burner.

Thanks Adrienne, that sounds perfect for storing and being able to use the pantry items and spices.

If the shower has a handheld that will work.

Believe it or not, once we were in the remodeled kitchen a sink strainer issue developed (ended up ordering a new strainer) and for another week or two I was back to washing dishes in a bus bin ... this time in the new bathroom's shower that had a handheld. It was a little more awkward than having a tub, but I managed.

First - one important note - you will want to put your fridge on a different circuit breaker than the cooking appliances (microwave, toaster oven, etc.) If necessary some long extension cords can be used to get you to outlets on different circuits.

We put ours in the our "foyer" - a tile area with the dining room area on one side and a wet bar on the other side. We used a rolling metal shelf unit similar to doonie's for storage and brought in a table from the patio furniture to hold the toaster oven, hot water pot, etc and serve as prep space. Our ancient microwave and the trash pail sat under the table.

The wet bar provided water for cooking and the espresso machine.

Most washing up was done in the laundry room sink - it is very deep so we put one utility tub upside down in it and put another was used to carry dishes back and forth and put on top of the upside down one to do the washing in - more convenient than reaching to the bottom and less water needed to fill it.

It worked quite well for us. Non-essential kitchen stuff was stored in one of the bedrooms and a hall closet. We stacked up the drawers from the old cabinets in the bedroom which made it easier to find something when we found out we needed it and it also was convenient for filling our new drawers after the remodel.

Geesh cloud, I did not even consider the trash. That just may be more worrisome than the sink issue as my golden will eat ANYTHING! When I post the before pics, take a looksie at the doors under the sink! Garbage - doors with child locks. Muncha, muncha, muncha :(

mnerg - Thanks for the pics, it really helps! sink option sounds like a great idea. I'll run it by himself the GC tomorrow. Good tip on the induction burner. The new cooktop is induction and I can't wait (now 2 of my burners on the electric Tappen, which is older than my daughter who just graduated college) have left the building.

Natal - no handheld here and the H2O splashes every darn where if the door is not closed:(