My GC -- bless him! -- waited until the last moment to take out the sink and dishwasher. He even put up temporary counters for me in various spots at different points in the construction.

I had a wet bar in my family room to use when the sink was gone. I couldn't do more than draw water from it but I could wash up in a plastic tub on the bar. As the construction proceeded I got other sinks in my pantry and laundry room but both meant lugging dirty and wet things from here to there -- part of the process and inevitable.

I used a variety of plastic bins for things I knew I could do without for a long time and also open stacks of things on those plastic utility shelves in other rooms and the hallway for the things I wanted access to. I just figured, one way or the other, I was going to be running everything through the dishwasher before I put them away. Boy, did that new dishwasher get broken in fast!

Target has cheap bins in the kids closet area. They stack when they're full and nest when they're empty. I think they were about $4 each but they don't have lids. I didn't care.

I also made a conscious decision to surrender myself the chaos before it all began and I'm glad I did. It took much longer than I ever guessed and the eye of the storm moved from area to area so it never felt like there was a linear progress to "finished". We even had a shower come apart on us and had to have that construction going on simultaneously. That choice to live with and in the chaos at the beginning kept us from getting unnerved and my husband and I and my GC and I never had a cross word or a bitten tongue over the course of a year and a lot of snags, re-dos, the march of subs and redrafted & expanded plans.

Good luck with yours! Hope it becomes everything you wish and hope for!

Oh! In the foreground of that pic is a HEPA filter/fan that we ran constantly. In fact, I added a second one before we were done. It was wonderful for keeping down the dust and the odors. We had some pretty nasty chemical odors at various times and not only did I (an asthmatic) feel better, I also felt much better about the young workers who will need their lungs a long time to come.

My tips ...

1. Don't ever pack away your margarita glasses. Trust me on this.

2. Ziplock bags are your friend, as are disposable (even compostable) plates, bowls, flatware.

Brown boxes for the cookie sheets, baking pans, bundt pans, cheesecake pans, etc, that will not see the light of day for a long time... label the boxes- you can never be TOO specific.

I actually used open cardboard boxes for many of the food stuffs, and those became sort of like the drawers. though in reality, didn't really get used too much.

Really really good opportunity to get serious about decluttering! Do you really want all that crap back in your brand new kitchen? OK- I'm talking about me here, some of my crap was hand me downs from my Mom, ie her wedding gifts, etc.!!!

We moved our kitchen into the basement, OK, I do have a real kitchen down there, (sort of cheating), but it had been my craft room for 11 years, never functioned for us as a kitchen.

It was vitally important that we have no glitches getting coffee ready each morning, so an old cart from the basement bathroom came in really handy. Most houses have one or two like this, we also took over the kids' plastic one and still are using it for reno supplies (we're DIY)

{{!gwi}}

I haven't unpacked everything yet, (Just got our last cupbboards, shelves, etc, last week), so air/dust proof is important for those things you anticipate will be in storage awhile. It's been over a year for us.

We had to move out for 2 months (thought it would only be one month) due to the enormity of the work we were doing and the young age of our children (didn't feel it was safe for them to live through it). When we moved back in we were still 6 weeks out from having a functioning kitchen. Because all of our stuff had been boxed up months earlier we made do with very little. The things that I couldn't have done without were the toaster oven (even more so than a microwave), a little fridge (we only had a dorm sized fridge... bigger would have been SO much better but we made do... having one so small meant I was at the grocery store every day or two), disposable plates and cutlery, and a colander (for rinsing fresh fruits which my kids love). My nextdoor neighbor was great about me cooking at her house. My kids love pasta so I would cook a box of pasta and bring it back in tupperware. at dinner time I would put a portion for each child in the colander and run under very hot water (in the bathroom sink) to heat it up. Not fancy, but the kids totally dealt with this sort of dinner once or twice a week. Fortunately they both like fruit and vegetables (some raw / some cooked) so we were fine. I also found some really nice cooked (grilled) chicken breasts at trader joes that just needed to heated up (these heated up nicely in the toaster oven).

you end up getting really creative at meal time when you live like this and in the end you appreciate the end result so much. none of it really seemed like a hardship though. the kids managed so well and enjoyed having all the commotion of a renovation to watch. now that we have moved on to landscaping my two year old son is in heaven playing in the dirt and watching the bobcat in the backyard.

i will say that my husband faired less well than the kids during the renovations. he was really losing it by the end. he just wanted to be able to eat a nice meal at a real table and for a very long time that was not possible (at least not at home... fortunately we were hosted by friends and family quite often during our renoavtion).

In terms of packing up... to piggy back on something someone else said, label more than you think you will need to. when it comes time to unpack you will probably not be able to do it in one fell swoop. you might need a potholder one day and a frypan one day, and slowly it will all make its way back into your kitchen, but unless you have mass amounts of free and uninterrupted time it will be a gradual process of moving back in and it will be very handy for you to be able to lay your hands on specific items.

good luck.

I set aside 2 boxes of stuff that I thought I would need (I was actually right on some of it, like the corkscrew and the wine glass) and all of my grilling equipment (existed on microwaved and grilled food for 2 months). I used the laundry sink in the garage. I didn't buy, but wish I had bought, a $5 strainer for the sink. I was determined not to use disposable plates & silverware, but I got very tired of washing everything in the laundry sink.

Drywall dust gets everywhere, so I would box things up as much as possible instead of just relying on paper bags. I used those for food in containers. And, of course, I labeled the good china boxes and set those aside separated from the rest of the junk.

This is bringing back memories!

We ate out more than we expected to and a lot of that was pizza and fast food so there was a point when I got a little nuts. I realized I hadn't had a fresh vegetable in a long time. I went out one night all by myself to a new restaurant when my husband was working late -- not the sort of place he'd like; kind of upscale and very trendy.

I can still remember the roasted beet salad I had with deepfried shredded carrot. It was bliss and I hope I never forget how exhilarating it felt to satisfy that depravation that I hadn't even realized was building up.

You'll do fine -- a microwave can plug in anywhere. But every once in a while get a good breakfast and treat yourself to a really nice meal. The tendency is to want to skimp when you're writing endless checks but a little serenity, good food well prepared and being taken care of feels very, VERY good and can save your sanity. ;>

I made myself a written list of meals that would be easy to cook with a limited/non-existent kitchen and kept out the essentials that I would need to cook them. We got take-out pizza every Friday, but otherwise we ate mostly healthy and at home every night. If you have a salad bar at your nearby grocery store, it makes your life SO much better.

When packing, I tried to keep the boxes with stuff I knew I'd want the soonest on top. At the very least, label the boxes with the first things you know you'll want to dig for (i.e. big salad bowl).

I bought a cheap vintage electric skillet from ebay and it was an absolute lifesaver during our kitchenless period. With that, a decent toaster oven and a microwave, I was able to approximate normal cooking. Almost anything you cook on the stovetop you can cook in an electric skillet.

And as so many gardenwebbers will tell you, keep out the glassware for your alcoholic beverage of choice (wine glasses for me).

We were without our kitchen for two months. I had a sink in my basement so we were very functional without the regular kitchen. We have two small children, so eating out was not an option. We ordered pizza once, but other than that, I "cooked" every night using the microwave, toaster oven, electric burner I picked up at Target, and a crockpot. The crockpot was the real lifesafer. I got sick of it by the end. I haven't used it since we finished the remodel. :o)

It's amazing how much I've forgotten and what memories this is bringing back!

One of the reasons we finally got around to remodeling is our ancient and PITA (Thermadore) ovens and cooktop went out for good -- one in a burst of 16"-high green flames. I got one of those portable roaster ovens to use in place of a proper oven until we got our financing and kitchen plans together.

I bet you've seen ads for these things around Thanksgiving time. That was actually quite a decent solution. They're not expensive. They're self-contained and lightweight so you can set them up anywhere. I used it for everything from mac & cheese to homemade bread with good results.

When our project was done -- and it was probably a year from the appliances giving out to new ones installed and working again -- I should have been sick of it but I kept it. I figured that if we are barbequing this summer and want something like baked beans, I could do them outdoors next to the grill.

For the $30 or $40 they cost, they give you the ability to cook just as you normally would. ...if drawing water in the bathroom and mixing in the dining room and baking in the family room is how you usually work. ;>

I have been without a kitchen for 5 months already, and we have been lucky because it really has not been bad at all. I live in a very old house, and we had a small sitting room at the top of our stairs on the second floor, where we had built in bookcases. It is not really a separate room, per se. It is almost like a very wide hallway between all the bedrooms, and it has a fireplace and two bright windows, and built in floor to ceiling bookcases.

So we moved the loveseat out from that small area, and it was just big enough for a kitchen table. We rearranged the books to clear up a couple of shelves for paper plates, cereal, etc. We also used the fireplace mantel for storage. We cleared an area at the top of the stairs for a small refrigerator, and a small cabinet that had been in the basement. We still have our full size fridge/freezer downstairs, but wanted a small fridge nearby for essentials. We put a microwave and a two burner unit on the top of the cabinet. The toaster is on the bookcase. The only thing we really miss a LOT is the sink. So we mostly use paper everything, and wash what we must in our bathroom sinks, which are too small. It is a pain.

I highly recommend finding a place to set up your kitchen table somewhere in the house, even if it is in the basement. I think we would be going crazy if we had to eat on coffee tables, etc. And if you can set up far away from where the work is being done, as we did, that is even better.

We stored our kitchen stuff mostly in brown boxes in our dining room and in another small parlour on the first floor. We shoved a lot of stuff into our china cabinet, too. We can access things if we need to. And we can still eat at our dining room table if we have a lot of people over.

It has not been that big a deal at all. My house looks like hell, but we can cook almost anything we need to between the burners, microwave and toaster oven. We can still sit at the table in a civilized way. In fact, I'm going to miss having my kitchen on the same floor as my bedroom. It is so much easier getting ready for work in the morning, not running up and down the stairs all the time.

Don't forget to keep plastic containers handy, and real knives, and a few large bowls. Aluminum foil and plastic bags also.

I never dreamed it would be five months later with no kitchen, and I'm very glad we went through the trouble of moving furniture around to accommodate an almost real kitchen.

We are starting week five with no kitchen. I set up a temporary kitchen in the garage with the following:
Microwave
Toaster Oven
Rice Cooker
Toaster
Plastic cutlery, Paper Plates, Ziplocks, etc.
My gas grill is just off the garage and was really a lifesaver. I cooked rice in the rice cooker, with veggies steamed in the top portion and meat on the grill many nights. It isn't the type of meal my family is used to, but we are surviving. THe teenagers are frustrated, and DH is about to scream. Like the previous poster, he is the one who seems to be the most bothered by the mess and lack of a kitchen!

In hindsight, I would have gotten a cheap electric skillet to use. I really miss having it to make breakfast with. We wanted eggs and pancakes, but no way to do that on the grill!

Everything is still in boxes for me, but I have learned that I can do with so much less. I don't need five different types of spatulas. Just one or two will do! I am NOT bringing all of my things back into my new kitchen. I got rid of lots of things as I was packing, but realize now that I will still have things to give away before moving back in. I am cutting the clutter habit!

Whatever you decide to use, be sure to mark them clearly as to what they contain. I found myself going into the boxes more than once, too!

If your current fridge has an icemaker, remember that if you move it temporarily, you may not have access to a water hookup for it. So either buy ice a lot, or get some ice cube trays to use (at the dollar or thrift store).

We used our family room, which had just been completed, as our temporary kitchen. The china closet, with all china and crystal packed up in boxes, became our kitchen cupboards - complete with dishes and boxes of cereal in the glassed in section. The dining room table went in the corner. The MW and coffeemaker went on small mission style tables temporarily. Frankly, we hardly ate out at all, but we did eat on paper plates a lot. I cooked outside on a camping cookstove (August-September 2007), and DH barbecued once in a while (and then we'd eat on regular dishes). The biggest problem was dishes - once a day I'd take a load in a dishtub upstairs to the bathroom sink. Big stuff got washed in the bathtub.

This was a good time to purge the kitchen of all the extra stuff one accumulates and doesn't even know it. But today, guess who's going through all that stuff in the garage and putting it in better boxes! Me, today, after a YEAR! (Hanging onto SOME of it for the daughters.)

DonnaR/CA

I left out way too many pots, pans and dishes that should have been packed away. I'm a month into the remodel. I have a very small bathroom sink for dishwashing, so I'm doing just about anything in my power not to generate dishes.

We are grilling and microwaving simple stuff, and eating sandwiches. What was I thinking leaving out a bunch of huge mixing bowls? It's not like I'll be baking bread any time soon.

Our electrician put a plug on my old wall oven, so that I could run it off the 220v dryer outlet in the basement. Old fridge was moved down there too.

Rice cooker: the basic kind: far more versatile than just rice. You can use it as a crockpot very effectively. And it's another ring: after all, it's just another saucepan, with either hot or very low settings. We used it to boil pasta in. I made soup, gravy, steamed vegetables, pot roasts, corn, chicken stew, in that thing.
I bought a $13.00 electric ring from Amazon and with the rice cooker, we were all set. We never used the microwave, even though I'd expected to, except to cook some vegetables once. Kept out 3 saucepans, a frying pan with a lid, and the wok.

With the oven connected as well, I made bread, cake, we even had a four course dinner party one night: antipasto, including fried sliced eggplant and roast peppers; pasta and clam sauce; veal rolatini with salad; strawberry shortcake. Every single thing was home made. (my MIL and SIL helped!)

We ate in the dining room, as we usually do. And always used china plates: I wanted things to keep things as normal as possible for everyone.

I moved the coffee machine and toaster upstairs, so we could make breakfast without negotiating two flights of stairs. Used a cooler to keep the butter and milk in overnight.

Oh, I stored everything in plastic totes, partly because I already had them, and partly because we thought we had mice in the basement, and I wasn't taking any chances with unlidded boxes!

We made it into an adventure, and it wasn't nearly as frustrating as I'd feared.

Thanks for all the great ideas. I purchased large plastic containers with rollers. I have decided to put all the dishes and a couple of salad bowls in them. My plan is to keep everything I might need rolling around my family room. I purchased packing boxes to pack up items I don't need. These are going to my mom's house. I will label all boxes.

I live in Florida, no basement, ranch syle house, and garage is game room, work out room, work bench and now new kitchen stuff. I plan to put up 6 foot table with microwave, rice cooker, toaster and maybe a burner or electric skillet in family room. I'm trying to set up temparary sink and dishwasher like imrainey did. I like donnar57's idea of using china hutch for food pantry. Might have to try that.
I have a gas grill and side burner. I'm trying to grill meat nightly outside, with lots of fresh fruit and veggies. However, I'm nervous about giving up my stove. How well do the electric burners work? Thanks to Jennyct for suggesting to look for one at Target. I'm excited to finally start kitchen after reading this forum for all the great ideas.

My electric burner worked well, but the internal thermostat was a bit unpredictable: the temperature would vary a lot more than on a regular stove ring, so you need to watch it, or the food would either go below simmering, or frazzle a bit - we got used to it pretty quickly. It worked better with smaller pans, because the element itself is quite small. But they're inexpensive, and well worth the investment of $13.

Good luck - sounds like you have a good plan ready. I really think being able to cook as normally as possible has a huge effect on your outlook, and ability to cope with the frustrations of a remodel.

I live in Florida too and our contractor is coming tomorrow to knock out the kitchen! We set up in our dining room with a microwave, toaster oven, coffee maker, our refrigerator, a George Foreman grill and my mom's old electric skillet. Plastic and paper plates, cups and utensils. We will try to use the BBQ too! We have 2 young boys so wish us luck! Got the idea here to use one of our air purifiers during construction. Thanks!

Be aware of how your electric breaker box is set up. I forgot to mention - we tripped a breaker a few times, trying to run too much on one circuit. We learned not to flip on the MW if someone was using another electrical appliance and the fridge was cycling on. That's the one problem we ran into in using our new addition as the temporary kitchen!

DonnaR/CA