EEEEEEEKS How will I ever cope!

[The empressof all]

I sold my house and I am moving in two weeks. The house I am moving into has a tiny kitchen with half the storage space so....we are remodeling it immediately. The planning alone which I haven't really even started yet is driving me insane especially doing it on a limited budget and no ability to do DIY projects.

Anyhoo, my cooking facilities will be extremely limited for a few months.

I know some of you have lived through this. Any helpful hints? I will have a microwave of course and an electric pressure cooker that has rice cooking and browning functions so we won't starve....

[Warpy]

1. I have had a "kitchen" be a hot plate on top of the toilet tank.

I also learned how to stir fry in a popcorn maker back before any other white bread suburbanites knew what stir frying was.

Worse were the Victorian kitchens with acres of floor space with a sink on one wall, a stove in the middle and a refrigerator wherever there was an outlet and no counters between any of them.

In other words, I feel your pain. Still, a part of me thinks you should have tried the tiny kitchen first. Often they can be the best kitchens since you don't tire yourself out walking from one workspace to another.

[The empressof all]

3. I actually have lived in this kitchen before

We kept our last family home with the plan to retire there when we got older. It has served us as a rental for many years and we were able to keep a house that we loved that had grown too small for at home business and growing family. Now that it's just the two of us again, we don't need our huge home and all this land. I am looking forward to not climbing stairs and since I am losing my mobility need a place that is more manageable and accessible.

I actually agree with you about smaller kitchens. I need to make this one more accessible for me plus I do need more storage. I won't be gaining any floor space ....Just getting rid of a peninsula and adding space for a lower cabinet to hold a microwave. Plus I have those awful white tile countertops which are a pain to keep clean. I am hoping to get an extra foot or two of counters plus places I can tuck frequently used countertop appliances that I won't have room for on top.

When I am done...it won't be grand but hopefully far more functional for me....And that is good.

I don't think I could do the hotplate on the toilet...I'm having a hard enough time thinking about washing dishes in the bathtub...

[MiddleFingerMom]

2. An outdoor grill? A countertop 1-or-2-burner electric "stovetop"?

[The empressof all]

4. Ha!

We just sold our grill on craigslist....Husband never liked taste of food grilled outside so we rarely used it. So when he had an opportunity to sell it rather than move it he jumped on it. Poor Planning on our part. We are totally disorganized about everything....and its creeping up fast on us.

[Lucinda]

5. Crock pot - Induction countertop unit?

Both give you lots of options and you can get a countertop induction burner fairly inexpensively.

Some at Amazozn

NOTE: You need stainless steel or cast iron pots and pans to cook on an induction burner.
EDiting - I just saw an interface disk that lets you work with other types of cookware. I was just talking about these recently. I need to get one! I've got a great Calphalon omelette pan that I haven't been able to use.

And lots of antipasto platters

Congrats on the new casa - even if it will be chaotic for a while!

[northoftheborder]

6. thanks for the info on the interface disk. I'm getting a new induction cooktop, and was worrying ..

...about having to get a few new pans to replace my favorite non-stick egg pan, and water kettle, which apparently is aluminum. this must be new, because the salespeople for the induction top didn't mention it.

[Lucinda]

9. I saw something similar used on a regular glass cooktop

when the cook was making roti, and it dawned on me there might be something available so I did a little research. What I had found was people complaining about cheap plastic coated versions that were messing up their induction tops. But I found this one today and it looks like a good product.

[Jenoch]

7. I would buy the portable induction unit.

If you don't wish to do that and don't want to spend much money for a solution to your problem you could buy a couple of counter top appliances that would help. Goodwill and other thrift stores frequently have decent used crockpots, electric skillets and toaster ovens that would help in your situation.

[maddezmom]

8. You still have the actifry right?

Still loving mine and have done lots of stuff in it. But if I had to purchase one item it would be on old fashioned counter top skillet. Can be used for so many things, breakfast items, proteins, stirfry, etc.

Good luck...you are creative not only with your food but I am sure the kitchen wil end up being wonderful!

[The empressof all]

10. Love my Actifry

I boxed it up months ago and forgot about it...When I put this house up for sale I put most of my stuff in pods to get the house to "Stage" state and make move easier. Wasn't thinking about what I would need to live through kitchen remodel.....Most of my stuff is gonna stay in storage until it's all done as there is no sense in unpacking and re packing in a few months when we are ready to start the kitchen. I will be camping out in the house for a while. We are getting abatement work done hopefully at the end of September. Then new flooring and windows in some rooms and painting. Then we start the kitchen then the rest of the flooring by the end of the year. Next year I'm gonna do a bathroom. Then other than some work in the yard...I will be done.

I'm overwhelmed a bit and my vision for it far surpasses the budget... ...But it's a solid little house and I am not doing any major construction so it should go smoothly once I make up my mind about what I want. That's the hardest part ....making the commitment. But it's just a kitchen....and I could win lotto and buy that Aga I have always wanted....

[pinto]

11. Camp stove and skillet meals for a while?

My sister did that on their deck during a total kitchen remodel. 2 burner camp stove. And grilled / BBQ'd, big pot meals done on the backyard grill. Hope you love the remodel when all is done...

[stopwastingmymoney]

12. We did a gut kitchen remodel a few years back

The electric fry pan was really useful.

We also installed a utility sink in the garage at the beginning, no washing dishes in the bathtub!

[ljm2002]

13. Back when I had to make do...

...without a kitchen, the big electric skillet was a godsend. I was able to feed the family for months using that device. Also you should be able to find a used one cheap. Or even a new one won't be expensive. That's what I recommend.