How to survive without your kitchen during a renovation
Most homeowners spend months planning their dream kitchen but forget to plan for the most disruptive part of the whole project: living without a kitchen for three months.
And yes, I said three months. Even a straightforward kitchen renovation takes longer than you think, and you're going to be without your main cooking and cleanup space for the duration.
So before you start tearing things out, you need a plan for how you're going to handle meals, food storage, and cleanup while your kitchen is out of commission. Here’s the advice I share with my own kitchen reno clients when we’re planning their projects.
Cooking during a renovation: 3 main things to think about
There are three major things you’ll need to think through:
Storage
Where will your normal kitchen stuff go?
You can move your refrigerator to the basement, garage, or another room and plug it in wherever there's space and an outlet.
You'll also need somewhere to put all the day-to-day things that normally live in your kitchen. Small appliances, dishes, pantry items — figure out where all of this is going before demo starts.
Food prep
Think about what you’ll need to prep and cook your food. Running water is the big challenge here. You can use a bathroom sink for washing vegetables, but it's not exactly convenient. You also need a plan for your counter space: where will your chopping and mixing happen?
Cleanup
You’ll also need water and counter space for washing dishes, and it needs to be sturdy enough that you can stack dishes and not worry about them falling and breaking.
Setting up your temporary kitchen
Everyone’s house is different, so your setup will look different than someone else's. But if you can swing it, my recommendation is to use your laundry room.
This is usually the best option because it already has the two things you need most — a sink and the right electrical setup.
Most laundry rooms have the same 240-volt outlet that your electric stove uses (it's the same plug as your dryer). You can get a shared plug adapter that lets you switch between your dryer and your stove depending on which one you're using — you just can't run both at the same time.
That being said, you don't need your full stove… and you might not have room, anyway. You can get away with a hot plate, toaster oven, microwave, and air fryer if you've got one. These small appliances can handle most of your cooking needs and will plug into regular outlets.
Throw a board across your washer and dryer, and you've got a makeshift countertop. It's not pretty, but it works.
Think of it like camping
Regardless of how you decide to set things up, my best advice is to treat your temporary kitchen situation like you’re camping.
When you're camping, you don't expect gourmet meals or perfect cleanup. You streamline and simplify rather than maintaining your normal routine.
The same approach works for living through a renovation. Lean into meals that don't require a lot of prep, space, or extra dishes. Stock up on paper plates and disposable utensils if you want to minimize cleanup. Give yourself permission to take shortcuts that will make the mess and awkwardness easier.
If you have that camping mentality, you'll be much less frustrated when things don't work perfectly.
The bottom line
Living without your kitchen during a renovation is inconvenient, but it's not impossible. As with everything when it comes to renos, the key is going in with a plan.
Figure out how you’ll set up your cooking space before demo starts. Embrace the camping mindset. And remember — this is temporary. In a few months, you'll have a beautiful new kitchen and a good story about the time you cooked dinner on a hot plate in your laundry room.
Planning a kitchen renovation? Check out my complete timeline guide to understand what you're really getting into. And if you're still in the early stages, my Home Building Checklist will help you think through all the planning steps you need to consider.
