This post first appeared on The Queen in Between in July 2015 but I’m sharing with Erika & Shay today for Let’s Look at our Pantries! My picture game was way off for this post but there are a few practical solutions I found which I still feel are worth sharing!
So I’m sure you have all been wondering what will I do with all these free weekends now that baseball is over. Well wonder no more friends! Time to tackle some of the areas around this house that have been driving me crazy for the past 6 months…or some maybe 12 years.
I finally had the time and the energy to tackle the pantry! It just doesn’t take much to excite me I guess because I seriously am typing late into the night only because I’m still on such an adrenaline rush from the organizing.
We have a rather large pantry which can be a blessing or a curse. My realtor informed me when we were buying the house the pantry was typically a half bathroom in most of the builders homes. In hindsight I would give up a pantry any darn day to have that half bath! So here is a first look at what I was starting with.
Sometimes having a lot of space means things that should not end up in the pantry end up in the pantry. This space is a catch all for anything that comes into the house without a designated home.
You see this corner? Yep that dark lonely space. Well there are two on the first three shelves and it has always been so wasted. From the pole to the corner measures 26 inches. That is a lot of wasted space.
Because it was so cluttered, I often didn’t realize what I actually did have in the pantry and would come home with items I didn’t need. Ritz crackers much? Let’s face it, this pantry needed some love!
My friend
Holly is always having a love fest with Walmart over on her blog so I decided to make it my first stop. I found
these containers and decided they were worth a shot to corral the cereal. I also picked up glass canisters to use for my baking supplies which you will see later. The
glass containers were only $4.97 and all of these items were made in the USA! Y’all, my daddy would be so incredibly proud!
I decided a turntable would be a great solution for those deep corners and I finally found the size I needed from Bed, Bath & Beyond. This
18″ lazy susan is a perfect fit!
I came home and got to work! Now, what I would recommend typically is that you remove every single item from the pantry and start from scratch. This pantry is so big and I decided that was not the best use of my time. Instead I removed every item on a shelf, wiped down the shelves and proceeded to reorganize.
The first thing I did was rethink the items I had on each shelf. The canned goods were always hard to see as they were at the back of the shelf that was fairly dark. I moved those items to the upper shelf and the kids now have easier access to snacks in bins that can be pulled out as needed.
I still cannot believe the difference adding these turntables made. I purchased four; one for each corner of the two main grocery shelves. All my baking supplies are now in one location in the pantry.
Snacks are in the bins and crackers, chips and other misc snacks are on the turntables. I’ve had
these two tier shelves for quite a while and they have worked very well both in the pantry and in my kitchen cabinet for making better use of vertical space.
Our spare fridge is on the blitz right now so I have been needing a spot to hold drinks to have available for the cooler on the weekend. With a little rearranging I was able to make space on the bottom shelf.
I really never thought having all the cereal in like containers would make that much of a difference but oh my goodness it really does. These containers are skinnier but taller than the cereal boxes and just having everything uniform makes it look so much nicer.
For real…these canisters may just be my favorite! While I keep my sugar and flour in nice canisters on my kitchen counter, these items have always just been thrown in the dark corner in whatever bags they came in. This just looks so much nicer and I can easily see when I am almost out of something.
Sometimes I let the kids get a little out of control with choosing cereals but only having four bins will definitely help me hold them to just a chosen few.
This cute little basket has been shoved under one of my kitchen cabinets forever. It was prefect for holding seasoning packets. I have had my tiered shelf for pretty much the entire time we have lived here and it is similar to this one.
There is still quite a bit of usable space under the bottom shelf and I currently have a three drawer cart holding some arts and craft supplies on one side and I’m hoping to add one more. I also would like to get a bin for Dutch’s dog food. Currently we just have the bag in the middle of the pantry floor and I think having something under the bottom shelf for that would be nice.
So what do you think? What are some of your favorite tips for organizing the pantry? Being able to see everything is definitely my goal and I think for now that has greatly improved.
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Your pantry looks pretty, organized and super clean. Great job. I definitely pinned this. Hope you had a great 4th!
Thank you Ada! It feels good to have one space in my house organized and clean from top to bottom. Ready to see what else I can tackle the rest of the month. Have a super week!
What is the shelf thing your canned goods are on?
This is majorly motivating me to get organized!! 🙂
Hi Jen…I have gone back in and added links for some similar items for the canned goods after the very last picture! Feels so good to have one space clean and organized from top to bottom!
Looks great! I plan to do some organizing this week while the kids are at camp. It feels great to clean out! have a good Monday!
Love having a space cleaned and organized from top to bottom! Enjoy your week while the kids are gone! I am always so torn between catching up on projects or catching up on me time!
Looks amazing! Now you have me wanting to clean mine!!
It's so refreshing to have a space clean and organized from top to bottom! Have a great week Sarita!
You're coming to my house next, right?!
Haha….it would totally be my dream to go around organizing closets and other small spaces! I need to find someone who sucks at that but is good at decorating because that is where I need some help!
I so needed to see this today!! My pantry is a mess!!! And I totally laughed when I read about the Ritz. i realized yesterday that I have three huge boxes of them….I am only one person! This totally inspired me to get cleaning and organized. Yours looks great! Off to Walmart!! 🙂
Good luck Katie!!
Good morning! Don't you just LOVE LOVE LOVE an organized pantry?? You're looks so beautiful! Great job! Love the glass containers!! We only have 2 people in our house and the pantry seems to fall apart after awhile, no matter how hard I try to NOT let that happen. We had California Closets re-do our pantry many years ago and they put in drawers that are compartmentalized and I love that for granola bars and seasoning packets, etc. I use baskets from the Dollar Store and bins from the Dollar Store to organize and I have to admit that I am also really a stickler for organization in my refrigerator. I use mugs to hold String Cheese and the like. It just makes it look so much cleaner! Have a fabulous week!
Oh man what I wouldn't give to have a professional makeover! We have a huge space under the bottom shelf and I'm positive some drawers would be a great addition!
They are amazing and I also have pull out drawers that I use for all my baking stuff. and one for all my ziplock bags, etc. It was definitely a great way to use my space when we had Cal Closets come in!
Uses turntables was a great idea and I love how you used chalk for the labels so you can switch names easily! It looks great!!
How did it take me 12 years to realize the turntables were the answer?!!!
Nothing makes me happier than organization. Yours looks great now!
Me too Molly!!
OK, this seriously made my day (and has inspired me to get off my butt and do some organizing!!!). Your pantry looks amazing! Love the cereal containers but my absolute favs are those glass canisters!!! I'll make a Wal-Mart lover out of you yet! 🙂
Cannot even tell you how many times I've gone to the kitchen just so I could look in the pantry!!
Isn't Wal Mart just so much fun to wander around in????? I can get in to so much trouble there! HEHEHE!! I also want those glass canisters!!!
Doesn't life just feel more relaxed when everything is organized!! Love how it turned out! xo, Biana –BlovedBoston
Absolutely….one of my goals this month is to alleviate the mess to reduce the stress! I just do so much better when things are organized. Have a great week!
I really need to do this. Maybe this will inspire me. I seem to only TRULY clean out my pantry once a year which is just wrong! 🙂 How'd you find your motivation?
{www.thedishbcs}
I have been walking into that pantry for months of it driving me crazy but I just didn't have the time. I finally had a free Sunday and decided it was the perfect time. Plus, the hubby listened to my ideas and was able to confirm my plan would work. I have zero vision and sometimes am quite unrealistic! haha
Right with you on a too big pantry! I get frustrated with the depth of the shelves in mine & the dark corners. I put all snacks/cereals in clear plastic just so i could tell what was running out – nothing like grabbing a bag with 4 goldfish left!
The dark corners were a disaster! I don't know why it took me so long to realize the turntables were the answer!!
Can you come organize mine? Haha! Love!
I seriously would do this all the time if I could! Have a great week!
great pantry makeover!! Love how organized it is!!
I'm jealous because we don't have a pantry but I'd LOVE one! Sadly, it would probably be a mess all of the time so maybe it's for the best lol
Thank you Shaunacey! I seriously can't stop finding reasons to go to the pantry just to take a look! It is definitely a blessing and a curse to have a big pantry.
This is amazing! I would love to get containers for cereal & smaller ones for snacks. I'll have to look at Walmart. I'm sure you're so much happier to use your pantry since it's more organized (or maybe I'm just living vicariously – haha!)
I would definitely check Walmart and the dollar stores first! Much cheaper and just as functional. I seriously can't quit going in there and checking it out! Have a great week!
Beautiful! Gosh this is so motivational! I love all of it, and you are welcome to come do mine at any time! 😉 Carylee | more pieces of me
Could I count that as a business trip? Haha….cause I could definitely trade out some organizational advice for some style tips! Have a great week Carylee!
Please come do mine
Surely I could make a cross country "business" trip to organize pantries across the nation. Ha! Hope you have a super day Kimm.
That's looks really neat and tidy and has inspired me to go do mine. Thank you. (I also have Captain Crunch envy as we can't get it here!) #allaboutyou
Captain Crunch is definitely one of my all time faves!! I rarely if ever have cereal anymore but if I was going to choose one it would be a top 3!! My kids are always debating crunch berries vs captain crunch…I'm all about the traditional and plain! Have a great day!
You have inspired me to clean out our pantry and organize! Thanks for sharing!
Jill
Doused In Pink
It is so refreshing to have at least once space organized! I cannot tell you how many times I've headed into the pantry just to take a look. haha
Wow that's quite a change! We don't have a pantry, just lots of little cupboards around the house and they're not organised well. I remember having a pantry when I was little but it never looked as organised as yours!
Great post. #AllAboutYou
It has been so refreshing to have this space organized! On to another project this weekend….or maybe just relaxing..such a toss up!
Those turn tables do make a difference! I need to try them in my pantry!
They have been the perfect addition! I cannot believe it took me 12 years to figure it out.
Ah, to have a pantry!! Great work, I bet this felt like a real job done! Thanks for sharing with #AllAboutYou on Mama-andmore.com
When I moved into this house I was in heaven…first time to have a pantry since moving out of my moms house!
Love the re-work of the pantry! what I wouldn't give to have a pantry! We have a closet and in the closet is in the washer and dryer and our pantry. So it gets very crowded very quickly. We had been using a bakers rack for awhile for some of our pantry items, but Sophie our daughter kept taking the items off so they all moved into the pantry. I love how yours is.
liz sundays with sophie