So after tackling my makeup drawers for “organization week”, next up was the pantry. I have gone through the pantry on a few occasions, but after 3 months or so of shoving things in, it always seems to need a re-do.
This is how it was looking pre-organization. I know. Not good, right? It’s no wonder that we were having the Dan: “we don’t have any more ____“; Me: “but I just bought some?” conversations on the regular.
First step was to empty out the pantry and give ‘er a clean. I did this in stages so that I would have room to walk around in the kitchen. First I took out all of the canned goods, oils, and baking stuff.
Then out came everything else. It always gets worse before it gets better, you know? I tried to group like items on the ground before I put them back in. That way I would know how much space each group would need and could plan the shelves accordingly. Man, I’m sounding seriously dorky now, huh? I promise I do actually leave the house and do social things…
And here is the pantry after, all organized with everything on display.
I didn’t do anything to up the pretty factor in these shelves (no painting the back of the shelves, new jars for storage, or even labels – shocking!), but just grouping things together made such a difference. We have a shelf for dried goods (noodles, quinoa, etc), a shelf for canned goods, a shelf for baking goods, a shelf for oils and sauces, etc.
Our waterbottles and travel mugs were always shoved into different drawers and cupboards, so having them all together here is perfect.
And my baking stuff would always be floating around in different areas, so I grabbed this little wire basket for the really small stuff (icing tips, food colorings, etc) to keep it all in one easy-to-tuck-away spot.
I also really like these wire fold-out shelves that help break up a tall shelf into two. Great for all of those small items that waste so much space otherwise.
And as for all of those reusable grocery bags we had been shoving into the bottom shelf (that would inevitably fall out every time we opened the cupboard), well they all got folded and put into this large one that happened to fit the shelf perfectly. I’d like to get a bin for these at some point, but for now this bag does the trick.
We are a few days in, and the pantry is still looking as good as new. Here’s hoping it’s at least 6 months before I need to do an overhaul again..
Any pantry organization happening at your place recently? How do you store your reusable grocery bags? Any tips?
I love a good organized pantry. Great idea on the reusable bags. Ours are always floating somewhere and can never be found when you need them.
I can’t decide if this has inspired me or scared me. My pantry is a mess. :)
Hahah – I know what you mean, Candace!!
xo,
gemma
I use those wire shelves too – they are really great to maximize shelf space….I use them under my kitchen sink too. My pantry doesn’t look half bad right now since we organized it after moving this summer – but by Christmas it might be another story! Haha!
Under the sink – such a good idea! I think I’ll do that next :)
xo,
gemma
Wow – you’ve inspired me! I think perhaps it’s time for me to take a serious look at my kitchen cabinets, and see if I can store things more efficiently.
Nicely done Gemma! I need to clean up our pantry too…sigh