A Pantry Makeover

By Leslie Hoyt –

My dearest friend, Wanda, has one of the coolest pantries in town.

Not only is it a walk-in room with a regular door, she had it designed so that the side that faces her kitchen (which normally would be a wall) opens with two more sets of bi-fold doors so she and her family can access those every day items they need while cooking or heading out the door for another adventure.

She desired a system to maximize the storage she was already blessed with.

In the course of an afternoon, we implemented several organizing solutions:
• Minimize items by elimination. Keep the best of the best of something and donate the others.
• Group ingredients. Store items of similar type, size and shape together to make them easy to locate.
• Categorize for for efficiency. Items were arranged by size and frequency of use. Large items in bins on the floor and daily use items at arm’s reach.
• Store transparently. Most every staple that is commonly used was removed from the manufacturer’s and store packaging and put into the clear Tupperware containers. Loose packets, bags of nuts/chips (etc.), and individual snacks are easily accessed without rummaging through all the food.
• Rethink location. Are there things in your pantry taking up prime real estate space that could go in the garage or another closet (mop/broom/vacuum) or under the sink (trashcan/extra bags)? Move them.
• Utilize hooks. Hang store shopping bags, aprons, potholders.
• Anticipate restocking. Keep a shopping list on the refrigerator door to immediately add items as you need them. This is what I use (from Target):

So, let’s get going, y’all!

 

Here is a view of the before pantry from the regular door entrance:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first thing Wanda and I did was clear this room. This is always step number one in any organization project.
Then, I wiped the shelves and mopped the floor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow, look at this cleared out space! I can hear an echo…echo…echo…

 

At this point, I told Wanda to go take a look at the rest of her house. After I told her to stop crying (it looked a bit overwhelming), I got Wanda busy sorting, tossing and re-containerizing all of this stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a quick trip to Wal-Mart, we returned with 8 large baskets and 5 covered storage tubs.

 

I convinced Wanda that all of these beautiful Tupperware Modular Mates would look better filled, and that we needed a few more containers to finish the job properly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We put them to use and about 4 hours later we had a “new” pantry. Remember the before?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leslie is a homemaker, Certified Interior Designer, Home Stager and Organizer. She loves vintage cottage-y things, ironstone and toile, flea markets and estate sales, birds and bunnies, a hot cup of tea or coffee, baking, parties and celebrations of life. Leslie’s passion is turning ugly and abandoned things into beautiful and useful ones, for this is what the love of Jesus did for her. You can find more from Leslie at http://goodbyehousehellohome.blogspot.com/.