So, my freezers are organized. Now it was time to clear out the pantry so that I can complete this Pantry Challenge.
We have a small home and actually keep groceries in five places:
- A cabinet in the kitchen for baby food, cereal, and snacks
- A small pantry in the kitchen for canned goods and baking items
- A bookcase in the hallway between our kitchen and master bedroom for our stockpile
… and the refrigerator and freezers… but I think that would be obvious.
I wanted to tackle the pantry first since my baking items had become a hodge-podge pile that would spill onto the floor every time I opened the door.
So, I took everything out and started over.
I checked the expiration date on everything and was very embarrassed by the amount of food I had to toss, especially Jello. Yikes.
Since I changed our workbox system, I have an abundance of those yellow organizers and used one for all my the baking mix packets that Lira uses when she cooks… she’s a beginner and loves that she can just add water. I love that she has to read the instructions.
In another organizer, I placed sauce, seasoning, and soup mixes. In the last one (which can barely be seen in the photographs), I put all of my dry beans.
Next, I grouped all of the canned goods by type.
I realized that we actually had cereal in three places. Large boxes were placed in the pantry because they would not fit in the cabinet and excess boxes were on the stockpile shelf. So, instead of having it spread all over, I put all of the opened boxes on the top shelf of the pantry. (Unopened boxes remain on the stockpile bookcase to keep from tempting Bill to open more than one box of the same type at a time.)
Just under that, I placed all of our beverages, pancake mix, powdered milk, and oats.
The stockpile bookcase might not look very different, but believe me… it is. The biggest change is that I moved my baking ingredients out of the pantry and placed them in miscellaneous organizers, which I found abandoned and vacant around the house. All of my food coloring went in the bottom of an empty wipes container. Sprinkles and sugar decorations are together. Chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips… all together. Nuts… all together.
No more digging through an avalanche to find what I need. Love it.
The main thing I am proud of is that we have found places to maintain a modest stockpile despite having a small home. Our bookcase is easily accessible to the kitchen (right around the corner) and if I want to hide the contents, all I need is a tension rod and some fabric.
How do you organize your pantry?
Linked with love at OrgJunkie.
You did so good! I LOVE opening neat and tidy cabinets! Makes me smile everytime! We just recently added on a pantry in our laundry room. (which is right next to the kitchen) We did this by butting it out into the garage so it could be flush inside. I LOVE it! My favorite organizational tool so far are baskets for the messy stuff like opened chips or the children’s granola bars and cracker packs. Check it out here:
http://4littlefergusons.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/the-finished-laundry-room/
Hugs, T
Love those lockers! I wish we had a spot to put everything together. We don’t even have a garage. But, I think we are doing well for the space we have and I am thankful that we have a home so I will try not to be jealous of your pantry. LOL 🙂
Great job! Giving me good ideas for when I tackle my pantry!
Thanks, Jaynell. It really has made cooking easier. 🙂
I have to organize every month, otherwise, I’d have no room for all the food I buy for my large family. 🙂 We have a small 3 bd/2 bth mobile home my wonderful MIL gave us. There is a VERY small kitchen, so there is no room for food in there, but there is a small area behind the kitchen (it’s actually part of the LR) that we have converted to a ‘pantry area’. Right now there is a refrigerator (will be going with my oldest son and wife when they move out), big cabinet on wheels, big stainless shelf/table thingy, a short 6 drawer dresser, and some cabinets with sliding doors in there (these are attached to the wall above the dresser). The big cabinet on wheels has my small appliances in it and on top of it and the other items have food in them. I use the dresser for mostly canned and jar goods. The small top drawers are short, so I turn the cans on their side, so they roll towards the front when I open the drawer. Then we have 2 more refrigerators, a small chest freezer and a large upright FF freezer outside. It would be nice if I had some big cabinets with doors to hide all the food, even organized food looks messy sometimes. 😉 Eventually (a couple years from now), we will remodel the back porch into a kitchen with a dinning area and maybe even a good sized pantry. 🙂
I love that you have made the most of what you have, Dee. So many times, people feel limited by a lack of space and just don’t even try. Good for you in being inventive. I would have never thought of using a dresser. That is awesome.
Wow, what a great post! I would love it if you linked your tips up to my organization link party this week. I know my readers would love to see them: http://thriftmeblog.com/lets-organize-2012-pantry-recap-link-party/
Thanks!
Sure Katy. I’d love to!
Your pantry looks about the size of mine. The door is a whopping 18″ wide so the shelving is about 20″ and it’s deep. I hate the top shelf since it’s so difficult to get to anything in the back. You’ve given me hope though, as my pantry currently looks like your “before” picture. I hate living like that.