This is one of those medium sized projects that comes up because I get frustrated because I can’t find what I want! In reality, your pantry should probably be cleaned out at least a couple times a year. You probably want to go through the pantry on a regular basis so that you know what you have or need. You also want to make sure that nothing is expired.
BEGINNING
As you can see, the pantry isn’t awful-it definitely has been worse!!! There was some organization to it but it was starting to overflow and I couldn’t really see everything in there. Sometimes, I like to try and eat out of my pantry for at least a couple of weeks to make sure that food doesn’t go to waste.
AND SO IT BEGINS
As usual, everything must come out. And it goes all over, in the kitchen, the living room, the dining room and so on. I am always amazed at how much stuff can fit into relatively small spaces. This is usually the point at which I question whether or not this is really what I want to do!
Even though it’s a pain to pull it all out, it definitely helps with organizing and categorizing.
There are so many bins and boxes that get emptied. Some will be utilized again but some will go into hibernation.
This is a small space that serves many functions. It houses pantry items, aprons, cookbooks, cleaning supplies and general household stuff. This is a space that it opened and closed several times throughout the day and things need somewhere to go.
ALMOST
Now that everything is out, it’s time to figure out how things go back in. Pinterest has some wonderful photos of beautifully designed spaces but they aren’t very livable or usable. The Home Edit does great work but I’m not sure that it’s actually livable on an ongoing basis. Looking at the pictures helps to give a framework to think about how it could work. The photos though should not make you feel bad if your space doesn’t look like those perfect photos. Your life is real!
Now, we start designing the space and seeing what fits where!
I did decide to get some clear containers because I realized that some of my older containers weren’t working well. They contained well but I couldn’t see what was in them and items were getting lost. Additionally, I realized that I had bags and bags of frequently used items that I was just tossing around the pantry. Putting things like nuts and crackers into clear containers works well.
DONE
Now it’s done and I’m pleased with the results. It’s not Pinterest worthy but it is organized, functional, and I can find everything I need.
This space is a work horse and it gets the job done. I’m glad I did this project and because it has some semblance of organization updating and making changes takes just a few hours instead of days.
Another thought I’ve had is that one day I may want to remove the shelving unit and put in shelves. It might give me a bit more space and it might be easier to keep it more organized.
Thoughts? Share in the comments.
