Pantry Overhaul!

Today I am going to share a project I have been working on over the last couple of weeks.  It was a task that needed to be addressed ASAP, so I grabbed a garbage bag and headed in…to the pantry, that is.  We have a small walk-in pantry just off the kitchen with great shelving for tons of storage.  We had the pantry system put in by Closets by Design last year and I guess you could say I kept the shelves somewhat organized, but they definitely were not in shape like I wanted them to be.  I knew I needed to clear out the junk (throw out expired food), remove things that don’t belong in a kitchen pantry (I ended up with 2 shopping bags for Goodwill when doing this part?!) and decide what items should be stored on what shelf.  I then made a list of foods / items that could be grouped together in baskets and bins.  I had several baskets currently in use in the pantry and several others I had spotted at Target, etc. and knew I wanted to pick up and slap some pretty labels on them. The labels were printed on cardstock paper, cut to size and inserted into gold bookplate label holders.  I will put together a full source list at the bottom of this post in case you are in the mood to overhaul YOUR pantry this weekend.  I think the project stemmed from some nesting tendencies I have been displaying lately, as well knowing I wanted to tackle some spring cleaning around the house!

The pantry isn’t perfect, but it works for us!  I have 3 shelves being used for storage of large kitchen gadgets, garbage bags/misc. items and another for vases, candles and candleholders.  Although the shelves look “neat & tidy”, I felt like putting up some fabric panels I sewed and inserted some elastic into.  I attached them to the edges of the shelves with velcro squares for easy access even though I don’t really have to get at those things very often.  The fabric panels were definitely not necessary, but I thought it made the space look pretty 🙂

Here is what we have goin’ on in the pantry NOW

(Sorry for the photo overload :))

Bins, baskets & shelves ~ all with pretty gold labels (I couldn’t help it)

   

You can see I added several shelf risers to allow for maximum usage of space. Below you will also see an under-shelf basket and 2 black plate racks (paper plate & cloth napkin storage).

   

A few more snapshots ~ the bottom fabric panel, clear plastic containers for dry goods storage, a bin for energy drinks, sliding drawers for misc. items.

   

Stacked paper goods & plastic serving utensils

I added 3 large plastic hooks behind the door for reusable grocery & shopping bags and last, but not least, the Recycling basket… its always been there, but I had to add a label, of course!

Source List:

small baskets // various baskets // Large black &white baskets// white energy drink bin // dry goods containers // wire shelves // metal shelves // fabric (Hobby Lobby) // gold label holders (these are similar ones online, but the larger gold ones I used can be found in the Staples store)

Have a great weekend!  Are you going to be doing any spring cleaning or pantry organization?