Though things did not exactly go my way, the show must go on. "On where ?", you ask ? Well onto pantry organization, of course ! I have to admit, that I'm pretty excited about this one as it was a bit of a task. Our pantry was nothing short of a full on mess. There was stuff everywhere and I could not figure out where to begin. If you haven't had the chance to read all about my Pantry Storage Haul, make sure you check that out before getting to all the juicy tidbits below. If you're all caught up, here is where we will start.
Welcome to my pantry! I'm sure you all have been there. Where nothing seems to have a place and clutter is the order of the day. I had actually been pretty disgusted with it myself but could never find the time to change it. But, like they say (but seriously, who is they ??? ), "where there's a will there's a way". And make a way I did.
I picked up some items from the Wal-Mart and Ross stores located near me. To see the prices of the items I purchased, be sure to check out my Pantry Storage Haul post. Here are a few of the container types below.
The containers above are from the Better Homes and Gardens collection and I picked them up at Wal-Mart. I wanted this set in particular because of the latching system on the lid that helps to seal in the freshness of your items.
I picked these cereal containers up from Ross on two different occasions. I actually bought three of them altogether but if any of you frequent Ross, you know it can be very difficult to buy multiples of anything all at one time. At least depending on the item you're attempting to purchase.
These fancy guys were also purchased at Ross. They were made by the XOX Soft Works brand but were at least twice as expensive as the other containers I'd acquired :-/ Hence their "fancy" status.
Although they were a pretty penny ( $14 per container is a lot when you only spent $7 on larger containers types by other brands ), I did love the soft push button on the lid that helps to seal in that freshness we all love.
Now onto the actual fixer upper portion of this show : Below is a little Pic Stitch ( if you have an Instagram account, you should be VERY familiar with pic stitch-ery. New word alert! ) showing how I labeled my tea containers. Because I had not had occasion to buy actual labels, I decided to cut the brand labels off of each tea pack and place it against the front of the container. I originally wanted this to be a temporary solution but have found myself loving the idea more and more.
The above picture is of two of my finished tea holders and I used 2 of the smaller containers.
Next I utilized two of the cereal containers ( fun fact: 2 out of 3 of my cereal containers were marketed in Ross as containers for dog food, while the 3rd was marketed as a cereal holder. All 3 of them are the exact same type of container. ) for our stash of Cheerios. I wanted/needed the cereal containers to be very large because we buy our cereals in bulk from Costco ( the greatness of Costco deserves a post all by itself ). That was why I bought these from Ross instead of using the larger containers from Wal-Mart.
The Cracklin' Oat Bran was able to make its ways into a shorter and skinnier container because we don't keep too much of it around. Below is a look at our cereal shelf in it's finished state.
As you can see, I also kept with my tea container idea and cut out the brand labels from each cereal box to identify each different cereal above.
Next I took a couple other items out of their boxes and placed them in my mid-sized containers on my baking goods and grains shelf. 2 of those items are above - our pancake mix and quinoa - but a couple others have been added since. Unfortunately I did not photograph them :-/
I left our Truvia baking sugar in its original packaging because I actually plan to remove it from the pantry altogether and keep it in one of our counter top containers. I left the navy beans pictured in their original bag because it is the only type of bean we have right now. Also putting them in a container - even the smallest one - would probably have taken up more space - not less.
This bad boy in the pic above is supposed to be an organizer for spices. I picked it up at .... you guessed it .... WAL-MART ! Are you seeing a trend here ? Anyhow, I bought 2 of them and used one for my canned goods. I did use the other one for spices but I'll show you that pic a little later as a bonus.
I thought the spice rack worked nicely as a canned good organizer but it also depends on how many cans you keep stocked at one time. That space ran out very quickly and I'm sure you can tell that some of my cans are still hanging out by themselves on the side against the wall.
I was able to separate Avery's items/goodies into a purrrty little basket that I found at Ross. It was the perfect size for her snacks, fruit cups and other miscellaneous items. The container in the back left corner is full of raisins. I left them on her shelf because she is really the only one in the house that eats them.
On the other side of the same shelf were my jarred and bottled items. I attempted to use my spice rack system for them as well but realized it wasn't necessary. Unlike canned items that are typically the same height, the jarred items come in all shapes and sizes. Therefore making it super easy to organize them without any extra organizational tools.
The bottom shelf consists of leftover containers - most of which have since been filled - and large liquids. On the floor, I placed 2 more baskets purchased from Ross to be the catch-all for our miscellaneous items. Sandwich bags, trash bags, paper plates and cups, foil, etc.
Last but not least, the final result of all my hard work here below. Also check out my before and after shots where I zoomed in closer to showcase the transformation of each shelf ( I didn't include the top "cereal" shelf because I neglected to take a before picture of it ). Can you tell this mama is proud of herself ??? Til next time my organized friends!
The full pantry overhaul
Shelf 1
Shelf 2
Shelf 3
Shelf 4
xoxo,
tanesia nerese'
tanesia nerese'
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