Last week, in preparation for a visit from the IL’s I finally got stuck into re-organising the pantry…
Some of you may remember, the pantry to start with looked like this:
and this:
I wanted a perfectly organised pantry, but well work/life and a chest freezer happened and it ended up like this:
So I scrounged around the house for containers to repurpose and A1 went off to Kmart in search of storage solutions. We wanted containers that we could easily grab and pull out. He came back with the most fabulous containers with jug-like handles – and only $3 each – genius!
A1 knocked some shelves out, and created a nook for the chest freezer…
I had some helpers…
And set to work, each container is themed – breakfast spreads; kids stuff; snack food and biscuits (pushed them to the furthest reaches of the pantry) etc. I used the two bigger baskets for tins and the snack foods (that tells you something – way too many tinned tomatoes and chippies in this household), and used the Kmart bargains for smaller items.
We still have most of the very top shelf to organise. We need another wine rack or two to fit in all the boxed wine we have down below. We’d prefer to have the wine down on the bottom shelf where its cooler, but little kiddies and glass wine bottles don’t go together well. I put all the first-aidy type stuff in a blue bucket up high.
On the second-from-bottom shelf, the toaster is on a little tray, and we just carry the whole thing out when we want to use it, so we aren’t dropping crumbs everywhere, plus it’s easier to pull out.
Eventually the pastas, rice, flours etc will be rehoused in better containers, but its workable for now.
Will also get tubs for the floor shelf with lids for fruit and veg storage, for when we have a working garden. So yes, top and bottom shelves, still need work, but this is where we are at – MUCH better!
Once we find the right containers for the top and bottom shelves I will update and show you. What are your favourite storage options for the pantry?
Ohh I love it. My pantry is always a disaster even though I try to organise it regularly. I might have to try some of your ideas.
I had to ttally clean out and re-organise my pantry last weekend thanks to the unwelcome moths & lavae that had totally taken over it. We still have no idea where they came from. Everything that wasn’t in a secure container was riddled with them! I chucked out over a whole garbage bag full of stuff….what a waste! I now have a new rule that nothing goes in there unless its in a container!