When we flipped our house, one of the top priorities we had was the kitchen. We wanted everything in the kitchen to be as perfect as we could possibly make it, and that included having a nice pantry. The first apartment we shared didn’t have an actual pantry, so the only space we had for food storage was the fridge and a few cabinets. Not the ideal situation. Our pantry now might not be the biggest, but it’s just what we need at the moment. I’m also working towards making it as organized as possible, maximizing the use of every space in there. While I’ve always been pretty organized, (I get excited every time I walk into the Container Store and I have too many containers at home) this felt way more important than any other organization project. The pantry is something you look at every single day, sometimes multiple times a day! The good thing is that you’re organizing food, and who doesn’t love food, so organizing a pantry shouldn’t feel like too much work. The organization process for the pantry actually started from the very beginning, the design of the pantry. I sketched a (very) rough design and scouted for the materials we would need, then presented all the information to my husband and father in law. To my surprise, they didn’t have an objection and we were able to get it all mounted in a day! Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about a few things you might benefit from if you are thinking about organizing your pantry. Maybe even redoing your pantry, but don’t want to spend a ton. With the proper planning, anyone is totally capable of redesigning or just reorganizing their pantry!
Adjustable shelves
There are sooo many things you don’t consider when renovating a house.. and deciding how your pantry will look is definitely one of them. Well, I knew what I wanted my pantry to look like, but spending another thousand or so just on the pantry was definitely not an option. I basically wanted this…
So, I had to work with what I had, which was a much smaller budget. And while our pantry looks nothing like that, it works for me. Our next home will definitely have that modern pantry though!
When I started thinking about the layout of the pantry, I knew I didn’t want to be complicated with the design, specially because we were mounting it all ourselves! So, I decided to work with the Rubbermaid adjustable shelving system. It did take a long time to measure and buy every exact piece we needed, but nothing too complicated. It was affordable and I love how easy it was to mount everything! We used 5 of these tracks , which basically hold everything in place, and white laminated wood like this one for the shelves. I’m not a big fan of the wire shelves, so I opted for a cleaner look with the white wooden shelves. Besides, I wanted smaller side shelves (left side), which wouldn’t have worked with wire shelves. In the time we’ve been at our house, I have adjusted the height of the shelves three times, which is what I love about having adjustable shelves. I’m able to change the shelves if I change my mind about where I want certain things to go, which also helps me maximize the use of every single inch of space. Another thing I love about having tracks is being able to add cool things like the sliding baskets I added to the bottom part of the pantry. They are perfect for little things like plastic bags, napkins, and aluminum foil, which often get thrown into random drawers with no organization.
Using sealed Jars
There are a few valid reasons why I decided to invest in jars to store almost all of our food. a) it’s easier to organize your pantry. Think about the bag of flour or rice just hanging out in your pantry. It might not bother some people, but it sure bothers me! b) keeps the bugs away. At least I like to think so! I’m scared to even think about what could be creeping inside an open container in my pantry. I’m also thinking of all the messes I’ve had to clean up from bags spilling over or leaving residue.
I’ve always used jars or canisters for coffee, tea, pasta, and other dry food. I actually had several jars when we moved into our first place that I had from when I was in college. So, I slowly continued collecting them until I had enough for the food I wanted to store away. The only issue I had was that they were all different styles and colors, so I made it my next task to get rid of the ones that didn’t really match and replace them with ones that did. To my pleasant surprise, this didn’t actually take much. I found jars at Ikea that were perfect and at a really great price (I will add links to everything at the end)! To make sure they all fit, I added this small plastic shelf for the shorter jars. If you’re not sure about buying jars for every single thing in your pantry, start small. Shop for a few jars to store dry foods that usually come in bags like rice, lentils, quinoa, etc. Having those stored away in a jar makes the world of a difference! Then maybe have one or two for your favorite cereal and cookies. I love these from Ikea !
Other Containers and baskets
I love using baskets to organize things all over my house. So, naturally, my pantry had to be filled with them as well. You might think it’s silly to use baskets to keep things like ketchup, peanut butter, coconut oil and other things organized, but taking that simple step makes finding things so much easier. Plus, if you’re reading this, it probably means you appreciate a nicely organized closet, so no need for further explanation! I recently fell in love with Target’s new collection Made by Design, which has a variety of items made for kitchen storage. I had to stop myself from buying everything but I did go home with two wire baskets (the white ones), which are perfect for keeping bags of chips and other random things organized. Keeping the same color scheme is also important if you want your closet to look cohesive. I made sure I stuck with whites and stainless steel or gold, since I already have these colors in my kitchen. I also kept in mind price and quality. My favorite place for quality containers is The Container Store, but it can also be very pricey. I recommend making a list of the containers and jars you will need, then browsing the internet for style, color and prices. Going to the store with a list full of things you need without a clue of what you actually want to buy can be very stressful! Some of my favorite stores to shop for these things are The Container Store, Ikea, Target and sometimes Tj Maxx.
The Pegboard
I initially wanted a wall rack for the pantry door from The Container Store. I loved the idea of having another place to store small kitchen items I don’t really have a place for like chip clips. I even thought about hanging a calendar or a notepad for my grocery lists. I’m glad I waited for this because Ikea offered something that worked even better. A Pegboard. We were able to perfectly tuck this pegboard into the free wall space inside the pantry. No need to hang anything on the door and have it showing every time I opened the pantry closet, although it wasn’t ugly, I’m always opting for less clutter. We didn’t fill the pegboard with too many things, mainly spices, cooking ingredients and small items that just wouldn’t fit with the other jars. I’m also using it to keep my grocery list notepad handy.
I hope I covered everything pantry related in this post and that you found this information useful! Thank you for stopping by and please let me know if you’ll be using any of these tips in your own pantry!
xoxo,
Cynthia Rojas
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