Pantry Before & After

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This post first appeared on The Queen in Between in July 2015 but I’m sharing with Erika & Shay today for Let’s Look at our Pantries!  My picture game was way off for this post but there are a few practical solutions I found which I still feel are worth sharing!

So I’m sure you have all been wondering what will I do with all these free weekends now that baseball is over.  Well wonder no more friends!  Time to tackle some of the areas around this house that have been driving me crazy for the past 6 months…or some maybe 12 years.

I finally had the time and the energy to tackle the pantry!  It just doesn’t take much to excite me I guess because I seriously am typing late into the night only because I’m still on such an adrenaline rush from the organizing.

Organization
We have a rather large pantry which can be a blessing or a curse.  My realtor informed me when we were buying the house the pantry was typically a half bathroom in most of the builders homes.  In hindsight I would give up a pantry any darn day to have that half bath!  So here is a first look at what I was starting with.
Organization
Sometimes having a lot of space means things that should not end up in the pantry end up in the pantry.  This space is a catch all for anything that comes into the house without a designated home.
Organization
You see this corner?  Yep that dark lonely space.  Well there are two on the first three shelves and it has always been so wasted.  From the pole to the corner measures 26 inches.  That is a lot of wasted space.
Organization
Because it was so cluttered, I often didn’t realize what I actually did have in the pantry and would come home with items I didn’t need.  Ritz crackers much?   Let’s face it, this pantry needed some love!
Organization
My friend Holly is always having a love fest with Walmart over on her blog so I decided to make it my first stop.  I found these containers and decided they were worth a shot to corral the cereal.  I also picked up glass canisters to use for my baking supplies which you will see later.  The glass containers were only $4.97 and all of these items were made in the USA!  Y’all, my daddy would be so incredibly proud!
Organization
I decided a turntable would be a great solution for those deep corners and I finally found the size I needed from Bed, Bath & Beyond.  This 18″ lazy susan is a perfect fit!
I came home and got to work!  Now, what I would recommend typically is that you remove every single item from the pantry and start from scratch. This pantry is so big and I decided that was not the best use of my time.  Instead I removed every item on a shelf, wiped down the shelves and proceeded to reorganize.
Organization
The first thing I did was rethink the items I had on each shelf.  The canned goods were always hard to see as they were at the back of the shelf that was fairly dark.  I moved those items to the upper shelf and the kids now have easier access to snacks in bins that can be pulled out as needed.
Organization
I still cannot believe the difference adding these turntables made.  I purchased four; one for each corner of the two main grocery shelves.  All my baking supplies are now in one location in the pantry.
Organization
Snacks are in the bins and crackers, chips and other misc snacks are on the turntables.  I’ve had these two tier shelves for quite a while and they have worked very well both in the pantry and in my kitchen cabinet for making better use of vertical space.
Organization
Our spare fridge is on the blitz right now so I have been needing a spot to hold drinks to have available for the cooler on the weekend.  With a little rearranging I was able to make space on the bottom shelf.
Organization
I really never thought having all the cereal in like containers would make that much of a difference but oh my goodness it really does.  These containers are skinnier but taller than the cereal boxes and just having everything uniform makes it look so much nicer.
Organization
For real…these canisters may just be my favorite!  While I keep my sugar and flour in nice canisters on my kitchen counter, these items have always just been thrown in the dark corner in whatever bags they came in.  This just looks so much nicer and I can easily see when I am almost out of something.
Organization
Sometimes I let the kids get a little out of control with choosing cereals but only having four bins will definitely help me hold them to just a chosen few.
Organization

This cute little basket has been shoved under one of my kitchen cabinets forever.  It was prefect for holding seasoning packets.  I have had my tiered shelf for pretty much the entire time we have lived here and it is similar to this one.

There is still quite a bit of usable space under the bottom shelf and I currently have a three drawer cart holding some arts and craft supplies on one side and I’m hoping to add one more.  I also would like to get a bin for Dutch’s dog food.   Currently we just have the bag in the middle of the pantry floor and I think having something under the bottom shelf for that would be nice.

So what do you think?  What are some of your favorite tips for organizing the pantry?  Being able to see everything is definitely my goal and I think for now that has greatly improved.