Organizing Challenge #7 -- The Pantry

I'm linking to A Bowl Full of Lemons for Challenge #7 -- The Pantry.  If you've been following along, you might notice that I skipped #6 which was organizing your dresser.  That one I will be modifying to another area of clothing storage that is less personal.  Yes, I'm being modest & the items we store (The Man & I share the main dresser) in the dresser are all of a very personal nature.  You get my drift?  I will be sharing some other storage in our bedroom and will probably post that later today.

Now on to the Pantry.  You might call me a "food hoarder" because I like having plenty of everything in my pantry.  I really don't consider this to be a problem area for me as far as it being organized.  I'm a bit obsessed about labeling & love my label maker.  Sad but true.  This pantry-cabinet was the most expensive piece of our kitchen cabinets when we remodeled our kitchen several years ago, but worth every penny (to me, anyway).  I grocery shop every 2 weeks at my regular grocery store (Walmart) & about once-a-month at either Sam's Club or Costco.  Every once-in-awhile, instead of doing my run to Walmart, I shop my pantry & plan meals accordingly.  Those meals are a bit less inspired & are much more basic, but it helps to clear out the pantry.

This is the outside.  It's pretty big.

The inside.

Once again I prefer not to take everything out -- way too much chaos!  I do wipe down shelves in here frequently, so it stays clean, but it does get messy.  I had not had a pantry for over 20 years until we remodeled this kitchen, so this thing is in constant use and I love it.  The first shelf is where we have snacks, protein bars, & all manner of munches.  This is the shelf that gets the most use and can get cluttered the quickest.

Before

I bought the clear plastic containers w/white lids at Walmart several months ago.  They have worked very well for holding everything from almonds to beef jerky.  Yes, we love the 100 Calorie mini bags of popcorn, regular & Kettle corn!

After

This 2nd shelf is the heaviest.  Being OCD that I am, I need to have all my main course needs on one shelf -- soups, canned meats, vegetables, side-dish mixes, etc.  This proved disastrous not long after the kitchen was finished and I stocked the pantry.  Apparently the manufacturer of the slider glides didn't plan on the weight of goods that I would be putting on these shelves, and the shelf collapsed.  The Man had to replace all the glides with heavy-duty ones.  No more disasters!

Before

It's hard to have all of this look organized, but it is.  I've had the labels across the front of the slider drawers for quite a long time.  It really helps when The Man is helping put groceries away.  Hmmm?  I can see we are definitely going to be having more soup meals!

After

This is kind of the sweet and/or baking shelf.  This is where I keep canned fruits, juices, pie fillings, cake mixes, puddings, etc.  To me, if it's sweet or goes into making something sweet, then it belongs on this shelf.  I do not keep flours & sugars here in the pantry.  I have a separate baking area & cabinet storage for all those items.

Before

After

This is my "Misc." shelf.  This is where I keep potatoes, yams, onions and anything that really does not have a specific category (at least to me).  I didn't make any changes to this area, so the Before is also the After.

The upper part of the pantry holds more of the bulky items or things that I purchase by the case at Cosco.  This is also where my cookie sheets, stones, & cooling racks are stored.  

Before

After

I used to keep the tall coffee dispensers over the refrigerator, but I use them a lot and this is easier to access.

I added one of those 3M easy remove hooks on the inside of the door for my apron(s).

I added another one of those hooks here for a calendar.  This is my menu calendar.  I plan meals for 2 weeks as I'm doing my grocery list.  I then write my menu for each day on this calendar -- in pencil in case I have a change of plans.

I'd say this pantry is truly the "work horse" of our kitchen.  I hope you enjoyed looking behind closed doors and seeing just what kind of food gets prepared around here.  Don't judge!  Please come by again soon.

CAS