Project: Pantry
Technically, our pantry never was unorganized. If you know me, most things are organized. That’s not to say things can never be more organized. Ever since I saw a fantastic pantry redesign on House of Smith’s, I’ve been itching to change things up with our pantry. Over the weekend, I got a metaphorical bug up my butt and started changing things up.
Here is the before:
Yeah, not super great. Most of our grocery shopping is done at Costco, so everything is in bulk and a little tricky to store. I will admit, we are lower on some of our supplies shown in the after photos.
Ben and I started by throwing out everything that was past its prime or giving it away. I grouped like items together and made a shelf for each grouping.
The bottom shelf has cookbooks and potatoes, leaving room for larger items to be stored after a Costco trip. All canned, boxed and bagged dry food items are on the same shelf along with baby food and formula. Then we have a baking shelf, including flour, sugar, and chocolate chips. Cereals and soda joined the baking party. Finally, the top shelf has alcohols, large serving platters, straws, paper plates and coffee supplies.
Lucky for me, Ben got in one of his deep clean moods after this! I love when this happens. Ben becomes a cleaning machine. He removed all the screens and windows (our window panels can be removed to leave a huge opening) and cleaned every piece. Then, he took everything out of our refrigerator and scrubbed down every surface. It’s like we have a brand new fridge.
As if cleaning windows and refrigerators wasn’t enough fun, Ben also removed everything from both bathroom drawers, vacuumed and scrubbed the insides. Yes, I am one lucky girl. Then I went through all the contents. I threw some things away, donated others, and organized the rest.
And our drawers are clean, too!
So, that was our fun-filled weekend of cleaning. Have you deep-cleaned or organized anything recently?
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YAY! Congrats on all of the organizing! Feels amazing right?! Love your stories!
Oh, it does feel amazing! I feel sort of lame to be so excited about it, but what’s life if you can’t take pleasure in the little things, right?
Thanks!
Amanda
I was wondering if you’d mind sharing how deep your pantry shelves are?
The shelves of my current pantry space are way too deep (at 28 inches), and I keep “losing” things in the back. We’re going to “reconfigure” it in the near future, and I’m trying to figure out the best depth. I haven’t come up with a definite number yet, but keep thinking something like 18 to 20 inches.
Thanks! 🙂
PS: I can’t even begin to thank you enough for having this blog. You’ve completely rejuvenated my enthusiasm for remodeling my home!
Hi Sarah,
Our pantry shelves are 21 1/2 inches deep, which are still a little bit too deep for my liking. It’s tricky to get everything organized so things don’t get ‘lost’ in the back. I would try out 18 inches, as 20 wouldn’t be too much smaller than ours. Thank you for the kind words, too! I’m glad we can provide a little inspiration and encouragement to work on your home!
Thanks!
Amanda
I love getting the bug and purging. It’s amazing to realize what you really use and just don’t need…and don’t need to buy again.
Nice tips! You’ve inspired me to do a overhaul of my pantry! One little suggestion for your fridge: milk is best stored on the shelves inside the fridge itself, not the door (unless you have a beverage chiller feature on the door of your fridge). Frequent opening of the refrigerator doors allows warm air in, and the products stored in the doors generally do not maintain a consistent and safe temp (38 – 40 F). Milke will likely spoil faster when stored in the door.
Hi Amy,
I’m glad you’ve been inspired! Thanks for the tip, too! We usually go through about 4 gallons of milk in a week, so it’s not sitting around for too long, but it’s good to know!
Thanks again!
Amanda