This is one of those projects that has been evolving over time.
I even did the scary infomercial black and white photo to show you just how bad it was (also in color which is even more scary to me).
I started by emptying out the pantry and purging things I no longer used or needed.
These square shaped containers also got the ball rolling. I found a set of them at Costco (they are the OXO Good Grips Pop Top line) and ended up buying two more sets by the time I was done with the makeover. You can find them at other stores too but they can get pricey that way. The cheapest ones I found were at TJ Maxx but they don't carry all of the sizes. The sets from Costco were a really good deal (8 pieces for $39).
The pantry door was another area that I felt could be better utilized. Previously it had a couple of hooks on it that held our plastic shopping bags for reusing, lunch bags and a basket for chip clips.
After some research and a trip to the Container Store,
we he installed an Elfa rack system to the back of the door. It attaches to the top and bottom of the door so there are no holes to drill and we can take it with us when we move.
Cue the angels singing! The Elfa system has all different sized baskets to customize the rack. It took a little tweaking, and a few more trips to the Container Store but now it's perfect for us.
At the top, we added an accessory bar that holds hooks for the lunch bag. It's also magnetic so we're able to keep our chip clips right on the bar. I found the magnetic clips at Walmart. The plastic bags are now in the laundry room in their own dispenser.
I love how deep and wide the baskets are. They can hold full size Costco items in the larger baskets and regular sized cans in the medium baskets. I like how I can see everything in the baskets so I always know what we have on hand and what we need to shop for.
For the rest of the pantry, I repurposed bins that we already had. The larger white bin holds opened snacks and it's now easy to pull it out to see what's in there.
I found this shelf liner at the Dollar Store but I also found a larger roll at Walmart. Eventually I'd like to paint the back of the pantry a fun color too.
I tried to organize so the shelves at eye level hold our most used items. I love the lazy susan for open items that don't fit in bins like nut butters and agave syrup.
On the floor we've got some lidded metal bins that I was using before (from Ikea). They hold items that don't get used as frequently like cookie cutters and sushi making tools. I got the lined baskets from our hall tree in the den #shopthehouse and they are working out nicely for the potatoes and onions. The blue bin was one of the girl's and was headed for donation. It holds silicone baking cups and a few other baking/decorating items that we tend to use on a regular basis. That way we can just grab the bin for a quick baking job instead of digging through one of the metal bins.
Ahh...so much better! It's been a pleasure to open the pantry door now and see everything in it's place. I really love the Elfa rack system and think I could use one in every room of the house.
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