Hi friends! Hows your week going so far? This first week after the long winter break has been pretty good! Im sure you could guess that I like getting back into the schedule and routine. Which probably wont surprise you that I also like to keep things super organized in my home. If you caught my holiday storage post, you saw a bit of that.
Today, Im pumped to show you my pantry in all her glory! Im thankful to have a large walk-in pantry that also doubles as decor storage. About two years ago, I shared an updated pantry organization post and Im happy to say that its stayed in pretty good shape over the years.
Decanting things makes it so much prettier, but it wasnt until now that I added labels to the jars, which put it over the top. Im pretty sure my kids were worried I would label them when it was all said and done!
MY ORGANIZED PANTRY
Rug Glass Jars w Wooden Lids Font Labels Chalk Labels OXO Containers Glass Jar Cork Shelf Liner Glass Jars Woven Baskets Expand-A-Shelf
It wasnt until I found these script labels that I knew I had to have them! You can get other fonts too, but I love this handwritten style. They come with so many words, so pretty much everything you need to label in a pantry.
But, they didnt have marshmallows or taco shells. I may try to write those in later, but for now felt okay just leaving them blank. I would prefer everything to have a label, but Im okay with some jars not having one.
The labels come precut as a sticker, so all you have to do is peel and stick. Because I didnt want the words to get lost, I added a black chalkboard label behind it. Now the words really pop.
So, lets talk about the large glass canisters. You might want to skip this part if mice make you squeamish, but it was just one mouse . . .
About three years ago, I was gift wrapping presents for Christmas at night and went into the panty to put some excess paper into the recycling bin. I flipped on the light and YES, you guessed it, a little baby mouse went scurrying across one of the pantry shelves!
It freaked me out so bad that I went running as fast as I could outta there, tripping on the rug and busting my butt in the process!
Then, once I got to closely inspecting things like plastic bags of rice, I saw tiny little holes where the mouse.had.chewed! UGGG!!!!
Needless to say, I started putting everything into big glass jars WITH LIDS! so that no rodents could get in there! I shared this story and Im grateful that many of you have written to me letting me know youve had the same issue! For months after my mouse encounter, I would hold my breath every time I flipped on the pantry lights. No, probably more like a year!
Anyways, now most of our things are decanted and kept in plastic or glass jars. It keeps them fresh and is also pretty to look at.
What if you need a label? You can clip the cooking directions or nutrition info and tape it to the back of the box. Or you can always look up how to cook rice online.
I like the woven baskets for corralling things like baking and decorative items. In the big one are the bags of Doritos my son takes to school in his lunch everyday.
What happens if you have extra of something or it doesnt fit into a container? Ill just put it behind the jar or in the big bin.
The canned goods are on a three-tiered riser that helps me see what we have. Its so much easier to prepare you meal plan and grocery list when you can quickly tell what you have.
We eat a lot of spaghetti and meatballs (one of Jordans faves), so theres always lots of pasta and marinara sauce. I like beans and chickpeas and theres so many things you can make with those, so I tend to stock up.
I recently got these little round jars with wooden lids and they are perfect for snack items. The lids are air tight for extra freshness and they look so cute in the pantry. Heck, theyd even be cute in a bathroom.
How do you know the expiration date? You can put a little sticker on the bottom of the jar if its something you dont use often.
The thing Ive had forever and swear by are the OXO containers with pop locking lids. They come in every shape and size and last forever.
You can also see that I lined our shelves with adhesive cork shelf liner. I love the clean look it gives and how it keeps things looking tidy on the shelf.
Right now, the only people that eat cereal in our house are me and Jordan, so I keep the cereal boxes in the cabinet above the oven. That way, I can just grab them close to where the fridge and milk are.
I couldnt be happier with the cereal containers we have. They have a skinnier side that makes grabbing them very easy, and then the flip top lid makes it easy to pour. Plus, the airtight container keeps the cereal fresher longer. And they come with labels and a chalk marker.
PANTRY ORGANIZATION
Below are some of the items I have in my pantry that helps keep everything nice and neat.
1 Cereal Container | 2 Glass Jars | 3 Font Labels | 4 Chalk Labels | 5 OXO Containers | 6 Glass Jar | 7 Cork Shelf Liner | 8 Grip Shelf Liner | 9 Glass Jars
I was so giddy about this project and labeling my jars made me so happy! Its just my personality that things like this bring such JOY! I know this type of organization isnt for everyone and not everyone has the space to display their things this way.
SMALL PANTRY SOLUTIONS
If you have a small pantry, I highly recommend this over-the-door organizer. Thats the same one I used on our tiny townhouse. Its super easy to install and you can adjust the height of the shelves to fit your needs. It holds so much stuff!
A double shelf is also good for smaller spaces, so that you can double up and utilize the full height of your cabinet or pantry.Three-tiered racks make things easy to see. If you have a lot of canned goods, this stackable rack got over 3,000 positive reviews.
Turntables and lazy susans are also a convenience.
The biggest space saver of all is to not have things you dont use or eat in your pantry. Go through everything and toss all the expired stuff. Its always surprising what you find in there!
Then, when you do your next meal plan for the week, shop your pantry first. Ive been meal planning this way for awhile now and Ive gotten used to not having a fridge full of food. I found that I was tossing so much stuff and I hated that.
You can see that the food in our pantry could fit in a much smaller space, and our pantry doubles as decor storage too. Now, Im much more intentional about what we eat and using what we have. And, its also saving me money on my grocery bill.
I hope this post is helpful for you and gives you some good organizing mojo! If you want to see more organizing posts, let me know in the comments! I have a whole house I could show!
Have a fantastic day friends!
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