Organized PANTRY {House of Smiths}

As the first week of our organizing series draws to a close, we leave you with the uber-talented Shelly of House of Smiths who is upping the ante with her pretty pantry makeover. If you haven’t seen it before, you’re in for a treat! Perhaps her organized and efficient pantry will encourage us all to beautify our pantires as well over the weekend! Have a great one y’all!

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I'm so excited to be part of Megan's organizing guest post series!

I LOVE an organized pretty space, it makes life SO much easier, and to me, there's nothing better then being able to know that everything has a "proper place" :)

This past year, my hubby and I decided to tackle one of the messiest spaces in our house... by FAR!

The Pantry!

Believe ME... we were thrilled to even HAVE a pantry (being that the last 3 houses we had lived in didn't even have one) but overtime we had let it get really out of control.

Case and Point...lol

So with a little creativity, and a LOT of help from IKEA and our local thrift stores, we finally got this space in tip-top, extraordinarily organized condition... and here's how we did it! :)

I started at the bottom, priming away... realized how SMALL and cramped this space was, and gave up. ha.

It took Cason finally pulling out EVERYTHING we had in there, to get my "behind" into gear, again.

I found these3ft pieces of trim at Joann's Fabric on clearance and thought they would be a subtle, great way to jazz up the shelf fronts a bit.

After about 3 coats of primer, we used some wood glue and adhered the trim on the fronts of all the shelves.

(We planned on having larger molding to give it a more dramatic look, but we didn't want to have to worry about overhang, and someone catching the bottom of one of the pieces of moldings and ripping it off.

So these ended up working perfectly!)

After the wood glue dried, I putty-ed up the cracks and painted all

the shelves and molding semi-gloss white.

Next came the fun part! COLOR!

Woo hoo!

I had had my mind COMPLETELY set.

The leftover Cyprus Grass by Glidden, from my laundry room that I had redone earlier!

It would be PERFECT! And FREE!

Slapped a coat up, and...

LOL

This wasn't the first time I would throw a fit during this project.

I hated it!

I don't hate the COLOR, I LOVE it in the laundry room... but I just knew right away, that it wasn't the "look" I was going for.

So off to Lowes Cason and I went.

I threw a minor temper tantrum in the paint section, while Cason tried to tempt me into the color

orange!!!...

ugh...lol.

And then he said something brilliant...

"If you can't find a green color you like... what about........ gray???"

(he said it quietly and slowly... like, if I hated the idea he would quickly say... I MEAN... BLUE???)

LOL.

Seriously love this guy. He puts up with all my "house drama/dilemmas"

So after sorting through about a hundred gray's,

I picked out a gray I thought might work well.

Flagstone from Olympic.

Not too light, not too dark, and just enough warmth.

I got it home and started painting

Looooove THIS COLOR!

I'll proudly admit...

Babe... YOU WERE RIGHT!

The gray popped just right, against the white shelves and I immidately fell

BACK IN LOVE

with my project :)

Please tell me I'm not the only one this happens to. You start something... you love it... then you hate it... then you love it again... LOL... Like I said... I'm a bit dramatic when it comes to big changes like this. ha!

Problem solved... Paint being loved... Start hauling stuff back in... right?

eh. no. :)

This pantry HAS to stand out! I didn't spend a whole week on my hands and knees, and squished in between shelves to not make this space all that it could be...

CUE: THE QUATREFOIL!

{{{ Enter hallelujah chorus HERE }}}

So fun right!? I LOVE this pattern!

Normally I would have tried to stencil this design... in a space SO large to save money... but I was lazy, and vinyl took about 35 minutes compared to maybe... days of tedious stencil work. lol.

And I really thought about whether or not to use vinyl... because I know that a lot of people can't replicate this look on a budget, but that's where I decided to spend my $$$.

you can get the vinyl from me, at Wonderfully Wordy.

I thought it might be good to break down the shelves and such for everyone so you can see how and where I placed everything. Also along the way... I added tips and tricks that I found worked best for me :)

*Remove ALL food/electrical/bulky items that don't get used or eaten on a weekly basis

All other products should be moved to another "food storage" location, if possible. This way, when you need to "restock" on pantry items that are low... you can easily refill them with your stored products... and keep your "everyday" pantry clean and free of unnecessary clutter.

If you don't have ANY other space... utilize empty, dead space on the floor with cute, functional containers, that you can easily pull out... that allow for extra storage.

I didn't need to do this, so I kept my floor clear, but I'm thinking some cute pull out drawers on sliders would be pretty dang great in here :)

* Place all items that you DO want or need to store and don't use everyday... up high

I found this wire basket at my local Deseret Industries (DI) for $1.00.

I placed our ice cream cones, drink mixes and rarely used... but still needed sugars in this basket.

*LABEL, LABEL, LABEL!!!

The more you label things, the better ~~your kids and husband~~ you'll be at making sure your hard work doesn't go to waste!

Containers or other storage items you've chosen to organize with, will have a better chance at being refilled with the RIGHT products and things will stay more organized and you'll find yourself "cleaning out the pantry" less and less.

Jar Labels can be bought HERE.

Jars found at IKEA. But I don't think the carry them anymore.

Walmart has some though!

They vary in price from about $4-$12.

*Categorize your Pantry

Baking Supplies, Snacks, Paper Goods, Canned Products... and so on.

It just makes sense... right? :)

This little crate was found at DI for $0.50 cents.

I just added a vinyl label to the front.

I keep all the baking powders, vanilla and such in here.

Any SMALL products that tend to go scattered all over the pantry, in due time.

*Protect your Work!

I used these inexpensive furniture, self stick pads from IKEA to put on the bottom of all my "thrift store" organizational storage finds, that had rough bottoms or edges.

I also lined all the pantry shelves with white contact paper, to protect the paint for as long as I can.

It might sound a little "fussy" to do all this for a pantr and more work and money, now... but it will keep you from having to take the time to retouch up paint in the future!

I HIGHLY recommend these two things.

I didn't work that hard, for NOTHIN'! :)

Protective padded circles were $2.00 at IKEA for a large pack, and the white contact paper was from Walmart. I bought one large roll and it did everything but the top shelf (which I wasn't worried about doing anyway)

for about $5.00.

*Make pantry items accessible and easy to "see"

Your pantry can be as cute as ever, but if you can't get to the items you need, or even SEE what you have, then what's the point?

I used hanging bathroom shower caddy's from IKEA

(that were in the clearance section for about $2.00) for all of our spices.

And I used this small tin, also from IKEA for about $2.00... to hold all our spice packets.

(cinnamon and sugar shaker was found at a kitchen supply store for $1.50)

This simple, tight seal bottle was also found at IKEA, and I use it for our maple syrup.

($2.00 I think)

I didn't know how I would like this bottle, for such a thick, sticky liquid... but I LOVE it!

Works GREAT, and my small kids can't open it without my help. PEEERFECT! :)

oh right... and it's CUTE and inexpensive TOO! hot dog! :)

lol.

*Keep things you use OFTEN at eye level, for easy use!

The things you use EVERYDAY should be easy to access.

Once again, try to label things and make sure that it all makes sense. If you have noodles in one area... then your sauce should be it's sidekick!

tall containers from IKEA $5.00 each

Wide mouth glass jars with silver screw on lids

Walmart - $5.00 each.

(I have small scoops inside the rice and protein powder that I keep in each container, for easy use!)

Other food products that I use on a regular basis that can't really go in containers are stored BEHIND the larger items.

Again... Our snacks and other items that we tend to use daily, are in places where the kids can easily get to them.

funny... when my kids first saw the pantry they asked if the containers are for decoration or if it's okay to eat the food!

LOL.

They get it now... and love how "fun and easy" their snacks are to get to.

The small and tall storage containers are from IKEA, once again. I think the small ones were $3.00 each. I put chocolate chips, marshmellows, and walnuts in ours. Great for dumping into cookie mixes.... or just eating as treats :)

And "mommy's snacks" ... these raw almonds, are in this fun glass container I found from DI for $1.50.

*Lose all those bulky BOXES!

Our family goes through a TON of cereal. And everyone likes totally different kinds.

So I didn't want to waste my money on a bunch of different containers that I KNEW would always be half full, and have tons of cereal dust crumbs in the bottom of.

But I ALSO knew that I HATED all the cereal boxes that would pile up in our pantry... making it look cluttered and smaller then the space already was!

So I used this wire crate... again found at DI for about $1.00... and ditched all the cereal boxes and just rolled the bags down with a clip and shoved them all in here!

Nothing fancy...

But I like it!

Our hot cereal mixes are in this basket too.

I didn't put the pancake mix in a container, because I always need the instructions, and we use quite a bit each time we make a batch so I didn't know if it would be worth spending another $5.00 on a container.

If I DO decide to do one, I was thinking of cutting out the instructions and just taping them on the backside of the jar :)

But for now, the bag sits tucked in the corner, by our other breakfast items.

*Keep Heavy, Less Used, Clutter Prone items down low.

Things like my large bottle of oil, vinegars, soy sauce, season salt... and such are stored low, and hidden.

I don't want to have to go to my "alternate storage place" to grab these items, but I don't need to SEE them all the time either.

Can goods are another item that our family hardly uses, still need at hand but tend to clutter our pantry!

I always had cans set up at eye level. But I'm loving them down low and stacked on risers now.

So much more organized, and I can actually SEE what I have :)

These milk crates were $3.00 each, at an annual antique garage sale that my sister in law introduced me to.

I put some of those padded protector disks on the bottom again, to protect the shelf.

I LOVE the look of the old faded wood and metal bound corners :)

They just add a fun personalized element to the regular storage go-to containers, for pantry's.

Ya...it's kind of a mess inside... but I tried to keep things in there that I will be using in the VERY near future... to save me too many trips down to our

other food storage spot. :)

Can good risers were from my Mom. She gave them to me a long time ago but I'm thinking they were from Target.

I can't imagine them being more than a couple of dollars.

And again... Here's the BIG PICTURE! :)

For OUR family, this set up is working AWESOME!

I haven't and ANY problems... and am really pleased at how well everything is working out :)

I've already had a few people who have seen our pantry say...

"My kids would be eating that stuff like crazy!

I can't believe you keep it out, and within reach!!!"

I hate to say this... but honestly... my kids don't really have this problem.

They get what they want in a small bowl and then put it back where it goes...

or pretty close, anyway :)

I was worried about the chocolate chips and such, but they haven't even touched them!

I also keep my kids juice boxes, string cheese, yogurt and applesauce down low in the drawers in our fridge, so they can get to them easily, without my help.

Same with their cups and bowls and such.

I know that this doesn't work well for ALL families, but that's how we've ALWAYS done it...

so it's not really a "privilege" for my kids... therefor they don't abuse it.

Does that make sense? Hope so.

You could totally put snacks and such, up one shelf too high for smaller kids, to keep them from getting into things, but still easy for YOU to get to :)

In conclusion...

*Make YOUR pantry work for YOUR Family!

Everyone has different ways of accessing their food, and how they like to keep it stored.

But I promise that if you find functional, easy, clearly marked, (and cute doesn't hurt either) storage solutions for your pantry... you will be LOVING life, so much more!

Things will stay in their place, and your pantry will turn into

a space that can FUNC-TION

instead of a place you put food 'n JUNK in!

Definitely my NEW PANTRY SLOGAN :) LOL.

Here's wishing you and YOUR family a Happy and Organized New Year!

~Shelley Smith

houseofsmiths.blogspot.com