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An organized pantry can be a dream come true. When I come home from Costco, worn out from taking 2-4 wild boys along, putting things away in my new pantry makes me happy. They unload and bring everything upstairs, and I unpack and put everything in its place.
Here’s where it all started.
This was the pantry in our home when we moved in. Although it stored a lot of things, it didn’t function very well for us. It was down the hall from the kitchen and no matter how I organized it, it always seemed to be a mess. As part of our home remodel we needed to reprogram the space and layout of our upstairs. We chose to move the pantry closer to the kitchen for ease of flow, which also allowed us to enlarge our master bathroom and install a bathtub!
If your pantry is a HUGE MESS, make sure to check out 5 steps to an Organized Pantry, it will get to going on the right track!
Dream Pantry Must Haves:
1. Cabinets
These are upper cabinets and they are only 12 inches deep. (Called upper cabinets because they traditionally are installed above the counter top.) This allowed the cabinets to be installed along three sides of the room instead of only being able to fit traditionally sized 24 inch lower cabinets along one or two walls. Deep cabinets in a pantry lead to things getting crammed in, lost, and disorganized. With 12 inch deep cabinetry, the appliances sit side by side and are easy to find and use.
These cabinets are from the Lowe’s (Diamond Now Arcadia) and are an in-stock product. They come in lots of different dimensions to fit your needs, as well as finishes.
The cabinets are installed high enough to fit baskets underneath. This provides a ton of additional storage.
In addition to storing appliances; these cabinets are great for storing cans, large spice containers, and large containers of oil and vinegar. A sizable space between two cabinets allows for 5 gallon buckets of staple items such as sugar, flour, and rice to be stored in buckets. A stained plywood shelf spans this gap (this is the first shelf), which allows for seamless storage and a clean look. A simple curtain held up by a tension rod keeps the buckets out of sight but easily accessible.
These buckets used to be stored in the garage and were inconvenient to haul up and down the stairs whenever I needed a refill. Incorporating the 5 gallon buckets into the pantry was a top priority for me.
2. Open Shelving
Open shelving was put on three walls of the pantry. The shelves were created with stained plywood and L brackets from Lowe’s. I spray painted the brackets gold to match the cabinet handles. The shelves on the left and back are styled and more attractive to look at while the shelves on the right are organized more Costco style. The styled shelves visually pop out at you immediately upon entering the pantry and make you fall in love at first sight.
3. Baskets and Bins
Baskets are wonderful to hide extra items. When organizing, make sure that each basket has a specific purpose. We have individual baskets for storing lunch boxes, water bottles, potatoes, and onions. The uses for baskets in a pantry are endless. Baskets with liners hide unattractive items and help keep a cleaner look. I personally don’t like seeing water bottles and lunchboxes when I walk in the pantry, but I know exactly where they are.
Wooden crates are used on the top shelf to store additional small items. These things are not used regularly, but still need a designated space. Food coloring, cookie cutters, and birthday candles find their home in these crates. The chalkboards on these creates are handy for easy labeling.
Lined baskets and crates are all from Michael’s.
Let me give you a tip on buying baskets in bulk from Michael’s. ONLY BUY THEM IF THEY ARE 50% OFF AND WHEN YOU HAVE A 20% OFF YOUR ENTIRE PURCHASE. Then, and only then, are they affordable! I tend to find these type of deals on Friday and Saturday using the coupons on their mobile APP.
These bins from Ikea are a great way to organize kids snacks, granola bars, and oatmeal packets. Again, the possibilities are endless of what you can fill them with, but it gets the bulky packaging out of the pantry and creates a more streamlined look.
Each bin is labeled with my favorite label maker to keep things organized.
3. Jars
There in an endless array of jars you can use to organize a pantry. A few of my favorites are ½ gallon mason jars, ikea pasta jars, 2.5 gallon Anchor Hocking jars, and Anchor Hocking close lid jars.
The 2.5 gallon jars are great to store pantry staples like sugar, rice, and flour for easy cooking and baking. The opening is wide enough to fit a measuring cup and hold enough so that the jar doesn’t have to be refilled too often.
Smaller jars are great for pastas, trail mix, croutons, nuts, and raisins. Everything is sealed and fresh and looks very visually appealing. Throw out all the distracting bags and boxes and put as much as you can in beautiful jars!
For smaller pantry items I use smaller Anchor Hawking Jars. I love that they have a very tight seal to keep things fresh.
5. Hooks
I have multiple hooks in the pantry to keep bags, aprons, and decorations nice and organized.
Hobby Lobby has great hook options as well as Amazon. They can easily be screwed into a stud or added to a stained piece of wood.
6. Decorations and Unique Elements
It may seem frivolous to decorate and customize your pantry, but seriously, don’t skip this step!!!
An organized and decorated pantry helps you stay motivated to keep it clean and tidy. In my case, a few green plants, an antique scale, and a clock make the pantry feel put together. A home should feel cohesive and the pantry is included in that flow and vision.
Adding a pencil sharpener to the pantry has been wonderful! The kids use it everyday when they do their homework at the kitchen table. The design is simple with no batteries or plug. It is mounted straight to the plywood on top of the cabinets.
7. Step Stool
A step stool is a nice touch to help kids and adults reach what they need. If you can’t reach the top of the pantry, then a small step stool does the trick. The stool is from Ikea.
DISCLAIMER!!!!
The pantry doesn’t magically stay clean. Every time I come home from Costco I go through and refill jars, straighten things up, and change things out that are not working.
Beauty is important, but FUNCTION is truly my number one priority. For example, some of the jars I first ordered were not working. Their openings were too small to fit a measuring cup in and I would get frustrated. I saved up and bought more of the 2.5 gallon jars to solve the problem.
Be sure to check out my Amazon Pantry Ideas
Your Turn – Did any of these 7 items speak to you? Go have a look at your pantry and see how you can incorporate them to increase the functionality, aesthetics, and flow of your pantry. I’d love to see your progress, connect with the Hamm Homestead on Facebook!
Lauren Hamm says
Thank you for reading! The antique door is from Alaska Pickers in Palmer, Alaska. They always have great authentic antiques from picking down South several times a year. Thanks! Lauren