Organizing the Pantry

So after all those garden and deck updates it’s time for an organizing post. Don’t you think?

I wasn’t happy about the state of my pantry (sorry, forgot the before shot…) so I decided to invest in some uniform containers for the dry goods. I say invest because they are quite pricey, especially since I needed quite a few but my mom gave me a little cash for Easter so I figured I’d spend it on something fun. Yes, this is my idea of fun.

 

Like I said I didn’t get a shot before I started emptying out everything, that’s how excited I was about getting started but here’s basically what I wanted to organize. There’s flours, grains, sugar and all the rest that is stored in a pantry.

 

Some things I kept as they were like the lazy Suzan with the spices from the old house and I also used some of my glass jar stash for some items.

 

I got the new containers in three sizes so everything from one original box or bag would fit in one of the new containers.

 

I love how they’re clear with white lids and the fact that you can open them with one hand. There’s like a lever at the top (you can see it in the first photo) that you fold up and it releases the lid from the container.

I used my Letratag to print simple clear labels with the contents and placed them at the top of the container so the black print would be clearly visible against the white lid inside.

At the back on one of the shelves I used one of those metal shelves (but the narrow version) so I could do two rows of larger containers at the bottom and a row of smaller ones at the top.

 

At the very top shelf which I need a chair to reach I keep seldom used stuff like cookie cutters in old metal tins. I love how it all turned out and I love my new pantry!

Comments

[Amy Ferguson]

Love how organized and pretty it is! wonderful job!

[katie]

YES! an ORGANIZING post! i love organizing by benita!!!

[amycapdet / May Zaragoza]

Just pinned one of the shots for my own records! Thank you for the good ideas, Benita! :)

[suzy hausfrau]

OMG! Your pantry looks like mine...lazy susan and everything! I love the tins on the top idea. Usually just such a wast of space. Like minded whiteaholics on opposite sides of the world? You are still an inspiration to me tho.

[appleturnover]

that's completely brilliant. i love an organised, streamlined pantry. especially one without packages, hurrah!

[christel]

...would you like to come to Paris to visit my kitchen? good good job!

[Ida]

åh, jag har letat land och rike runt efter kvadratiska plastburkar med lock till skafferiet! Ordningssinnet får spel på alla runda burkar som inte kan stå ordentligt i rader och dessutom lämnar en massa plats mellan sig som inte går att fylla med något. Och så finns de i min bästa affär någonsin - clas ohlson! Tack tack tack för detta, och för en så otroligt unikt bra blogg!

[Terhi]

I love this! I'm going to do something similar to my pantry soon, thanks for the inspiration :) One question though : how do you keep track of the expiration dates of all the products? Or does everything in your pantry get used long before they go bad? I know that it isn't exactly a big crisis if spices or things like that reach their expiration date, but I'm kind of ocd about that and would like to have some kind of system. Dates marked on the bottom of the container perhaps, hmm.
Oh, and happy belated anniversary, Chez Larsson!

[@byebyebirdieuk]

oh i love your organising posts. wish i could invest in total matchy matchy pantry storage. still washing and repurposing jars and containers at the moment. one day ... one day!!

[@byebyebirdieuk]

p.s you totally inspired me to do a little post about my latest batch of repurposing :)

http://www.byebyebirdie.co.uk/sewlattedoughblog/2012/5/17/whats-in-the-jar.html

[Kim]

Beautiful!

[Carlos]

This is all stuff I use all the time but you could easily add a label with the expiration date at the bottom or back if you wanted. I stick labels with cooking times where I'm not sure I'll remember otherwise as in the 4th photo.

[jja]

Great! Since the containers are a little bit pricy are they at least glass one?

[Debbie from Chicago]

I love it! I might take the doors off the cabinet so I could look at all that great organization but in reality mine wouldn't stay that tidy. ;)

[Carlos]

They're not glass, they're plastic but they are dish washer proof which was what I was looking for.

[celia]

This looks great--love posts like this!

[Kathleen S.]

Your post is giving me organizing fever, but in summer the garden comes first!

[Lisa Flaherty]

It looks like more came out of the pantry than what went back in! An illusion? Or simultaneous purging? Looks terrific!

[Hxx]

If you saw my kitchen cupboards you would faint in horror!

[Carlos]

I did do a bit of purging and a bit of rearranging so a couple of things went into other cabinets but 90% went back in :)

[Carol]

Found very similar containers @ the Container Store: http://www.containerstore.com/shop/kitchen/foodStorage/canisters?productId=10029681&N=74062
I might just have to copy this... LOOOOOOOOOVE IT!

[banu]

how do you track best before dates? are you taking notes on labels?

[KariMc]

Oh, be still my beating heart! Just love posts like this. My friends don't understand how I can get excited about this kind of thing. Just glad there's a blogger out there (you) who can satisfy my cravings. He he.

[Carlos]

This is all stuff I use all the time but you could easily add a label with the expiration date at the bottom or back if you wanted. I stick labels with cooking times where I'm not sure I'll remember otherwise as in the 4th photo.

[Paula]

Wow! That is perfect and a great idea! Would you mind coming to organise my pantry too, please! :)

[[email protected]]

Åh! Det är så härligt o se när du fixat o donat..superfint!
Burkarna med metallockena var får man tag på dessa och en annan sak som jag letat efter..det lilla handtaget till disktrasan var köper man det?

mvh

[justasiam]

Benita, I was very excited to see these containers, first of all because I love to organize but also because I am married to a person who has the use of only one hand. These seem to be items that can be easily opened by one hand. I read there are some similar products by the Container Store, but I was wondering if you knew if the exact products you used were available in Canada or the U.S.?

[Carlos]

I tried to google the brand but I can't find any US links for it I'm afraid. Those container Store ones look similar though except that you press the sides of the knob which releases the lid.

[Carlos]

Menar du metallburkarna längst upp? Dem har jag köpt på typ Myrorna. Det är gamla pepparkaksburkar. Det är nåt märke pepparkakor som fortfarande säljer dem vid jul tror jag.

Disktrasehållaren hittade jag i en Järnia-butik.

[Karen]

WIll you come live at our house for about.....5 years?!!!! Free room and board in exchange for your organizing skills!!!

[Fiona]

What a wonderful pantry, Benita. I have some stuff organized just like you but I'm really far of getting to that degree of organization. Like it :)

[Luna]

It looks super! Like a professional chef's shop.

[Rachael]

Love this! I was just looking at similar containers for my pantry and you have inspired me to do it, and I love the idea of the spices on the lazy susan. Thank you so much for sharing with us!

[Tanya]

Hello Benita,
I recently found your blog and have been enjoy reading. I like your style - clean and uncluttered with just enough color for me :-). Your organizing skills are superb! The pantry looks great! It looks like I have the same containers :-). They are nice, stackable and come in different sizes. I found them at Walmart in US. Here is the link http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?Find=Find&_refineresult=true&ic=16_0&pref_store=3214&search_constraint=0&search_query=food+containers&tab_value=all&facet=brand%3ABetter+Homes+and+Gardens

Have a great weekend!

[Carlos]

Update! Check out Tania's comment further down, she found them at Walmart!

[Carlos]

Ohh, great, justasiam was wondering if they were available in the US! Thank you!

[Trisha]

I have a lot of spices/seasonings and I like Lazy Susans, but I don't like how there are spices in the middle that you can't see unless you move other ones out of the way. Have you found a way to work around that? I'm tackling my pantry this weekend!

[Carlos]

I just put the ones I uses more rarely towards the middle. I know they're there but not in plain sight until i need them.

[Maire]

Looking really nice - this is the cupboard of my dreams. Our similar one is dark brown at the moment and I've been waiting for to get some white (or some pastel color) paint on it. Soon, soon... :)

[Bernadette @ B3HD]

Nothing makes me happier than an organized pantry. Sigh (smile). Love the products you used to make it happen.

[Vanessa]

Det enda, enda jag hade gjort annorlunda är att jag hade låtit de fantastiskt snygga Clipper-förpackningarna synas väl. De är som små tavlor och jag blir lika glad varje gång jag öppnar mitt skåp och ser den långa raden av av små askar.

[[email protected]]

Where did you get the spice jars?

[Carlos]

They're from a local store called Åhléns but IKEA has similar ones: http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/40113613/

[Anu]

Hi Benita! I found your lovely blog and I think you are great person and your blog is amazing :)
I'd like to know which sizes of those boxs you have? One is 0,5 l but the others.
Thank you for your answer!

[Carlos]

The 0,5 L are the smallest ones I have. The others are 1L and 1,8 L.